Bridging the Gap Between Science and Decision-Making

The briefing outlines the role of boundary organizations, such as the Climate Impacts Group and the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, in bridging the gap between climate science and policy. It highlights two primary case studies: the development of a Sea Level Rise Planning Toolkit for Washington State and the co-production of climate vulnerability assessment resources for Northwest and Great Basin tribes. Dr. Snover emphasizes a three-pronged approach—educating, enabling, and embedding—to ensure scientific data is actionable for resource managers and planners. The document concludes by arguing for increased federal support to meet the growing demand for decision-relevant climate science and the importance of regional centers in tailoring science to local needs.

• The Climate Impacts Group employs a three-part strategy to connect science and decision-making: educating key actors on risks, enabling the use of science in risk management, and embedding scientists directly into management processes.
• The Washington Coastal Resilience Project developed sea level rise projections that improved upon previous data by incorporating polar ice sheet science, providing highly localized and probabilistic data, and extending projections to 2150 to support tribal long-term planning.
• The sea level rise data led to tangible infrastructure changes in the City of Tacoma, where MetroParks redesigned a coastal park to relocate buildings away from the future shoreline and reorient access to accommodate rising seas.
• To support Northwest and Great Basin tribes, a tailored online tool was created to provide climate summaries and vulnerability assessment resources across diverse geographies, including traditional territories and ceded lands, rather than just reservation boundaries.
• The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center provided a 'Tribal Climate Technical Support Desk' to offer sustained assistance via hotline and email for interpreting data and conducting vulnerability assessments.
• The federal government is urged to incentivize science-based action and sustain regional capacity, while regional boundary organizations serve as conduits to leverage federal resources for local benefit and relay local needs back to the federal level.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2020). Bridging the Gap Between Science and Decision-Making. https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_041620.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Bridging the Gap Between Science and Decision-Making. 2020. https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_041620.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Bridging the Gap Between Science and Decision-Making |date=April 2020 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_041620.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2020bridging, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Bridging the Gap Between Science and Decision-Making}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_041620.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }