A collaboratively derived international research agenda on legislative science advice

The quantity and complexity of scientific and technological information provided to policymakers have been on the rise for decades. Yet little is known about how to provide science advice to legislatures, even though scientific information is widely acknowledged as valuable for decision-making in many policy domains. We asked academics, science advisers, and policymakers from both developed and developing nations to identify, review and refine, and then rank the most pressing research questions on legislative science advice (LSA). Experts generally agree that the state of evidence is poor, especially regarding developing and lower-middle income countries. Many fundamental questions about science advice processes remain unanswered and are of great interest: whether legislative use of scientific evidence improves the implementation and outcome of social programs and policies; under what conditions legislators and staff seek out scientific information or use what is presented to them; and how different communication channels affect informational trust and use. Environment and health are the highest priority policy domains for the field. The context-specific nature of many of the submitted questions—whether to policy issues, institutions, or locations—suggests one of the significant challenges is aggregating generalizable evidence on LSA practices. Understanding these research needs represents a first step in advancing a global agenda for LSA research.Fil: Akerlof, Karen. George Mason University; Estados UnidosFil: Tyler, Chris. University College London;Fil: Foxen, Sarah Elizabeth. University College London;Fil: Heath, Erin. American Association for the Advancement of Science; Estados UnidosFil: Gual Soler, Marga. American Association for the Advancement of Science; Estados UnidosFil: Allegra, Alessandro. University College London;Fil: Cloyd, Emily T.. American Association for the Advancement of Science; Estados UnidosFil: Hird, John A.. University of Massachussets; Estados UnidosFil: Nelson, Selena M.. George Mason University; Estados UnidosFil: Nguyen, Christina T.. George Mason University; Estados UnidosFil: Gonnella, Cameryn J.. Herndon; Estados UnidosFil: Berigan, Liam A.. Kansas State University; Estados UnidosFil: Abeledo, Carlos R.. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Al Yakoub, Tamara Adel. Yarmouk University; JordaniaFil: Andoh, Harris Francis. Tshwane University Of Technology; Sudáfrica. Tshwane University of Technology; GhanaFil: dos Santos Boeira, Laura. Veredas Institute; BrasilFil: van Boheemen, Pieter. Rathenau Instituut; Países BajosFil: Cairney, Paul. University of Stirling; Reino UnidoFil: Cook Deegan, Robert. Arizona State University; Estados UnidosFil: Costigan, Gavin. Foundation For Science And Technology; Reino UnidoFil: Dhimal, Meghnath. Nepal Health Research Council; NepalFil: Di Marco, Martín Hernán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones "Gino Germani"; ArgentinaFil: Dube, Donatus. National University of Science and Technology; Zimbabu

Report on NGO Participation at the 2013 ECOSOC High-Level Segment

<p>Report on NGO Participation at the United Nations 2013 Annual Ministerial Review - ECOSOC High-Level Segment on Science, Technology, Innovation and Culture for Sustainable Development and Achieving the Millennium Development Goals.</p

Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación en América Latina

<p>Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación en América Latina. Economía Exterior, Junio 2014.</p

Voices of NGOs on Science, Technology, Innovation and Culture for Sustainable Development and achieving the MDGs.

<p>This paper summarizes the views, concerns and policy recommendations raised by NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC on the 2013 Annual Ministerial Review theme: "Science, technology, innovation and culture for sustainable development and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)." As the 2015 MDGs deadline is fast approaching, NGOs perform a critical analysis of successes and failures of global development strategies, as well as contributing to the debate on the post-2015 agenda and the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The recommendations presented here serve as complementary reference to the Ministerial declaration adopted at the end of the 2013 ECOSOC High-Level Segment, which provides policy guidance and recommendations for action</p

A collaboratively-derived international research agenda on legislative science advice

We seek to collaboratively develop an international research agenda for an emerging subfield within science policy—legislative science advice—that has been relatively ignored within the study of policy advisory systems. We will identify promising theoretical areas, opportunities for multidisciplinary partnerships, and the research questions of most relevance to policymakers and interest to academics. Our approach starts with the proposition that there are likely differences among academics and practitioners in conceptualizing the relationship between science and policymaking, and therefore also likely varying research priorities, with corresponding theoretical models and units of analysis. We hypothesize that influential factors include not just the discipline (academic/practitioner) of the study participants, but characteristics of the governments with which they identify or study (economic development, political system, and democratization). Using quantitative techniques that identify both areas of consensus and disagreement, we will explore nuances that might otherwise escape notice in other forms of expert consultation. Because most academic attention has been paid to developed Western nations, we anticipate that the current range of policy theories most frequently called upon to explain the role of science advice in the evolution of policy issues is insufficient for a global agenda for science advice to legislatures

Protect the Antarctic Peninsula - before it’s too late

Banning fishing in warming coastal waters and limiting tourism and construction on land will help to protect marine mammals and seabirds.</p