Strengthening Science-Based Decision Making

Summary: The National Academies have formed a partnership to develop and strengthen the linkages between scientists and decision-makers in developing countries. The partnership will a support series of "science in decision-making" workshops that will provide an opportunity for scientists to engage with fellow scientists and governmental decision-makers to 1) discuss practical applications of science in decision-making, and 2) explore ways of strengthening knowledge-action partnerships. The partnership was registered as an official "Type II Partnership" by the United Nations, in the context of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The workshops will address global priorities in Agenda 21, the Millennium Declaration, and WSSD, that are important to host-country scientists and decision-makers and that, in their view, would benefit substantially from more scientific input in the decision-making process. Each workshop will be summarized in a report.