Improving Science-Policy Interfaces: Recommendations for JPI Oceans

The report builds on the outcomes of the first publication of the CSA Oceans Work Package 5. In this public deliverable, we aim to supplement the outcomes of the consultations to determine the current and future needs of policy makers and advisors from relevant international, European and national public bodies. We also discuss what actions JPI Oceans could do to add value to existing science-policy mechanisms. This is considered in the context of joint programming, and looks at how other similar organisations have been effective at adding value. Firstly, we explore five examples of science-policy mechanisms as case studies. The case studies were selected to demonstrate examples of best practice, including examples highlighted by stakeholders and other known mechanisms, to explore how they work and what makes them effective. The second section of this report investigates how new technology and methodologies could be useful in improving science-policy interfaces. This section contains a number of specific examples of existing projects that could be considered relevant or cutting edge, while they are not discussed in detail, links have been provided for further reading. There are several examples of ongoing work in individual Member States; these examples are mostly drawn from the CSA Oceans consultation exercise. The third section explores how JPI Oceans could act to improve science-policy interfaces. This section looks at the recommendations made by stakeholders and attempts to briefly summarise the context and identifies how JPI Oceans could add value without duplicating existing efforts in the field. In this section we also discuss how JPI Oceans could add value to the science-policy interactions in ten strategic areas identified by its Strategic Advisory Board (StAB). These areas were defined in a workshop held between CSA Oceans and the StAB in July, 2014.