Science for environment policy: Internal evaluation report

Wilkinson, Clare; Grand, Ann

Abstract

Executive Summary
Science for Environment Policy is a free news and information service, designed to help policy-makers keep up to date with the latest environmental research that supports the design, implementation and regulation of effective policies. It was established in 2005, when it comprised only an emailed bulletin (the ‘News Alert’) and an online archive for News Alert articles. Science for Environment Policy has since expanded to offer a range of outputs including special Thematic Issues, an online database of policy-relevant studies (the ‘Research Repository’), briefing papers on emerging topics (‘Future Briefs’) and In-depth Reports on key policy topics.

Some of these outputs can be accessed via several routes. For example, articles featured in the News Alert can be viewed in the emailed bulletin, on the web site and in RSS feeds. A selection of articles is also posted in a Twitter feed designed to promote Science for Environment Policy. In May 2012, the News Alert had approximately 14,350 subscribers, the Twitter feed had 850 followers and the website, which houses the publications archives and Research Repository, received 70,714 visits.

This report details the key findings of an evaluation to assess: how the Science for Environment Policy service has responded to users’ needs, with particular attention to the effects of new services and access routes introduced in recent years; how the emerging issue of the importance of the impact of academic research has affected researchers whose work has been featured in the service’s publications; and what possible opportunities exist to embed and measure the impact of the Science for Environment Policy service in future. The data for this evaluation were collected via online surveys of users (441 respondents) and researchers (149 respondents) and through desk research.

• Other Type: Other
• Deposit Date: Jan 16, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 26, 2016
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: science for environment policy service, evaluation
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/941204
• Contract Date: Apr 26, 2016