Developing collaborative research to improve effectiveness in biodiversity conservation practice

Improving the application of long‐term ecology in conservation and land management

“…Collaboration between ecologists and managers can increase the effectiveness of management on the ground, in contrast with academic papers that often have limited impact on daily management decisions (Caudron, Vigier & Champigneulle 2012). This is reflected in the preference for collaborative management expressed in the CE.…”

Science–policy interface for addressing environmental problems in arid Spain

“…Other authors warn about the potential difficulties of attempting to implement solutions to certain problems effectively without the engagement of the general public (Raymond et al, 2009). In addition to including the local knowledge, collaboration and involvement of the general public contributes to ensuring the success of management actions and adds transparency to decision-making (Clark et al, 2011;Caudron et al, 2012). We consider the lack of general public representatives a limitation in our SPI experience, as they form a key group that should have been involved at the beginning.…”

The scientific councils of Alpine protected areas: an overview and analysis of their contribution to linking science and management

“…This long-term dimension has been identified as an important point in boundary science (e. g. see Caudron et al 2012). Getting familiar with scientists and acquiring good knowledge of their motivations and interests can help PA practitioners decide whether scientific insights will help them tackle a given management problem and, if so, whom they could mobilize.…”

“…But, unlike collaborative research programmes and embedded experiences, they function in an intermittent manner and do not directly enable scientists and practitioners to engage in intensive collaborative work. Save for a few exceptions, they cannot lead to the type of collaboration and outcome described by Caudron et al (2012), where river managers and scientists embarked together on a collaborative research action. Meeting PA practitioners (for a scientist) or scientists (for a PA practitioner) three times a year, even over 10 or 20 years, does not amount to working together intensively in a three-year research project or during a one-month stay in their institution.…”

“…Other forms of links between scientists and practitioners described in the literature are collaborative research projects associating practitioners and scientists (Caudron et al 2012), and embedded experiences, "which can range from conducting highly structured research to being a casual participant-observer in another community" (Jenkins et al 2012, 740). The SCs found in Alpine PAs present two major features considered crucial in these forms of links: their high level of trans-and inter-disciplinarity (see Young et al 2014), and their long-term dimension.…”