Scientists' Perspectives on Navigating the Science-Policy Frontier

Abstract

The literature on the interface between science and policy suggests that the way scientists engage in the policy process influences the use of scientific knowledge in policy making. There is a lack of scholarly attention, however, to scientists themselves and how they conceptualize the interaction between science and policy. This study seeks to improve our understanding of how scientists conceptualize the science-policy interface and how they engage with this interface by studying a group of climate scientists. Based on an electronic survey and qualitative interviews we found that the scientists in our sample view policy engagement as an appropriate role for scientists. However, they exhibit low degrees of policy engagement over the past year. Cultural and capacity issues appear to limit their policy engagement, which has implications for future efforts to engage scientists in policy.