IAGLR Special Meeting

Recommendations

Participants at the June 4, 2002, meeting discussed creative ways to strengthen the science-policy linkage in the Great Lakes Basin. Specific suggestions include the following:

  1. IAGLR should place very basic background information on the Great Lakes on its homepage (information should be peer-reviewed and easily understood);
  2. IAGLR should create a link to IJC's research inventory (Council of Great Lakes Research Managers);
  3. IAGLR may want to link to EPA's expert list that it has established;
  4. IAGLR should use media associations and journalism schools to help get the message out;
  5. IAGLR should put some fact sheets out that link to current journal articles and appropriate experts;
  6. It may be difficult for IAGLR to develop policy statements, however, it could prepare background papers to inform decisionmakers (a disclaimer might be used that stated that these background papers were not the opinion of IAGLR);
  7. Participants agreed with the current work of IAGLR's Outreach Committee on issuing news releases on timely and topical articles;
  8. IAGLR should consider getting an information specialist to distill and communicate science to decisionmakers (possibly through Sea Grant or other such organizations; the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network and GLERL are already experimenting with this);
  9. IAGLR's Outreach Committee should deliver a clear message on the importance of research to policymakers;
  10. IAGLR should encourage 10% of environmental program funding be devoted to research;
  11. One of the policy institutions in the Great Lakes Basin should advocate, solicit, or encourage the development of a policy statement on a particular issue with IAGLR;
  12. IAGLR should help develop a process to investigate an issue and advance the science-policy linkage (possibly through a special conference or special issue of the journal that culminates in a policy statement by a Great Lakes policy institution);
  13. IAGLR could help develop issue papers that lay out policy options and associated strengths and weaknesses (these issue papers could also be linked to articles and IAGLR experts);
  14. IAGLR could enter into a more formal relationship with organizations like Sea Grant by working with them to add "working with IAGLR to strengthen the science-policy linkage" to the job descriptions of Sea Grant Extension agents (thereby making it part of their performance appraisals);
  15. IAGLR could get Sea Grant Extension agents to sponsor workshops to identify issues that would benefit from stronger science-policy linkages;
  16. IAGLR could sponsor or co-sponsor a science mini-camp for elected officials;
  17. IAGLR could encourage and participate in more congressional-parliamentary dialogues on the Great Lakes;
  18. IAGLR could establish stronger relationships with the states and provinces (Could states and provinces become sustaining members?);
  19. IAGLR could help establish an organization for transboundary policy development;
  20. IAGLR could encourage more of its members to prepare science translation documents for policymakers;
  21. IAGLR should encourage more young people to get involved in Great Lakes research, management, and policy development;
  22. IAGLR could help establish a science-policy scholarship in partnership with a policy institution;
  23. IAGLR should encourage the involvement of more economists and legal experts (we need a broader mix of disciplines); and
  24. IAGLR should consider having a keynote address at its next conference on strengthening the science-policy linkage (perhaps providing members with the do's and don't's of providing scientific input for policy development and for advocacy).

Related Links:
Visit the following pages for more information about the special meeting: