Systematic causal inference and knowledge transfer between science and policy: Eco Evidence in water management

Effectively transferring complex scientific ideas into the policy domain is a serious challenge, but an essential one given the important role of science in assessing the implications of a changing climate and resulting water shortages in Australia. Eco Evidence, a method for conducting systematic reviews of the scientific literature using causal criteria analysis, was developed for the eWater Cooperative Research Centre to help bridge this gap between science and policy. It provides a transparent and repeatable method for assessing the strength of the available scientific evidence regarding particular management actions. However, if evidence is used to justify decisions rather than to provide options and likely outcomes of these options to stakeholders, its effectiveness can be undermined. By drawing on interdisciplinary theories of uncertainty in the science-policy arena, this paper demonstrates how Eco Evidence can be used in evidence-based practice in a manner that does not interfere with the effective participation of a range of stakeholders in the decision-making process