Developing science-based policy advice : Report - PhD Summer School 2019

In August 2019, a five-day-summer school on science-based policy advice was held at the Thunen Institute in Braunschweig. The summer school introduced several theories of science-based policy advice, practical examples for science-based policy advice, as well as an exercise on how to write advisory statement. Additionally, an excursion to the fields and stables of the Thunen Institute of Organic Agriculture in Trenthorst was planned. The summer school had also an active part for the participants with a practical exercise of an advisory presentation of science-based policy advice. The Thunen Institute, as a Federal Research Institute under the BMEL mandate, is responsible for giving science-based policy advice to the BMEL, but also to other ministries, international bodies, regional governments, NGO's, political parties and farmers unions. The institute provides research and collects data for greenhouse gas accounting in forestry and rural areas, for fishery inventories, agricultural trade, etc., on behalf of the BMEL. Those data are the subject of international negotiations such as the UNFCCC, on the EU fish catch quotas, and others. Policy advice by the Thunen Institute is, when the requests are interdisciplinary such as those on greenhouse gases or climate change, coordinated by the specialized Coordination Unit Climate and Soil or inKA. The Coordination Unit Climate and Soil is based at Thunen Institute, collects the advice predominantly at the Thunen Institute and mainly focuses on greenhouse gases, whereas inKa is based at the Agrometeorological Institute of the DWD, focusses more on adaptation and coordinates advice by several federal research institutes. The advice coordination is required, since the ministries often request advice on short notice, within the running political processes. This is especially difficult when the requests are interdisciplinary. For timely, accurate and successful advice, the communication with the client requesting advice is indispensable. The language chosen and the format depend on the needs and person sending the request. Thus it is advisable to know the requesters or simply ask them about their specific needs. Moreover the mutual trust between advisor and policy makers, same as for the policy makers to the advisor is important. Therefore the independence of the research and science-based policy advice has to exist. Another point of discussion was the objectivity of advice, which is a central point of science-based policy advice. Even if every person has a position, science-based policy advice needs to be based on evident numbers and clean research practices, which leads into the maximum of objectivity. Further the policy advisors should communicate uncertainties and different opinions, as far as they exist.