Strengthening the Science-to-Policy Interface in the Western Indian Ocean Region

This policy brief outlines strategies to enhance the science-to-policy interface in the Western Indian Ocean region to improve the governance of marine and coastal systems. It identifies key barriers to policy uptake—such as mismatched timeframes and a lack of trust—and proposes moving toward 'dialogic science-policy networks' and co-produced knowledge. The document emphasizes the need for institutional reforms in research evaluation to reward policy impact over mere publication and suggests specific strategies for building trust and managing the 'boundary' between science and decision-making.

• The Western Indian Ocean region utilizes several mechanisms to bridge the gap between science and policy, notably the Nairobi Convention and the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA). The Nairobi Convention, established in 1985 and effective since 1996, engages littoral countries to protect the shared marine environment. To further these goals, a Forum for Academic and Research Institutions and a Science–to–Policy Platform were created to integrate scientific evidence into national management and serve as an intermediary between science and society.
• Researchers face significant systemic challenges in ensuring their findings are adopted by policymakers. These include a mismatch in timeframes—where grant-funded research cycles are longer than policy cycles—and a lack of mutual understanding regarding the language and processes used by each group. Additionally, there is often a lack of trust and inadequate consultation during the formulation of policies, as well as a need to move from linear communication to interactive, two-way knowledge sharing.
• To improve the uptake of science in policy, researchers are encouraged to 'manage the boundary' by focusing on three attributes of the information produced: credibility (the authority of the evidence), salience (relevance to the specific needs of decision makers), and legitimacy (the perception of an unbiased and fair process). This involves three primary functions: improving iterative communication, enhancing the translation and framing of messages, and increasing mediation when conflicts between actors cannot be resolved through understanding alone.
• Trust is a critical facilitator for evidence-based decision-making, requiring stability at the individual, organizational, and process levels. Specific strategies to build and manage this trust include maintaining transparency, avoiding advocacy for specific outcomes, establishing clear knowledge-development processes, maintaining regular (preferably face-to-face) contact, and demonstrating independence.
• Conventional linear policymaking is often inadequate for 'wicked problems' like environmental sustainability. An alternative is the use of 'dialogic science–policy networks,' which are long-term interactions between scientists, stakeholders, and policymakers across multiple governance levels. These networks rely on co-produced knowledge and can increase the legitimacy and flexibility of decision-making, though they face challenges such as power imbalances and slow agreement processes.
• Institutional reforms are necessary to support researchers in promoting policy uptake. Current evaluation systems in academic institutions often overemphasize publication outputs over actual impact. The document suggests that research institutions should adjust performance criteria and monitoring and evaluation systems to recognize efforts to encourage policy uptake, and that training programs should incorporate science–policy communication.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2021). Strengthening the Science-to-Policy Interface in the Western Indian Ocean Region. https://saiia.org.za/research/strengthening-the-science-to-policy-interface-in-the-western-indian-ocean-region/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Strengthening the Science-to-Policy Interface in the Western Indian Ocean Region. 2021. https://saiia.org.za/research/strengthening-the-science-to-policy-interface-in-the-western-indian-ocean-region/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Strengthening the Science-to-Policy Interface in the Western Indian Ocean Region |date=14 July 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/strengthening-the-science-to-policy-interface-in-the-western-indian-ocean-region/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2021strengthening, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Strengthening the Science-to-Policy Interface in the Western Indian Ocean Region}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/strengthening-the-science-to-policy-interface-in-the-western-indian-ocean-region/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }