Sustainable Futures
Research Laboratory McGill University
Latest News
01/01/11
All four workshops were completed in 2010. We have received an overwhelmingly positive response from participants and sincerely thank them for donating their valuable time to this initiative.
Background
While science helps to address some of society's most pressing environmental challenges, its role in government decision-making is being increasingly debated. Despite the fact that billions of dollars of public money has been spent to deal with these challenges, we know relatively little about how environment-related science is mobilized in Westminster-based executive government (countries sharing a parliamentary model inspired from the United Kingdom’s) and how formal and informal knowledge production pathways are moving science into public policy. To ensure that government agencies are well placed to set and implement effective policy, governments have recognized as a key issue the importance of strengthening the connection between science and policy (Industry Canada, 2007).
In response to these questions, in 2009 we conducted research to explore the institutional arrangements and knowledge production pathways moving environment-related science into public policy (particularly in Cabinet) and the outcomes that have emerged from these processes. Focusing on Westminster-based federal and provincial/state jurisdictions during the last 30 years, we interviewed over 50 former Ministers of Environment and Deputy Ministers (or their equivalent) from Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand. Participants were asked about their experiences and perceptions of the challenges and opportunities facing environment-related science in decision-making. Insights from this research are invaluable for both policy-makers and research scientists trying to inform strategic decision-making processes in these jurisdictions.
In 2010 we were awarded a dissemination and outreach grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to engage with senior policy-makers from various agencies involved in environmental regulation and policy-making. To this end, in fall 2010 we held a series of inter-departmental workshops in Canada and Australia,with participants from both the provincial/state and national level, which aimed to:
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Disseminate knowledge and actively encourage open discussion and critique of our research findings with and between participants in the context of their experience;
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Allow an open environment for the sharing of experiences with knowledge mobilization processes in the different agencies and the participant’s perceptions of the opportunities and challenges; and
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Provide a networking opportunity for senior bureaucrats from different agencies to interact and exchange knowledge.
Outcomes
The workshop series produced many open and constructive discussions, and as a result key aspects of the knowledge mobilization processes that exist in government were identified. More specifically, the dialogue allowed us collectively to gain a better understanding of the key areas of concern, highlighted major facilitators of, and barriers to, a more fluid environmental science and public policy nexus, and helped to define future actions that will allow for better transmission of scientific knowledge between public sector agencies and executive decision-makers in government.
The results of the workshop are currently being prepared for publication and will be available in 2012.