References and Recommended Reading

Possibly more than any other "Recommended Reading" suite we've presented, we encourage you to dip into these references. We believe if you're working in, or affected by, the need to translate science into policy, you'll find some value in at least some of what's here.

Benoit, Jeff, and Chantal Lefebvre. 2005. Translating Science into Management: Challenges and Opportunities for the Coastal Community. Urban Harbors Institute - University of Massachusetts Boston, for: Coastal States Organization, Washington, D.C. Available as an Acrobatš file at http://www.coastalstates.org/. This is a brief (11 pp.) introduction to CSO's initiative to address translating science into management: the nature of science; communication across cultural boundaries; and dealing with consensus. Volume 2 will document practical examples, and volume 3 will address ways for the federal government to improve its dissemination of research.

Clark, Roger N., Errol E. Meidinger, and others. 1998. Integrating Science and Policy in Natural Resource Management: Lessons and Opportunities From North America. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-441. Pacific Northwest Research Station, US Forest Service, Portland, Oreg. Available as an Acrobat file at http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/gtr_441.pdf. A quick read, the authors present their conclusions and principles drawn from case studies of large resource management planning and management programs in Canada, the US, and Mexico.

Jacobs, Katharine. Ed. Connecting Science Policy, and Decision-making: A Handbook for Researchers and Science Agencies. Office of Global Programs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland.
A straight-forward handbook aimed at climate change research scientists in need of 'cultural' and 'sensitivity' training to enable them to communicate with potential 'customers' for their climate science forecasts.

Bailey, F.G. 1983. The Tactical Uses of Passion: An Essay on Power, Reason, and Reality. Cornell University Press.
Although reason and logic is upheld in our culture as the superior means of decision-making, the reality is that the debate is mostly conducted in emotional terms. Bailey's extended essay (275 pp.) narrates his research into this phenomenon and serves as a guide to managing the emotional debate.

Committee on Science and Policy for the Coastal Ocean, National Research Council. 1995. Science, Policy, and the Coast: Improving Decisionmaking National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. Available as an Acrobatš file at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/4968.html (No fee to read on-line, but registration required. $16.50 fee to download pdf.)
Informed by three regional symposia, the committee identifies the barriers that inhibit optimal interactions among social and natural scientists, and between scientists and policy-makers. A very useful framework is laid out to explain why these two "cultures" talk past, rather than to each other.

Committee on Defining Best Scientific Information Available for Fisheries Management. 2004. Improving the Use of the "Best Scientific Information Available" Standard in Fisheries Management. National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. Available as an Acrobatš file at http://www.nap.edu/ catalog/11045.html (no fee, but registration required).
A typically thorough product (117 pp.) of a National Research Council committee charged with addressing a specific question, it's all here from the history of BSIA, to it's definition, and recommendations. I'm told that the committee process was an angst-ridden experience for the participating scientists and policy/managers, and that completion of the report was a small miracle.

Growth Management Services, Washington Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development, publications:

Best Available Science WAC 365-190 Available as an Acrobatš file at http://qa.cted.wa.gov/_CTED/documents/ID_1188_Publications.pdf

Citations of Recommended Sources of Best Available Science for Designating and Protecting Critical Areas. Available as an Acrobatš file at http://qa.cted.wa.gov/_CTED/documents/ID_874_Publications.pdf

Dale, V.H., et al., 2000. Ecological Principles and Guidelines for Managing the Use of Land. Ecological Applications 10(3) 639-670. Addressed to working research ecologists, you'll want to read this when you have the time and inclination to read scientists talking to scientists.

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