Understanding the Changing Roles of Scientists and Scientific Information in Natural Resource Decision Making: A Pilot Study with the LTER Program

虽然大多数理论家和参与者期望——包括生态科学家和信息——将提高复杂自然资源决策的质量，但很少有实证研究能明确证实这种好处。而且，越来越多的经验证据表明，决策者和科学家之间不同的制度需求和文化价值观之间的紧张关系可能会妨碍在此类决策中有效地利用科学。这项试点研究的目标是确定是否有可能捕捉和衡量资源决策参与者对生态科学和科学家在一个分散治理、权力共享、协作管理以及公民对专家和政府资源机构不信任的世界中不断变化的角色的态度和期望。试点研究的目的是确定与科学家的期望、需求和使用以及科学信息相关的复杂问题是否可以通过一个结构化的协议来明确地进行操作，从而进行测量，该协议可以在自然资源决策中对广泛的参与者进行管理。本研究的数据将主要通过对太平洋西北地区自然资源决策参与者的深入访谈来收集。参与者小组将包括LTER科学家、联邦和州自然资源管理人员和决策者，以及参与资源决策过程的中央瀑布的个人。来自定性访谈的数据将用于将关注的问题付诸实施，特别是生态科学和科学家的可用角色，以及为有效利用科学决策提供激励和约束的制度和文化特征。将根据这些问题制定结构化调查协议的问题。为了测试协议的可靠性和有效性，我们将对太平洋西北地区参与或对自然资源决策感兴趣的个人样本进行邮寄调查。数据的收集和管理将有可能在其他研究站点以及其他研究计划或项目中重复。-如果成功，在这个试点工作中开发和测试的协议-可以应用于参与自然资源决策的广泛个人，以了解所有参与者对生态科学和生态科学家在这些过程中的作用的期望和信念。我们将能够更好地描述决策过程中的参与者如何看待科学在这些过程中的性质和功能，参与者对科学作用的看法如何影响将生态信息和科学家纳入管理过程和公共宣传工作的努力，以及参与者如何看待科学家在自然资源决策中可能扮演的不同角色。这项研究还将为社会科学家提出的关于复杂决策中对科学专业知识的需求与解决问题的民主参与之间的紧张关系的问题提供实证支持。

While most theorists and participants expect that-including ecological scientists and information will improve the quality of complex natural resource-decisions, there is little empirical research that clearly verifies such benefits. And, there is-increasing experiential evidence that tensions between the distinct institutional needs and cultural-values of decision makers and scientists may preclude the effective use of science in such-decisions. The goal of this pilot study is to determine whether it is possible to capture and measure-the attitudes and expectations of participants in resource decisions about the changing roles of-ecological science and scientists in a world of decentralized governance, shared power,-collaborative management, and citizen mistrust of experts and government resource agencies. The-pilot study is designed to determine whether complex issues related to the expectations, needs, and-uses of scientists and scientific information can be operationalized clearly enough to be measured-through a structured protocol that can be administered to a wide array of participants in natural-resource decision making. Data for this study will be collected primarily through in-depth interviews with-a wide variety of Pacific Northwest participants in natural resource decision making. Participant-groups will include LTER scientists, federal and state natural resource managers and decision-makers, as well as individuals in the Central Cascades who have been involved in resource-decision processes. Data from the qualitative interviews will be used to operationalize issues of-concern, particularly available roles for ecological science and scientists as well as the institutional-and cultural features that provide incentives and constraints for the effective use of science in-decision making. Questions for a structured survey protocol will be developed from these issues.-To test the protocol for reliability and validity, we will conduct a mail-out survey with a sample of-individuals in the Pacific Northwest who are involved or interested in natural resource decision-making. Data will be collected and managed with the potential for replications at other LTER-research sites as well as other research programs or projects.-If successful, the protocol developed and tested in this pilot effort-can be administered to a wide array of individuals involved in natural resource decision making in-order to understand the expectations and beliefs that all participants have about-the role of ecological science and ecological scientists in those processes. We will be able to better-describe how participants in decision processes view the nature and functions of science in-those processes, how participants' perceptions of the role of-science affect efforts to involve ecological information and scientists in management-processes and public outreach efforts, and how participants perceive different roles that scientists may play in natural resource-decision making. This research will also provide empirical support for issues raised by social-scientists about tensions between the need for scientific expertise in complex decision making and-democratic participation in problem solving.