John O’Connor

What influences the use of research #evidence in policy? An updated systematic map.

📊 Access the pre-print, a full set of data & series of visualisations.

✍🏼 @oliver-kathryn.bsky.social

transforming-evidence.org/projects/wha...

What are the aims, roles + intended impacts of knowledge brokering?

@chriscvitanovic.bsky.social & @paulcairney.bsky.social share new research exploring this "invisible work"

🔗 transforming-evidence.org/blog/the-inv...

Knowledge translation research priorities: an evidence synthesis Transforming Evidence

📙 New: Knowledge translation research priorities

- Build funder consensus
- Identify gaps to guide investment
- Support and share evidence syntheses
- Triage cross-disciplinary evidence priorities

Working paper with @who.int @oliver-kathryn.bsky.social

transforming-evidence.org/resources/kn...

Calorie (energy) labelling for changing selection and consumption of food or alcohol - Clarke, N - 2025 | Cochrane Library Select your preferred language for Cochrane reviews and other content. Sections without translation will be in English.

🔊 Published today, our new Cochrane review on the impact of calorie labelling on people’s selection and consumption of food (including non-alcoholic drinks) and alcohol:
www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10....

Short thread below 👇

Assessing evidence based on scale can be a useful predictor of policy outcomes - Policy Sciences With growing interest in more formalized applications of scientific evidence to policy, there are concerns about what evidence is selected and applied, and for what purpose. We present an initial argu...

In a study of 100 policies & 250 policymakers, we find that a) there's no such thing as the "best" type of evidence, and b) the scale of evidence used in decisions can be a strong predictor of policy effectiveness.

Freely available to all @policysciences.bsky.social

Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries - Nature Human Behaviour What is the state of trust in scientists around the world? To answer this question, the authors surveyed 71,922 respondents in 68 countries and found that trust in scientists is moderately high.

This international survey “challenges the idea that there is a widespread lack of public trust in scientists. In most countries, scientists and scientific methods are trusted”. Ireland 🇮🇪#2 in Europe 👏https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02090-5

Why should everyone at #MuscatISC be curious about INGSA? Because weall now work across evidence/policy/society. And INGSA is the global network for science-policy-society interfaces, including capacity building, knowledge sharing and regional networking.

It's free to join!! buff.ly/3RBig3s

The enablers of effective knowledge exchange between science and policy By Vivian Nguyen and Chris Cvitanovic. What are the practical enabling conditions necessary for effectively implementing strategies to enhance knowledge exchange at the science-policy interface? To…

Enablers of knowledge echange between science and policy i2insights.org/2025/01/14/e...

Transformative science–policy interfacing: the case of biodiversity and ecosystem services - Sustainability Science Science–policy interfaces (SPI), such as IPCC and IPBES, are key mechanisms by which scientists can contribute to policy making to tackle socio-environmental problems. To capture recent and ongoing…

How can science better inform biodiversity policy? This paper analyzes the evolving role of biodiversity science-policy interfaces, arguing for a shift from information provision to active facilitation of transformative change.

Interesting read if you are a manager or scientist working in the science-policy interface.
👇👇

Irish rugby following the data to protect big stars Neil Treacy speaks to Stephen Smith of Kitman Labs about how one of the world's leading sports science companies grew from Michael Cheika's Leinster team in the late 2000s.

Can science for policy learn anything from science for sport?
www.rte.ie/sport/united...

Everyone at the table - Publications Office of the EU The European Commission (EC) established a High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) to assess the needs and options for strengthening the sciencepolicy interface (SPI) for improved food systems governance. The ...

Interesting report that ‘assess the needs and options for strengthening the sciencepolicy interface for improved food systems governance’.
op.europa.eu/en/publicati...

🚨 OUT NOW 🚨

📚 The @ipbes.bsky.social #NexusAssessment Summary for Policymakers is now available!

➡️ Explore the most comprehensive assessment ever of the interconnections between biodiversity, water, food, health & climate.

🌏 Options for a just & sustainable future!
www.ipbes.net/node/85582

IPBES report sees climate, nature and food challenges interlinked A new approach is needed to tackle the interlinked crises afflicting the planet, scientists warn.

We can’t look at climate change, biodiversity loss, and human wellbeing in separate silos anymore.

Next — we need to look for effective, evidence-based solutions at the intersection of climate, nature, and people.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Science could solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Why aren’t governments using it? A Nature global survey finds that most specialists are unhappy with systems to provide science advice to policymakers.

🌍 Why Don’t Governments Use Science?

A @natureportfolio.bsky.social survey found 80% of science-policy experts think governments lack robust systems for science advice - despite crises like COVID-19 showing its value.

How can we bridge the gap?

🔗 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

#SciComm 🧪

Given that politicians seem to care less and less about science, this is just gonna get worse...👇

Why aren’t governments using science? www.nature.com/articles/d41...

80% of scientists say science-advice system broken.

80% say "policymakers lack sufficient understanding of science."

‘Systematic reviews’ that aim to extract broad conclusions from many studies are in peril Fake papers are “poisoning the well” for these gold-standard syntheses, researchers say

A growing problem --- fake papers polluting systematic reviews. And interesting point that the gold-standard protocols that Cochrane is developing to weed out untrustworthy studies, are too much of an effort for systematic-review authors looking at 100s of papers. www.science.org/content/arti...

Advising governments about science is essential but difficult. So train people to do it A great scientist doesn’t necessarily make an effective science adviser — but schooling and practice can help to bridge the gap.

How does science advice to governments need to change over the next 10 years?

In a Nature survey, respondents said that training scientists in politics & policy is top of the list.

Our editorial outlines what's required
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Science could solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Why aren’t governments using it? A Nature global survey finds that most specialists are unhappy with systems to provide science advice to policymakers.

In a Nature survey, 80% of science-policy experts say their country’s science advice system is poor or patchy.

I've written about the state of global science advice & what should change.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Thnx to @ingsa.bsky.social @transformevidence.bsky.social @jperkel.bsky.social

What skills do knowledge brokers need? Reporting on a study of knowledge brokers’ views on the attributes required to be good at their job, Denis Karcher and Chris Cvitanovic present four attributes and styles of working that underpin g…

What skills do knowledge brokers need?
blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...

The value of a research function in a Knowledge Brokering Organisation What we've learnt so far

The value of a research function in a Knowledge Brokering Organisation: what we've learnt so far.

📝 Eleanor MacKillop, Hannah Durrant & James Downe share lessons from the Wales Centre for Public Policy research team.

Latest on our blog 👇🏼
transforming-evidence.org/blog/the-val...

Very excited to be here, so thought we would share something that was popular in the other place (and is still, depressingly, true . . . but at least we've fixed some of the problems, notably '404 not found')

Unanswered questions in research assessment 2 – Can we apply the scientific method to research assessment? Noemie Aubert Bonn and Haley Hazlett discuss the importance of applying scholarly standards to research assessment reform efforts and the value of creating space for experimentation, transpare…

“one of the most common criticisms levelled at research assessment is that it does not adhere to the same standards of rigour we apply to academic research”

blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...

How to set up an academic think tank How and why should universities set up a think tank? That is the question that Jonathan Grant is often asked on his travels around the sector How and why should universities set up a think tank? That ...

‘the core idea that a university has is to establish a boundary spanning entity that helps to translate academic research into policy impacts.’

wonkhe.com/blogs/how-to...

Four challenges for funding research with societal goals Drawing on a recent study of systemic challenges to delivering research funding for societal change and evidence from a recent meeting of research funders, Andreas Kjær Stage, Carter Walter Bloch, …

‘Funders find it challenging to design funding programs with societal goals alongside academic and economic ones’
#science4policy

blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...

An introductory KE starter pack is here: do ask me to be added to the pack (or removed from it!) and we'll try to build a community of those with interests in, or related to, knowledge exchange, knowledge transfer, technology transfer and KE-mediated research impact.
go.bsky.app/8sC4hAL

Fine example of academic-policy engagement, strengthening the creation, sharing and use of scientific knowledge in public policy.

Interesting case of how scientific findings are used, or not, within the political realities of decision making.

‘As it stands, the EU proposal lacks a sufficient scientific basis and appears to be driven by political reasons rather than sound ecological data’

“Experts and scientists are migrating to Bluesky in record numbers.” Welcome if you’re new (and if you’re not, please help by reposting) - here’s a starter pack for the #biodiversity science-policy community:

go.bsky.app/LjV86zg

Add me please Mark. Thanks