Policy support tool
EKLIPSE - Knowledge and Learning Mechanism on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
In light of the ongoing loss of biodiversity, there is a need to make the most of the huge amount of knowledge available on biodiversity and ecosystem services to help decision-makers at all scales make better decisions for our environment. This is the main motivation behind the H2020 funded EKLIPSE project (http://www.eklipse-mechanism.eu/home).
The EKLIPSE approach aims to improve the science-policy-society interface in Europe. It is funded for four years but the aim is to develop a sustainable mechanism that will be in place for many years to come. The development of the support mechanism through the project is facilitated by project partners. Their role is to facilitate linkages between science, policy and society, through different actions, such as knowledge synthesis, identifying research priorities, and building the Network of Networks that will support the other actions. A large part of the EKLIPSE budget of is made available to the wider community through open calls. The project, and the developing mechanism, is reactive. Most 3-5 year projects predict what will be important, or make an assumption on what policy and society actors should be interested in. We look at this from the end-users' perspective. This is why we have an open call for requests, so that policy-makers and other societal actors can tell us what they need, and can discuss with us how we can best meet their needs.
The EKLIPSE approach draws from a wide range of established synthesis methods available from social and natural sciences. We acknowledge and draw on different kinds of knowledge holders and make use of different forms of knowledge as needed. We base all aspects of our work on a coherent ethical infrastructure that aims to balance interests in transparency, inclusiveness and interests of those involved as far as possible. We hope these elements can allow everyone that gets involved in our activities to benefit from their involvement – from the high-quality outputs with high relevance, and/ or the experience involved experts in the processes gain from their engagement.
The aim of this resource is to present an innovative approach to the science-policy-society interface by asking policy and other societal actors ('requesters') about the knowledge they need, and bringing in the most relevant knowledge holders together to answer that knowledge need. As such, the approach is pro-active, tailored to policy needs, and draws on the best and most relevant knowledge to address policy and other societal knowledge needs.
The assessements, reports and other outputs produced through the EKLIPSE approach are likely toa hve strong policy and societal impact as they are answering these actors' needs directly. Our first request came from the European Commission, and is on nature-based solutions in cities. It led to the creation of an expert group (127 people applied to be part of what became a 15-strong group), a report that has since been used in policy contexts, including a briefing from the European Parliamentary Research Service.