How can we develop research agendas that address differing stakeholder perspectives? Just out: "New Methods in Creating Transdisciplinary Science Policy Research Agendas: The Case of Legislative Science Advice” bit.ly/2DYsBni 1/9
Thanks to co-authors @cptyler @a_allegra @tomwebler @PublicHeath @EngageClimate @CarlaWashbourne and @INGSciAdvice #scipol
2/9 A growing literature describes collaborative efforts to identify and prioritize scientific questions of policy importance—aka “big questions”—by diverse communities of stakeholders (Rudd 2011, bit.ly/3fZPZ0F; Sutherland et al. 2011, bit.ly/2EbWiRw).
3/9 We use a case study—development of an international agenda to further the study and practice of legislative science advice (Akerlof et al., 2019, go.nature.com/31UG9Iy)—to illustrate one of the challenges of transdisciplinary research, differences in stakeholder priorities.
4/9 It is well-known that the results of expert consultation processes are highly dependent on the selection of participants (Webler et al. 1991, bit.ly/3l2Cd1g).
5/9 By employing Q methodology to illustrate the effects of stakeholder subjectivity on the prioritization of potential research questions on legislative science advice (LSA), we suggest a new opportunity for methodological innovation.
6/9 In our case study of LSA professionals, we find no difference in research question prioritization according to their roles (producers, providers, or users of scientific information), but do find differences between experts from developing and developed nations.
7/9 The largest differences between the research interests of developing and developed nation experts lie in their prioritization of studying LSA system design, especially in LMICs, versus a focus on understanding policymaker evidence use.
8/9 The identification by developing nation experts of a more diverse range of research priorities for legislative science advice (LSA) may reflect particular institutional characteristics, highlighting unique regional research needs .
9/9 Commonalities in research priorities among many international experts suggest that many questions will be of interest internationally, forming the basis of a shared LSA agenda.
