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Book ChapterDOI

The RIU Model as an Analytical Framework for Scientific Knowledge Transfer

01 Jan 2016-pp 29-54
TL;DR: In this article, the authors question whether there may be possibilities for successful scientific knowledge transfer in spite of the fact that the types of logic that political and scientific systems use are different.
Abstract: Like the two friends sharing a beer in the first chapter, many researchers in the environmental sciences experience frustration because practical actors do not follow their scientific advice. Conversely, many politicians are frustrated with the naivety of natural scientists regarding the potential for political implementation of their recipes. The widely-assumed incompatibility between science and politics is the starting point for our analysis: We question whether there may be possibilities for successful scientific knowledge transfer in spite of the fact that the types of logic that political and scientific systems use are different.
Citations
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01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define good science as "the political function of good science from advice to policy Acceptable risk Scientific advice as Legitimation: Negotiation and Boundary Work Defining "Good Science" Normative Implications.
Abstract: 1. Rationalizing Politics The Rise of Social Regulation Science and Policymaking Expertise and Trust The Contingency of Knowledge The Reform Debate An Alternative Approach 2. Flawed Decisions Nitrites 2,4,5-T Love Canal Estimates of Occupational Cancer The Technocratic Response A Critical Counterpoint 3. Science for the People The Rationale for Public Science The "New" Expert Agency Scientific Advice and Open Government Judicial Review of Science Policy The Weakening of the Paradigm 4. Peer Review and Regulatory Science The Traditions of Peer Review Peer Review in Practice Instructive Failures Regulatory Science: Content and Context Implications for Regulatory Peer Review 5. EPA and the Science Advisory Board Early Political Challenges A New Cooperation Boundary Exercises SAB's Impact on Policy Conclusion 6. The Science and Policy of Clean Air CASAC and the NAAQS Process Science and Standards Redefining CASAC's Role The Carbon Monoxide Controversy CASAC's Effectiveness: Bridging Science and Policy 7. Advisers as Adversaries The Scientific Advisory Panel Implementing the Impossible Ethylene Dibromide Dicofol Alar A Fragmentation of Authority 8. FDA's Advisory Network The Scientific Evaluation of Drugs Expertise and Food Safety Advice and Decision 9. Coping with New Knowledge The Quest for Principled Risk Assessment Formaldehyde: An Uncertain Carcinogen Conclusion 10. Technocracy Revisited A Public-Private Partnership for Science Risk Assessment without Politics The Public Board of Inquiry Wider Applications 11. The Political Function of Good Science From Advice to Policy Acceptable Risk Scientific Advice as Legitimation: Negotiation and Boundary Work Defining "Good Science" Normative Implications Conclusion Notes Index

113 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a special issue on forest conservation is presented, which brings together diverse disciplinary and regional perspectives to understand complex socio-ecological systems in the context of forest conservation and sustainable management.
Abstract: The conservation and sustainable management of forests is a topic of significant interest for scholars and policy makers alike. Yet, this is a multifaceted issue that raises important questions related to different societal and scientific perspectives, while values of the multiple services that forest ecosystems deliver for society must also be taken into account. However, perspectives on forest conservation may differ with regard to region and scale. This paper summarizes the contributions of a special issue on forest conservation that brings together diverse disciplinary and regional perspectives. First, we explore the necessity for interdisciplinary perspectives on forest conservation, and particularly the urgent need to bridge between social and natural science views in order to better understand complex socio-ecological systems. Second, we discuss a variety of case studies on forest conservation in different spatial and socio-economic contexts. Third, we focus on the science-policy and science-management interface as the critical “zone” where knowledge about forest conservation is exchanged. Finally, we emphasize again the diversity of possible perspectives on the issue, and conclude by identifying some possible ways of thinking about issues such as integrative versus segregative forest conservation, and science-policy-management interactions.

11 citations


Cites background from "The RIU Model as an Analytical Fram..."

  • ...transfer by systematically acknowledging, and then bridging, the differences between the science and the policy system as recommended by Boecher and Krott (2014), the seven alternative concepts related to the nature of the interface that Pregernig (2014) presents again suggest that there is no black and white portrayal of the complexity of sciencepolicy-management interactions, but, rather, shades of grey. And, again, choices have to be made that must reflect societal preferences. For instance, one prominent finding of the papers of De Koning et al. (2014) and Johnson and Franklin (2014) is that there might be conflicting expectations coming out of the spheres of science and society regarding the importance (and management) of uncertainty: managers and policy makers often want certainty from scientists when this is a something that cannot often be reasonably provided....

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  • ...One such potential perspective is introduced by Boecher and Krott (2014)....

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  • ...One such potential perspective is introduced by Boecher and Krott (2014). Starting from the expectation that policy making should be informed by scientific evidence, but being aware of the challenges that such a demand may cause in practice, they propose their own ‘‘RIU Model’’ as an analytical framework for scientific knowledge transfer....

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  • ...…knowledge transfer by systematically acknowledging, and then bridging, the differences between the science and the policy system as recommended by Boecher and Krott (2014), the seven alternative concepts related to the nature of the interface that Pregernig (2014) presents again suggest that…...

    [...]

  • ...transfer by systematically acknowledging, and then bridging, the differences between the science and the policy system as recommended by Boecher and Krott (2014), the seven alternative concepts related to the nature of the interface that Pregernig (2014) presents again suggest that there is no black and white portrayal of the complexity of sciencepolicy-management interactions, but, rather, shades of grey....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed an approach for planning for low-income nations by systematically dividing the principal sustainability policy into manageable policy categories and identifying key actions that need to be taken in each policy category to enhance sustainability.
Abstract: Methodical planning for formulating sustainability policy is needed to meet the ambitious United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper proposes an approach for such planning for low-income nations by systematically dividing the principal sustainability policy into manageable policy categories. These categories encompass all 17 SDGs, enabling policymakers to take into account the complex interlinkages of the SDGs for sustainability planning. Key actions that need to be taken in each policy category to enhance sustainability are then identified. In order to ensure that the planning process is holistic, analysis of the interlinkages of SDGs is carried out based on prioritisation of the relative importance of each Goal. Although the priority of each Goal can be country specific, interlinkages among Goals 1, 7 and 9 are analysed as an example to illustrate the proposed approach. Top-down approach of the UN's global sustainability agenda is integrated with a bottom-up approach of empowering and promoting local knowledge of low-income nations to develop the planning and policy approach presented in this paper. Finally, research gaps are highlighted to support the achievement of sustainability targets and further enhance the benefits of academic research to low-income nations.

1 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article , the authors examine two examples in which NASA Earth science satellite data and remote-sensing technology are used to improve the management of water availability and quality, and show how these insights could be adopted by NASA through a conceptual framework that charts individual-and organizational-level integration milestones alongside technical milestones.
References
More filters
Book
01 Jan 1990
TL;DR: In this article, the authors define good science as "the political function of good science from advice to policy Acceptable risk Scientific advice as Legitimation: Negotiation and Boundary Work Defining "Good Science" Normative Implications.
Abstract: 1. Rationalizing Politics The Rise of Social Regulation Science and Policymaking Expertise and Trust The Contingency of Knowledge The Reform Debate An Alternative Approach 2. Flawed Decisions Nitrites 2,4,5-T Love Canal Estimates of Occupational Cancer The Technocratic Response A Critical Counterpoint 3. Science for the People The Rationale for Public Science The "New" Expert Agency Scientific Advice and Open Government Judicial Review of Science Policy The Weakening of the Paradigm 4. Peer Review and Regulatory Science The Traditions of Peer Review Peer Review in Practice Instructive Failures Regulatory Science: Content and Context Implications for Regulatory Peer Review 5. EPA and the Science Advisory Board Early Political Challenges A New Cooperation Boundary Exercises SAB's Impact on Policy Conclusion 6. The Science and Policy of Clean Air CASAC and the NAAQS Process Science and Standards Redefining CASAC's Role The Carbon Monoxide Controversy CASAC's Effectiveness: Bridging Science and Policy 7. Advisers as Adversaries The Scientific Advisory Panel Implementing the Impossible Ethylene Dibromide Dicofol Alar A Fragmentation of Authority 8. FDA's Advisory Network The Scientific Evaluation of Drugs Expertise and Food Safety Advice and Decision 9. Coping with New Knowledge The Quest for Principled Risk Assessment Formaldehyde: An Uncertain Carcinogen Conclusion 10. Technocracy Revisited A Public-Private Partnership for Science Risk Assessment without Politics The Public Board of Inquiry Wider Applications 11. The Political Function of Good Science From Advice to Policy Acceptable Risk Scientific Advice as Legitimation: Negotiation and Boundary Work Defining "Good Science" Normative Implications Conclusion Notes Index

1,737 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define the practical problem of reconciling the supply of scientific information with users' demands so that scientists produce information that decision makers need and use in policy decisions.

832 citations


"The RIU Model as an Analytical Fram..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…of a “politicisation of expertise” (e.g. Weingart 1999; Hoppe 1999) and conclude, given the different interests of the actors involved, that it is important to couple the demand of various actors actively with the available supply of expertise (Sarewitz and Pielke 2007; McNie 2007; Guston 2001)....

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  • ...Weingart 1999; Hoppe 1999) and conclude, given the different interests of the actors involved, that it is important to couple the demand of various actors actively with the available supply of expertise (Sarewitz and Pielke 2007; McNie 2007; Guston 2001)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that better science portfolios would be achieved if science policy decisions reflected knowledge about the supply of science, the demand for science, and the relationship between the two, using the specific example of climate change science to illustrate how research on science policy could be organized to support improved decisions about the organization of science itself.

573 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore how effective boundary work involves creating salient, credible, and legitimate information simultaneously for multiple audiences, and the thresholds, complementarities and tradeoffs between salience, credibility, and legitimacy when crossing boundaries.
Abstract: The boundary between science and policy is only one of several boundaries that hinder the linking of scientific and technical information to decision making. Managing boundaries between disciplines, across scales of geography and jurisdiction, and between different forms of knowledge is also often critical to transferring information. The research presented in this paper finds that information requires three (not mutually exclusive) attributes - salience, credibility, and legitimacy - and that what makes boundary crossing difficult is that actors on different sides of a boundary perceive and value salience, credibility, and legitimacy differently. Presenting research on water management regimes in the United States, international agricultural research systems, El Nino forecasting systems in the Pacific and southern Africa, and fisheries in the North Atlantic, this paper explores: 1) how effective boundary work involves creating salient, credible, and legitimate information simultaneously for multiple audiences; 2) the thresholds, complementarities and tradeoffs between salience, credibility, and legitimacy when crossing boundaries; and 3) propositions for institutional mechanisms in boundary organizations which effectively balance tradeoffs, take advantage on complementarities, and reach thresholds of salience, credibility, and legitimacy.

462 citations


"The RIU Model as an Analytical Fram..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...The RIU model relies on the criteria of relevance, credibility and legitimacy (Cash et al. 2002; Mitchell et al. 2004) as applied to specific actors who play a role as allies of knowledge transfer....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Two paradoxes form the nucleus of the problems of scientific expertise and policy-making as discussed by the authors : the simultaneous scientification of politics and the politicisation of science, and the fact that despite the loss of authority of science expertise, policy-makers do not abandon their reliance on existing advisory arrangements, nor do the scholars adapt their ideas on science and its relation to politics.
Abstract: Two paradoxes form the nucleus of the problems of scientific expertise and policy-making. The first is the simultaneous scientification of politics and the politicisation of science. This has destructive effects: the increased use of scientific expertise by policy-makers has not increased the degree of certainty, in fact it becomes delegitimating. This gives rise to the second paradox: despite the loss of authority of scientific expertise, policy-makers do not abandon their reliance on existing advisory arrangements, nor do the scholars adapt their ideas on science and its relation to politics. How can this stability be achieved? How can science-politics be institutionalised? Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

439 citations


"The RIU Model as an Analytical Fram..." refers background in this paper

  • ...…Science Makes the World Go Round, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-34079-1_2 29 findings in political practice that speak of a “politicisation of expertise” (e.g. Weingart 1999; Hoppe 1999) and conclude, given the different interests of the actors involved, that it is important to couple the demand of…...

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