Navigating Spaces Between Conservation Research and Practice: Are We Making Progress?

Date
2020-11
Authors
Jarvis, RM
Borrelle, SB
Forsdick, NJ
Pérez‐Hämmerle, K
Dubois, NS
Griffin, SR
Recalde‐Salas, A
Buschke, F
Rose, DC
Archibald, CL
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley
Abstract
  1. Despite aspirations for conservation impact, mismatches between research and implementation have limited progress towards this goal. There is, therefore, an urgent need to identify how we can more effectively navigate the spaces between research and practice.

  2. In 2014, we ran a workshop with conservation researchers and practitioners to identify mismatches between research and implementation that needed to be overcome to deliver evidence‐informed conservation action. Five mismatches were highlighted: spatial, temporal, priority, communication, and institutional.

  3. Since 2014, thinking around the ‘research–implementation gap’ has progressed. The term ‘gap’ has been replaced by language around the dynamic ‘spaces’ between research and action, representing a shift in thinking around what it takes to better align research and practice.

  4. In 2019, we ran a follow‐up workshop reflecting on this shift, whether the five mismatches identified in the 2014 workshop were still present in conservation, and whether progress had been made to overcome these mismatches during the past 5 years. We found that while there has been progress, we still have some way to go across all dimensions.

  5. Here, we report on the outcomes of the 2019 workshop, reflect on what has changed over the past 5 years, and offer 10 recommendations for strengthening the alignment of conservation research and practice.

Description
Keywords
Actionable knowledge; Conservation mismatch; Conservation research and practice environmental impact; Evidence‐informed policy and practice; Knowing–doing gap; Research–implementation gap; Transdisciplinary research
Source
Ecological Solutions and Evidence, Volume1, Issue2, November 2020, e12028
Rights statement
© 2020 The Authors. Ecological Solutions and Evidence published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.