The Science‐Natural Resource Policy Relationship: How Aspects of Diffusion Theory Explain Data Selection for Making Biodiversity Management Decisions

This study extends a previous project which examined the salience of neo-institutional theory in explaining how data are selected for use in making and implementing biodiversity management decisions. Our prior findings prompted us to examine the selection of data from federal, state or local, and nongovernmental sources using aspects of diffusion theory. We argue that diffusion theory also possesses explanatory value regarding the identification and selection of data within a natural resource agency. We empirically test our theory by analyzing original data collected from a 2007 survey of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service field offices. We find that drivers of diffusion identified by previous research are explanatory of how data are selected. Specifically, perceptions of other field offices’ data selection procedures and collaboration with interest or advocacy groups aid in explaining field office data selection. The results enhance our understanding of the science-natural resource policy relationship. Related Articles Hallock Morris, Mary. 2007. “The Political Strategies of Winning and Losing Coalitions: Agricultural and Environmental Groups in the Debate over Hypoxia.” Politics & Policy 35 (4): 836-871. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2007.00086.x/abstract Bakenova, Saule. 2008. “Interpreting the Emergence of Water Export Policy in Canada.” Politics & Policy 36 (4): 676-719. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2008.00125.x/abstract Neill, Katharine A., and John C. Morris. 2012. “A Tangled Web of Principals and Agents: Examining the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill through a Principal–Agent Lens.” Politics & Policy 40 (4): 629-656. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00371.x/abstract Related Media Film: by McBride, Dennis K. 2009. “Best Available Science: A Process for Evaluating the Validity and Applicability of Scientific Findings to Decision Making.” Lecture delivered to the National Science Foundation, December 12. National Capital Area Skeptics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3IuZ6Mqg18 Institute for Regulatory Science. 2013. “Best Available Science: Metrics for Evaluation of Scientific Claims.” March 15. http://www.nars.org/bas.html Este estudio expande la investigacion de un proyecto anterior que examino la importancia de la teoria neoinstitucional para explicar como se seleccionan los datos para tomar e implementar decisiones de manejo de biodiversidad. Nuestros hallazgos previos nos llevaron a utilizar aspectos de la teoria de la difusion para examinar la seleccion de datos tanto, de los distintos niveles de gobierno, como de fuentes nogubernamentales. Argumentamos que la teoria de la difusion tambien posee valor explicativo para la identificacion y seleccion de datos dentro de una agencia de recursos naturales. Ponemos a prueba nuestra teoria mediante el analisis de datos originales de una encuesta de las oficinas de campo del Servicio Estadounidense de Peces y Vida Salvaje publicada en el 2007. Encontramos que los motores de la difusion identificados en nuestra investigacion previa son importantes para explicar como seleccionar datos utiles para la hechura de decisiones del manejo de la biodiversidad. Los resultados amplian nuestra comprension de la relacion entre la ciencia y las politicas de recursos naturales.