As governments are faced with solving increasingly complex social issues, recognition is growing that research-based information alone cannot resolve these issues. Public consultation is a vital source of information to understand citizen and stakeholder interests better and incorporate diverse considerations into policy development. Along with these benefits, public consultation involves many challenges. It is a […]
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Measuring the Use and Influence of Research-Based Information: Finding Meaning in Complexity
While research-based information can be transmitted in a variety of ways, such as through publications or conference presentations, the question of whether such information is being used by or influencing policymakers themselves remains. The resulting interest in evaluation of both the use and influence of research is driven by two groups: decision makers, who are […]
Enablers and Barriers: Communicating Scientific Information to the Public
We live in an information age, where reams of new data are available on every matter of scientific inquiry. But these advances have only created challenges for communicators of scientific information. Scientists scour raw data and transform them into new information and knowledge but employing this knowledge to produce behavioural change in the voting, eating, […]
The Role of News and Social Media in Influencing Information and Policy
News media and social media have emerged as two tools for providing the public with greater access to information, current events, and relevant issues. While this development has created the prospect of a more informed public, it has also provided the opportunity for news media and other media platforms to influence information and the political […]
What is “Evidence” in Evidence-Based Policy? Brief Discussion of Selected Recent Literature
In today’s post-pandemic world where evidence-based decision making has gained extensive public prominence, understanding how evidence is defined helps to explain why reference is frequently made about its use in many and diverse settings and why evidence can be contested. In this blog post, we summarize and integrate the key findings of six recent academic […]
What Is Public Consultation and Why Is It Important?
Public consultation and advisory processes are regulatory tools employed to improve efficiency, transparency, and effectiveness of decision-making processes used by various governing bodies, organizations and businesses (OECD, n.d.). Furthermore, consulting the public on key issues increases the scope of information available to governments and policy makers to better inform decision making. Engaging with a wide […]
Exploring the Role of the Media in Scientific Communication
A crucial component of the present-day understanding of media is the extent that traditional and modern forms have become interconnected with many other aspects of our lives. Referred to as a media ecology, Lester and Foxwell-Norton (2020) note that media has expanded beyond its traditional boundaries to become inseparable from our social lives and is […]
Enablers and Barriers to Communicating Research-Based Information in Public Policy Contexts
Pressing concerns about protecting human and environmental well-being from climate change illustrates the need for public policy decisions to reflect scientific knowledge. Policy and decision-makers, local communities, and citizens depend on research-based information to make evidence-informed decisions. If scientific communities fail to engage with external audiences using appropriate methods of communication, the policy sphere is […]
What is Evidence?
What constitutes evidence varies with decision makers and decision processes. For example, in some contexts, evidence is viewed as the results of research obtained through data collection and analysis. In policy making contexts, however, evidence used in decision-making processes should adopt a holistic approach that identifies multiple streams of knowledge and efficiently synthesizes information to […]
Navigating Towards an Effective Science-Policy Interface
Science and scientific knowledge are utilized in everyday operations of society and policy (van den Hove, 2007). Moreover, scientific knowledge provided by scientists and scientific organizations directly impacts our society through its relationships with decision-making at various government levels (van den Hove, 2007). However, the different needs, expectations, and even language used by those involved […]