The Lenfest Ocean Program's experience in building institutional support for connecting science and decision-making in marine systems
Abstract
Addressing contemporary sustainability challenges requires attention to the integration of scientific knowledge into decision-making and deliberation. However, this remains a challenge in practice. We contend that careful stewardship of this process of integration can result in positive, durable outcomes by reconciling the production and use of scientific knowledge, and improve its relevance and utility to decision-makers. We will share lessons learned from a grantmaking program that has addressed this challenge through programmatic innovations, including by supporting staff devoted to an intermediary role. Over the past 13 years, the Lenfest Ocean Program served in a boundary spanning role by integrating decision-makers into the scoping and outreach of program supported scientific research grants. Program staff engage with decision-makers and influencers to identify policy-relevant research questions and approaches, ensuring that the research direction addresses users' needs. As research progresses, the staff monitor the grant's progress to improve the match between the research and user needs. The process is resource-intensive, however, and raises interesting questions about the role and development of this kind of specialist within different kinds of institutions, including funding agencies. We suggest that nurturing this role as a practice and profession could ultimately help the scientific community more efficiently respond to sustainability challenges.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFMPA44A..03B
- Keywords:
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- 1807 Climate impacts;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 4327 Resilience;
- NATURAL HAZARDS;
- 6309 Decision making under uncertainty;
- POLICY SCIENCES;
- 6344 System operation and management;
- POLICY SCIENCES