Effective engagement between agency staff, academics, and policy makers is increasingly necessary for solving today’s environmental sustainability challenges, and especially for successful invasive species management. This type of collaboration is common for some managers and scientists, but remains challenging for a variety of reasons. Differing timelines and lack of alignment between research and management goals can be problematic, and scientific uncertainty can hinder application of research results. While leading a collaborative, multi-year and multi-stakeholder, Great Lakes invasive species research program, we surveyed participants to identify useful science-management engagement practices.
Results/Conclusions
Our survey and interactions with project participants identified seven best practices for invasive species science-management integration. These practices are based on a researcher-manager model composed of a research team, management advisory board (MAB), and bridging organization, with funding from an outside source. We found this type of system functions best when the team involved (1) has a compelling rationale for engagement; (2) identifies and uses key communicators from each team; (3) thoughtfully selects organizations and individuals involved; (4) provides logistical support for research and MAB teams; (5) has a flexible structure that prioritizes management needs; (6) sustains communication between in-person meetings; and (7) determines and enacts a project endpoint. The management advisory board and bridging organization play crucial and unique roles in this collaborative ecosystem.