Statistical Tools Driven Science Policy Interface for Strengthening Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

In lieu of ever so evolving landscapes, there is a constant pressure on biodiversity and the myriad of ecosystem services it offers. In order to strengthen science policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for conservation of human well-being, nexus between biodiversity and conservation and sustainable development varied statistical tools are applied. Science policy interface with the Science Based Target Initiative is a evolving landscapes in ecosystem based restoration framework. Aligning it with statistical tools further adds to dynamics for ecosystem management. The statistical tool includes : Good Quality of Life (GQL) = Human Wellbeing and factor is under pressure and indicated as P* - Percentage of undernourished populace ; Nature Contributions to People (NCP) = Ecosystem Goods Services - impacted where in two factors are considered – being at risk, not at risk, unknown level of risk extinction.

Disease transmission and control modelling at the science–policy interface

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted the lives of billions across the world. Mathematical modelling has been a key tool deployed throughout the pandemic to explore the potential public health impact of an unmitigated epidemic. The results of such studies have informed governments' decisions to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions to control the spread of the virus. In this article, we explore the complex relationships between models, decision-making, the media and the public during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). Doing so not only provides an important historical context of COVID-19 modelling and how it has shaped the UK response, but as the pandemic continues and looking towards future pandemic preparedness, understanding these relationships and how they might be improved is critical. As such, we have synthesized information gathered via three methods: a survey to publicly list attendees of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling and other comparable advisory bodies, interviews with science communication experts and former scientific advisors, and reviewing some of the key COVID-19 modelling literature from 2020. Our research highlights the desire for increased bidirectional communication between modellers, decision-makers and the public, as well as the need to convey uncertainty inherent in transmission models in a clear manner. These aspects should be considered carefully ahead of the next emergency response.

Supporting Actionable Science for Environmental Policy: Advice for Funding Agencies From Decision Makers

Successful incorporation of scientific knowledge into environmental policy and decisions is a significant challenge. Although studies on how to bridge the knowledge-action gap have proliferated over the last decade, few have investigated the roles, responsibilities, and opportunities for funding bodies to meet this challenge. In this study we present a set of criteria gleaned from interviews with experts across Canada that can be used by funding bodies to evaluate the potential for proposed research to produce actionable knowledge for environmental policy and practice. We also provide recommendations for how funding bodies can design funding calls and foster the skills required to bridge the knowledge-action gap. We interviewed 84 individuals with extensive experience as knowledge users at the science-policy interface who work for environmentally-focused federal and provincial/territorial government bodies and non-governmental organizations. Respondents were asked to describe elements of research proposals that indicate that the resulting research is likely to be useful in a policy context, and what advice they would give to funding bodies to increase the potential impact of sponsored research. Twenty-five individuals also completed a closed-ended survey that followed up on these questions. Research proposals that demonstrated (1) a team with diverse expertise and experience in co-production, (2) a flexible research plan that aligns timelines and spatial scale with policy needs, (3) a clear and demonstrable link to a policy issue, and (4) a detailed and diverse knowledge exchange plan for reaching relevant stakeholders were seen as more promising for producing actionable knowledge. Suggested changes to funding models to enhance utility of funded research included (1) using diverse expertise to adjudicate awards, (2) supporting co-production and interdisciplinary research through longer grant durations and integrated reward structures, and (3) following-up on and rewarding knowledge exchange by conducting impact evaluation. The set of recommendations presented here can guide both funding agencies and research teams who wish to change how applied environmental science is conducted and improve its connection to policy and practice.

Passport to the oceans of the future: delivering marine energy with science linked to policy

In February 2021, a group from MASTS, Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewables (EIMR) and Marine Scotland began exploring options for a joint event on marine energy science and policy development. The original concept was to bridge the gap between events that each group would normally arrange ‘in person’ and the virtual world in which we were all currently existing. Encouraged by the online support and experience available from MASTS, a steering group decided to arrange a workshop. In order to straddle our interests, the starting point was the capacity of the North Sea to deliver renewable energy. We wanted to include emerging science and the timing of the review of Scotland’s National Marine Plan provided an excellent context. We sought to deliver a wide range of content but encourage participant conversation. We aimed for a range of speakers delivering 7-minute recorded talks. Talks included findings from funded research, ongoing projects, and some emerging thinking across the science policy interface for marine planning. Marine energy was interpreted in the widest of senses, but the main focus was on offshore wind in UK waters, with particular detail about Scotland.

The role of knowledge networks in facilitating the creation of climate information services

<p>Knowledge networks are collections of individuals and teams who work together across organizational, spatial and disciplinary boundaries to invent and share a body of knowledge. Climate services are tools and application that support decision-making by transforming raw climate data into tailored information. They call for co-development practices in place and for successful collaboration between different stakeholders. Knowledge networks for climate services are intermediaries that facilitate the interaction between upstream (<em>providers</em>) and downstream (<em>user</em>) actors operating at various scales (local, national, regional and supranational). They assist the decision-making process of a wide set of users by creating windows of opportunity and by delivering usable climate information. The aim of this work is to frame and assess the efficiency of knowledge networks for climate services in promoting innovation and facilitate its diffusion. First, we characterize knowledge networks learning from insights of a multidisciplinary literature. Second, we analyse the purpose, the process and the audience of each knowledge network for climate services by screening their programmatic documents. We then assess the efficiency of knowledge networks by performing content analysis of interviews with knowledge network managers and by checking for the existence of inconsistencies or gaps with the initial objectives. We find knowledge networks for climate services pursue four objectives: coordination, innovation promotion, science-policy interface and support to members. We also find inadequate tools to monitor the members activities, but a strong positioning within the climate services domain. On the communication side, knowledge networks for climate services mostly interact with developers of climate services but they face challenges in sharing the members’ activities with users. Our work fills a significant knowledge gap and helps providing new tools of performance assessment in absence of a clearly defined methodology. The identification of bottlenecks and under-performing mechanisms in the climate information services sphere allows the elaboration of strategies to improve the status quo and facilitates the diffusion of these innovations.</p>