The best-selling book title in the world of research policy: Scientists Are from Mars, Policymakers Are from Venus. OK, maybe not, but you’d be forgiven for thinking so.
The conventional wisdom and rhetoric is that decision-makers and scientists don’t see the world the same way,” says Erica Fleishman, an ecologist at the University of California, Davis. Scientists, thank you very much, are methodical, detail-focused, and partial to nuance and caveats. In contrast, policymakers want clear-cut solutions to real-world problems right now. Some people worry that scientists might not even be working hard enough on the issues most relevant to land managers.
Read the full article on the Science Mag website.