Role of Science and Scientists in Collaborative Approaches to Environmental Policymaking
This MIT OpenCourseWare offering looks at joint fact-finding as a tool for adaptive and ecosystem-based natural resource management. The course walks through the obstacles that keep scientists, agency managers, and policymakers from agreeing on a shared factual basis before decisions get made, and it examines what federal agencies would need to change internally to make joint fact-finding a routine part of environmental policymaking rather than an exception. Class sessions bring in practicing scientists, resource managers, and senior federal policymakers to discuss real cases where science and societal decision-making intersected, successfully or not. The material draws on institutional case studies rather than abstract theory, focusing on the practical friction between technical expertise and political authority. As with other MIT OCW courses, materials include the syllabus, readings, and assignments as posted by the instructor, free to access, with no certificate offered. It suits students of environmental policy, public administration, or science and technology studies who want to see how contested facts get negotiated inside government.