A presentation on behalf of the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity by Alison Specht on the role of analysis and synthesis centres as knowledge brokers between science and policy.
Collaboration for Environmental Evidence 2018, Paris
1. Analysis and synthesis centres: their
role as knowledge brokers between
science and policy
Alison Specht
Directrice, the French Centre for the
Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity
11. So, how to cross the knowledge-action boundary?
Transparency of itself is insufficient in the Science-Policy
Interface because of itself it cannot solve political and ethical
issues (Crouzat et al., 2018).
A key characteristic of transdisciplinary research is that the
domains of science, management, planning, policy and practice
are interactively involved in issue framing, knowledge production
and knowledge application. (Roux et al., 2010)
Boundary organisations are among the best ways of doing this:
Synthesis centres are basic scientific infrastructure, like
telescopes for astronomy or ocean vessels for oceanography,
which enable advancements beyond the fiscal capabilities of
individual research organizations (Baron et al., 2017)
11
12. So, how to cross the knowledge-action boundary?
Transparency of itself is insufficient in the Science-Policy
Interface because of itself it cannot solve political and ethical
issues (Crouzat et al., 2018).
A key characteristic of transdisciplinary research is that the
domains of science, management, planning, policy and practice
are interactively involved in issue framing, knowledge production
and knowledge application. (Roux et al., 2010)
Boundary organisations are among the best ways of doing this:
Synthesis centres are basic scientific infrastructure, like
telescopes for astronomy or ocean vessels for oceanography,
which enable advancements beyond the fiscal capabilities of
individual research organizations (Baron et al., 2017)
12
13. So, how to cross the knowledge-action boundary?
Transparency of itself is insufficient in the Science-Policy
Interface because of itself it cannot solve political and ethical
issues (Crouzat et al., 2018).
A key characteristic of transdisciplinary research is that the
domains of science, management, planning, policy and practice
are interactively involved in issue framing, knowledge production
and knowledge application. (Roux et al., 2010)
Boundary organisations are among the best ways of doing this:
Synthesis centres are basic scientific infrastructure, like
telescopes for astronomy or ocean vessels for oceanography,
which enable advancements beyond the fiscal capabilities of
individual research organizations (Baron et al., 2017)
13
14. The philosophy
14
Adapted from Specht. (2017) In, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Infrastructures:
challenges and opportunities (Eds. A. Chabbi and H. Loescher).
15. The philosophy
15
Adapted from Specht. (2017) In, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Infrastructures:
challenges and opportunities (Eds. A. Chabbi and H. Loescher).
16. The philosophy
16
Adapted from Specht. (2017) In, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Infrastructures:
challenges and opportunities (Eds. A. Chabbi and H. Loescher).
17. The philosophy
17
Adapted from Specht. (2017) In, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Infrastructures:
challenges and opportunities (Eds. A. Chabbi and H. Loescher).
18. The philosophy
18
Adapted from Specht. (2017) In, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Infrastructures:
challenges and opportunities (Eds. A. Chabbi and H. Loescher).
19. 19
Adapted from Specht. (2017) In, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Infrastructures:
challenges and opportunities (Eds. A. Chabbi and H. Loescher).
Core construct
25. 25
Effecting domain exchange
SOUS TITRE
Adapted from Pennington et al. (2013) BioScience
A process of
(a) Disorientation
(b) Critical reflection
(c) Reflective discourse
29. 29
Synthesised
outcomes
We are drowning in information while starving
for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by
synthesizers, people able to put together the right
information at the right time, think critically about
it, and make important choices wisely.
—Edward O. Wilson (1998) Consilience: The Unity of
Knowledge
30. sources
Baron J., Specht A., Garnier E., Bishop P., Campbell A., Davis F., Fady B., Field D., Gross L., Guru S.,
Hampton S., McClain C., Parker J., Price R., Rawson C., Rodrigo A., Sheble L., Winter M. (2017)
Synthesis centres as critical research infrastructure. BioScience 67(8): 750-59.
Campbell A, Lefroy EC, Caddy-Retalic S, Bax N, Doherty PJ, Douglas MM, Johnson D, Possingham H,
Specht A, Tarte D, West J. (2015) Designing environmental research for impact. Science for the
Total Environment 534: 4-13.
Crouzat E., Arpin I., Brunet L., Coloff M., Turkelboom F., Lavorel S. (2018) Researchers must be aware
of their roles at the interface of ecosystem services science and policy. Ambio 47: 97-105.
Crowston, K, Specht A., Hoover, C., Chudoba K, Watson-Manheim, M. (2015) Perceived discontinuities
and continuities in transdisciplinary scientific working groups. Science for the Total
Environment. 534: 159-172
Curty R., Crowston K., Specht A., Dalton E., Grant B. (2017) Attitudes and norms affecting scientists’
data reuse. PLosONE 12(12): e0189288.
Pennington, D.D., Simpson, G.L., McConnell, M.S., Fair, J.M., Baker, R.J., 2013. Transdisciplinary
research, transformative learning, and transformative science. Bioscience 63(7), 564–573.
Roux DJ, Stirzaker RJ, Breen CM, Lefroy EC and Cresswell HP. Framework for participative reflection
on the accomplishment of transdisciplinary research programs. Environmental Science & Policy
2010;13:733–41
Specht A. (2017) Synthesis centres: their relevance to and importance in the anthropocene. Pp. 469-
488. In, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Infrastructures: challenges and opportunities (Eds. A.
Chabbi and H. Loescher), CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA.
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