John Holmes

A Collaboratively-Derived Science-Policy Research Agenda

The need for policy makers to understand science and for scientists to understand policy processes is widely recognised. However, the science-policy relationship is sometimes difficult and occasionally dysfunctional; it is also increasingly visible, because it must deal with contentious issues, or itself becomes a matter of public controversy, or both. We suggest that identifying key unanswered questions on the relationship between science and policy will catalyse and focus research in this field. To identify these questions, a collaborative procedure was employed with 52 participants selected to cover a wide range of experience in both science and policy, including people from government, non-governmental organisations, academia and industry. These participants consulted with colleagues and submitted 239 questions. An initial round of voting was followed by a workshop in which 40 of the most important questions were identified by further discussion and voting. The resulting list includes questions about the effectiveness of science-based decision-making structures; the nature and legitimacy of expertise; the consequences of changes such as increasing transparency; choices among different sources of evidence; the implications of new means of characterising and representing uncertainties; and ways in which policy and political processes affect what counts as authoritative evidence. We expect this exercise to identify important theoretical questions and to help improve the mutual understanding and effectiveness of those working at the interface of science and policy.

The planning, management and communication of research to inform environmental policy making and regulation: an empirical study of current practices in Europe

Despite a range of initiatives over the last 10 years to enhance the use of science in policy-making by the European Commission and by governments in individual European Union member states, concerns remain that the substantial investments made in research on environmental issues are not as effective as they could be in supporting an evidence-informed approach to environmental policy-making and regulation. The empirical study summarised in this article set out to establish whether shortcomings in the planning, management and communication of research commissioned by governmental ministries and agencies are contributing to this ineffectiveness, and to identify how problem areas can be addressed. Specific issues addressed are the planning and management of research, communication of research results to end-users, the roles of interpreters and intermediaries, engagement with stakeholders, and the evaluation of research uptake and impact. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

Improving input from research to environmental policy: challenges of structure and culture

In making better use of research to inform environmental policy, advisers and policy people in UK government departments and agencies face a number of challenges, as do researchers and experts. Interviews and a workshop revealed that the challenges in obtaining information from environmental research to inform policy mostly arise from the different social structures and cultures of the researchers and advisers/policy people. They also identified potential solutions that enable social interaction and that increase shared understanding of the different cultures. Examples include more opportunities for advisers, policy people, researchers and experts to meet and maintain contact and improved availability and accessibility of policy-relevant research findings. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

A More Perfect Union: Energy Systems Integration Studies from Europe

The main aims of the energy policy of the European Union (EU) are 1) to establish a European energy system that is sustainable (particularly with respect to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions) and enhances Europes competitiveness and 2) to improve the security of energy supplies to Europes 500 million inhabitants. A key element of Europes strategies to achieve these aims is to establish a more integrated energy system in which there is a well-connected and competitive market, particularly for gas and electricity. A pan-European energy infrastructure (analogous to those in place in other sectors of long-term public interest, such as telecommunications and transport) is seen as an essential enabler.

The role of qualitative risk assessment in environmental management: A Kazakhstani case study.

Successful environmental management is partly contingent on the effective recognition and communication of environmental health risks to the public. Yet risk perceptions are known to differ between experts and laypeople; laypeople often exhibit higher perceptions of risk in comparison to experts, particularly when these risks are associated with radiation, nuclear power, or nuclear waste. This paper consequently explores stakeholder risk perceptions associated with a mercury-contaminated chloralkali production facility in Kazakhstan. Using field observations and in-depth interviews conducted in the vicinity of the Pavlodar Chemical Plant, this work assesses the relevance of the substantial on-site mercury contamination to the health and livelihoods of the local population with the goal of informing remediation activity through a combination of quantitative and qualitative risk assessments. The findings of this research study cannot be broadly generalized to all the primary stakeholders of the site due to the small sample size; however, the indifference of the local population towards both the possibility of mercury-related health risks and the need for mitigation activity could pose a substantial barrier to successful site remediation and also suggests that a qualitative understanding of stakeholder risk perceptions could play an important role in striving towards sustainable, long-term environmental risk management.

Science Communication and the Tension Between Evidence-Based and Inclusive Features of Policy Making

Communicating science in the public policy domain requires navigating the tension between two features of good practice in modern policy making: developing evidence based approaches and inclusive deliberative processes. Results of policy-making processes that have sought to maximize these different perspectives in parallel have been and will continue to be disappointing. Ensuring the “quality” of evidence and of supporting the integration of the different kinds of inputs in the decision-making process requires nimble and astute tension brokers who undertake knowledge brokering, reconcile different ways of knowing, and recognize when reconciliation is not achievable and/or not desirable.

Chapter 2.1:SKEP Network: Facilitating Improvements in Science into Policy Process

The SKEP (Scientific Knowledge for Environmental Protection) network1 is a European Commission 6th Framework Programme (FP6) funded initiative2 that was launched on the 1st June 2005. It is one of a cluster of environmental European Research Area Networks (ERA-Nets).3 The network has the twin object...