On 4 February 1970, the oil tanker SS Arrow ran aground on the rocks of Chedabucto Bay on Nova Scotia’s east coast and four days later about two thirds of the 14,700 ton cargo of Bunker C oil spilled into the Bay. Recently, I collaborated with two Department of Fisheries and Oceans-Bedford Institute of Oceanography […]
Public Policy & Decision Making
Evidence-Informed Decision Making: A Timely Graduate Course
The scheduling of the graduate course, “Information in Public Policy and Decision Making,” offered by the Dalhousie University School of Information Management could hardly be more timely or important. Troubling as the COVID-19 pandemic has been, as the virus infiltrated countries and caused havoc around the globe, it presented an exceptional case for students to […]
Managing Biodiversity beyond National Jurisdiction: New Publications Examine Ongoing Treaty Negotiations at the United Nations
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a landmark international treaty that entered into force in 1994, provides the legal framework for the sustainable development of the oceans. UNCLOS covers a wide range of issues in a text containing over 300 articles. Over the decades since the treaty’s completion in 1982, […]
Environmental Information and Racism: A Recent Panel Discussion
On 1 February 2020, Dr. Ian Stewart served as moderator for a panel at the annual conference of the Social Activists Law Students’ Association, Law, Social Activism, and the Media held at the Shulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. The conference explored how media, law, and activist movements impact and shape each other. […]
Improving Use of Research-Based Information in Policy Contexts
The importance of evidence-informed decision-making is being recognized more and more within the broader scientific and political landscape. For critical issues like climate change, well-informed and structured policies can bring substantial progress to current and future mitigation and adaptation strategies. This awareness has resulted in increased efforts to design science-policy engagement strategies and best practices […]
Challenges in Measuring the Use and Influence of Research-Based Information
Conducting research and producing reports are important pursuits, but they are only some of the activities found in research-to-policy processes. When data have been collected, analysed, and reports prepared, the next step, namely, communication, can be fraught with challenges that can impede use of the research. Some studies are conducted to address questions posed directly […]
Disinformation, Misinformation, and Decision Making
The recent literature selected for review in this post examined the role that social media plays in propagating disinformation amongst the public and how this activity can influence decision-making. The following questions spurred our interest in this investigation: What is the role of the news media and contemporary social media in promoting awareness and use […]
The Role of Public Consultations and Public Advisory Processes in Decision Making
Over the last several decades, the role of public participation in policy and decision making has expanded in scope and importance. Public participation is being used increasingly to complement technical expertise and empirical evidence in decision-making processes, both to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of policies and to benefit from a wide range of experiential knowledge. […]
Enablers and Barriers in the Communication of Research Information for Policy Development
The development of meaningful policies is dependent on effective communication of research-based information and evidence from scientists and other researchers to policymakers. Poor communication of research-based information can have serious consequences for environmental management. This post explores factors that enable and prevent the communication of research-based information into public policy contexts, including language, accessibility of […]
New EIUI Study: Information Source and Channel Preference in Marine Policy Development
Humans are currently experiencing an information overload. We are bombarded with information from the moment we start our day; texts from friends, social media updates, and news headlines stream into our consciousness at an unprecedented volume. Of course, this deluge has associated costs and benefits. On the one hand, we are better connected and better […]