The news media is a powerful agent that translates information across the science-policy interface to inform the general public of decisions made by policy-makers. However, news coverage is all too often shaped by political or cultural biases and the realities of the news business. These realities include journalistic norms and preferences that lead to news […]
Public Policy & Decision-Making
Challenges and Benefits of Public Consultations as Advisory Processes
Stakeholder engagement in evidence-based policy and decision making is an important multifaceted advisory process, which is characterized by several challenges relating to information management. In complex areas such as public health or the environment, effective decision-making involves commitment from policymakers to understand the subject in question holistically as well as be aware that policies affect […]
Making Science Communication Personal: New EIUI Study Investigates Strategies for Encouraging Conversations between the Public and Scientists through Social Media
In this post, Curtis Martin, an EIUI team member, reports on his Master of Marine Management research about the strategies that individual scientists and marine non-governmental organization communicators use to engage the public in conversations about scientific subjects. The internet and social media have dramatically changed the way we communicate with one another today. More […]
Bill C-69—Highlights of the Proposed New Impact Assessment Act: Public Lecture, 4 February 2019
Bill C-69 (currently before Canada’s Senate) has been much in the news, generating both strong support and strong opposition from different sectors of Canadian society. EIUI is co-sponsoring this public lecture, which will provide an overview of main elements of the Act, including its features such as early planning, sustainability criteria; broadened scope for positive […]
Deep Ties: New EIUI Study Investigates the Connection between People and Marine Environments in Ocean Planning and Policy
A new Environmental Information: Use and Influence study suggests that social values tied to the ocean are under-represented in the valuation of marine ecosystems, and proposes a public perceptions frame work to gauge place-based attachments in coastal planning and policy decision processes. Simon Ryder-Burbidge, an EIUI team member and a recent graduate of the Master […]
Science in Public life – Panel Sessions, 9 & 11 October 2018
The Environmental Information: Use and Influence (EIUI) research program is very pleased to announce that two public panel sessions on the subject of Science in Public Life will be presented on 9 and 11 October 2018 in Halifax. EIUI is hosting these panels, along with co-sponsors, to address key questions about the role of information […]
EIUI Team Member at the UN Summit on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction
EIUI team member Elizabeth De Santo is participating in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Intergovernmental Conference on a new treaty to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), being held at the UN Headquarters, New York, 4-17 September 2017. Elizabeth (Franklin & Marshall College, Pennsylvania) is part of an […]
Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment – Highlights of the June 2018 Annual Meeting
The Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment (GOMC), a USA-Canada inter-governmental body, has a mandate for overseeing the environmental management of the Gulf of Maine, including the Bay of Fundy. It has been operating since 1989, sponsoring many relevant coastal projects, conferences, and workshops. GOMC is composed of representatives of three American states […]
Emerging Issues, Challenges, and Priorities: The 12th BoFEP Bay of Fundy Science Workshop
Since 1996, the Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership (BoFEP) has organized major scientific workshops approximately every two years. The twelfth, attended by over 100 speakers and participants on 9-12 May 2018 in Truro, Nova Scotia, focused on “A Changing Fundy Environment: Emerging Issues, Challenges, and Priorities.” The workshops bring researchers, managers, policymakers, and community representatives […]
Scientific Evidence at the Interface with Policy: Three New Books on Policy Work
Today, evidence-based policy making (EBPM) is widely reported in news stories and discussed in research publications. Even when use of evidence is obviously contested, decision makers recognize that the concept merits attention. The release in September 2017 of The promise of evidence-based policymaking, the final report of the American Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking, for example, […]