Causes of the research-implementation gap in ecological science and management: viewpoints among researchers and decision makers in Brazil

• Grant number: 14/26182-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2015
• End date: April 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Renata Pardini
• Grantee: Diana Bertuol Garcia
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

We are experiencing today a severe environmental crisis that may threat our own livelihoods in the long run. Although societal trust in scientific knowledge as a mean to solve environmental problems is increasing, scientific knowledge rarely supports decision making, a problem known as the science-practice gap. A variety of causes and solutions to this problem have being proposed, suggesting that there is not a single way forward. As the effectiveness of problem-solving initiatives is greatly dependent on the behavior of the people involved, which in turn are influenced by their values and opinions, mechanisms to bridge the science-practice gap should take into account the viewpoints of researchers and practitioners. This project aims to contribute to the formulation of mechanisms to bring together research and practice in ecological science and management in Brazil, by identifying the viewpoints on the causes of the science-practice gap among researchers and decision makers. First, a literature review on the topic will be conducted with a subsequent text analysis by cutting and sorting, which will produce a conceptual framework describing key types of causes. Secondly, 20 researchers in ecology and 20 environmental decision makers will be interviewed based on the Q methodology to identify the different viewpoints on the causes of the research-implementation gap. The Q-set will be produced based on the conceptual framework of types of causes and the P-set will be based on a random sample of researchers and practitioners stratified by the five Brazilian regions. Q-sorts will be subjected to factor analysis to compare similarities and differences in viewpoints both within and between researchers and practitioners. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BERTUOL-GARCIA, DIANA; MORSELLO, CARLA; EL-HANI, CHARBEL N.; PARDINI, RENATA. Shared ways of thinking in Brazil about the science-practice interface in ecology and conservation. Conservation Biology, v. 34, n. 2, p. 449-461, APR 2020. (14/26182-0)

BERTUOL-GARCIA, DIANA; MORSELLO, CARLA; EL-HANI, CHARBEL N.; PARDINI, RENATA. A conceptual framework for understanding the perspectives on the causes of the science-practice gap in ecology and conservation. BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, v. 93, n. 2, p. 1032-1055, MAY 2018. (14/26182-0)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

GARCIA, Diana Bertuol. The science-practice interface in Ecology and Conservation: a conceptual framework and shared ways of thinking among scientists and decision-makers. 2017. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB) São Paulo.