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Special Announcement: “Post Normal Science – perspectives & prospectives”

On the occasion of the 80th birthday of Jerry Ravetz, a reflective workshop will be held 26-27th June 2009 in Oxford.

Visit the workshop website for more information.

Robust knowledge for Sustainability
  • Policies for sustainability cannot wait until all the facts are known.
  • We must plan and implement radical changes in technology and lifestyle, in spite of irreducible uncertainty, ignorance, and value-conflicts.
  • The commitment of all of civil society is necessary for such changes to be accomplished; thus sustainability is a moral issue.
  • The relevant knowledge base must be robust in relation to the constraints and demands of this new context of use.
  • It must be designed to be fit for its various functions in the discursive, inclusive policy processes on complex issues that are essential for consensus.
  • All stakeholders (including those who produce, use and are affected by policy-relevant knowledge) should be equipped with tools for a critical self-awareness of their engagement with that knowledge.
  • These are now being created by developments based on the insights of NUSAP and Post-Normal Science.
  • In that way we will achieve the robust knowledge that is essential for sustainability.

Jerry Ravetz, 14-08-2002

This website is maintained by Jeroen van der Sluijs (editor-in-chief, Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development and Innovation, e-mail: j.p.vandersluijs@chem.uu.nl), Silvio Funtowicz, Jerry Ravetz, Serafin Corral Quintana, James Risbey and Ângela Guimaraes Pereira.

Book launch: Science for Policy
Posted by Jeroen on Wednesday, October 21 2009 @ 23:29:10 CEST (507 reads)
News and announcements A new book "Science for Policy" edited by Ângela Guimarães Pereira and Silvio Funtowicz appeared with Oxford University Press (India).

On Thursday 5 November the book will be launched at the Université de Versailles St-Quentin-en-Yvelines (Guyancourt site), in the presence of both editors and most of the contributors.

This volume discusses the changing role of science in policymaking. Producers and users of science and technology for policy are increasingly aware of the need to change the ways in which knowledge is produced and deployed, especially science‐based knowledge used to foster, support, or legitimize policy decision making. The challenge is to develop new decision‐making styles in order to cope with deep uncertainty, even ignorance, about facts, and in a plurality of value systems.

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NUSAP used in undergraduate science education at Aalborg University
Posted by Jeroen on Tuesday, October 13 2009 @ 14:45:51 CEST (344 reads)
News and announcements A group of students from Aalborg University applied the NUSAP approach to the risk of methane migration into houses situated on the terminated landfill “Skrænten” in Hjørring, Denmark”. The team consists of Marie Inger Dam, Jon Kjær Jensen, Jóhann Gunnar Jónsson, Mathias Krause Kristensen, Ane Katrine Mortensen, Ole Papsø, Mette Skovmand and Tom Børsen. Their report "Inclusion of Pedigree-analysis (NUSAP) in undergraduate science education: An example" is now available. It may serve as an example and source of inspiration for other students and professors who would like to use NUSAP in BSc and MSc education.
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New Report: Tool catalogue frame-based information tools
Posted by Jeroen on Friday, May 29 2009 @ 12:33:08 CEST (960 reads)
News and announcements A new report Tool catalogue frame-based information tools has been published.

In the perception, knowledge production and policymaking on complex issues (‘wicked problems’), such as climate change, frames and framing play an important but often hidden role. Frames relate to one’s ‘schemas of interpretation’; the conceptual images, values, starting points, and mental models that one may have of an issue. This can include, for instance, one’s problem definition, perceptions of the cause-effect relationships in an issue, one’s primary goals, perception of one’s and others’ roles and responsibilities relating to the issue, and views on suitable strategies and interaction with (other) stakeholders
Differences in frames can lead to miscommunication and conflicts. This tool catalogue is intended as an idea-guide and eye-opener for organisations who are confronted with framing-related issues and who want to take these into account when developing knowledge, policy, or viewpoints. The catalogue does not aim to give a complete list of methods. Rather, it will present a number of characteristic examples of how various tools deal with framing. Some suggestions will be given on the situations for which these approaches are most suitable. For more extensive overviews of participatory methods, refer to the various stakeholder participation guidelines and catalogues that are available (several references have been included in the present document).

Download Tool catalogue frame-based information tools

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Recent journal articles on Post Normal Science and Uncertainty
Posted by Jeroen on Friday, May 29 2009 @ 11:53:22 CEST (882 reads)
News and announcements An overview of recent papers in the field of Post Normal Science
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Expert Elicitation: Methodological suggestions
Posted by Jeroen on Thursday, January 22 2009 @ 15:21:00 CET (1504 reads)
News and announcements A new report Expert Elicitation: Methodological suggestions for its use in environmental health impact assessments has been published. It provides practical guidance on organising expert panels to assess uncertainty and risk.

Download Expert Elicitation report

This document contains three parts: (1) an introduction, (2) an overview with building blocks and methodological suggestions for a formal expert elicitation procedure; and (3) a literature list with key sources of information used and suggestions for further reading.
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Uncertainty Communication: Issues and good practice.
Posted by Jeroen on Wednesday, January 09 2008 @ 10:58:19 CET (3415 reads)
News and announcements A practical guide to uncertainty communication has been developed for the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. It offers background information on uncertainty communication, and contains suggestions and guidance on how to communicate uncertainties in environmental assessment reports to several target audiences in an adequate, clear, and systematic way. It is not claimed that this is the only way or the best way to communicate uncertainty information, but the guidance in this report draws upon insights from the literature, insights from an international expert workshop on uncertainty communication, and several uncertainty communication experiments in the Utrecht Policy Laboratory.
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New report on uncertainty and climate change adaptation
Posted by Jeroen on Friday, December 21 2007 @ 15:34:19 CET (3968 reads)
News and announcements Copernicus Institute Utrecht University and Tyndall Centre for climate change research issued a new report reviewing state-of-the-art of methods and tools available in the literature in helping inform adaptation decisions under uncertainty. The report reviews existing frameworks for decision making under uncertainty for adaptation to climate change. It explores how different ways of including uncertainty in decision making match with uncertainty information provided by various uncertainty assessment methods. It reviews a broad range of areas of climate change impacts and impacted sectors of society and economy that may require a response of planned adaptation.
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Towards a new paradigm of science in scientific policy advising
Posted by Jeroen on Monday, October 15 2007 @ 12:02:47 CEST (3773 reads)
News and announcements Post Normal Science essay by Eva Kunseler: Towards a new paradigm of science in scientific policy advising.

The prevailing paradigm of science is not suitable for the science policy context with its different perceptions of reality and presence of great scientific uncertainty and ignorance. A paradigm shift is argued by the concept of post-normal science, which emerged from dissatisfaction with knowledge arising from the gap between policy questions and scientific answers. Scientific policy advising in normal and post-normal context exemplify the line of reasoning.

Download Eva Kunseler's essay
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Post Normal Science, working deliberatively within imperfections
Posted by Jeroen on Wednesday, April 11 2007 @ 11:15:09 CEST (4541 reads)
News and announcements An introductory lecture Post Normal Science, working deliberatively within imperfections by Dr. Jeroen van der Sluijs is now available online at WUR TV.

Note: after clicking it can take some minutes before the video starts...The lecture was held at Studium Generale of Wageningen University on 21 March 2007.

Click here to see the lecture on WUR TV with smart navigation through the slides (requires Internet Explorer), please note that after clicking the link it takes some minutes for the video to start.

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e-KAM SCHOOL E-Learning Course On Knowledge Assessment & Extended Participation
Posted by Jeroen on Monday, July 31 2006 @ 00:48:51 CEST (4334 reads)
News and announcements 2-6 October 2006
Course without fees
Limited number of participants
Registration: before 22 September 2006
Contact: e.kam-school@jrc.it
WebSite: http://reforma.fceye.ull.es/ekschool

The e-KAM School will provide courses on knowledge assessment and extended participation, deploying e-learning technology, developed at the University of La Laguna (supported by the EU funded project RE-FORMA (INTERREG III-B Programme).
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Categories
· Archived articles (06/19)


Past Articles
Monday, September 26 2005

· Global Systems Failures


Tuesday, July 19 2005

· The Precautionary Principle


Sunday, February 27 2005

· The Post-Normal Times


Friday, February 25 2005

· Interactive Web application of Uncertainty Guidance instruments


Wednesday, October 20 2004

· Uncertainty and Precaution in Environmental Management: insights from UPEM


Wednesday, September 01 2004

· WORLDWIDE VIRTUAL NETWORK OF YOUNG PRACTITIONERS WORKING ON SCIENCE AND SOCIETY


Wednesday, August 25 2004

· Short Course Model Uncertainty Analysis (13-14 October 2004)


Wednesday, July 28 2004

· Summer school on sensitivity analysis in Venice


Wednesday, May 26 2004

· Course: Genetic engineering; Connecting science, risk and communities


Tuesday, April 27 2004

· Uncertainty and Precaution in Environmental Management (UPEM 2004)


Monday, April 26 2004

· New book on sensitivity analysis


Tuesday, March 16 2004

· Uncertainty assessment of NOx, SO2 and NH3 emissions in the Netherlands


Wednesday, March 03 2004

· Safety Paradoxes - revised
· Towards Guidance in Assessing and Communicating Uncertainties


Saturday, November 29 2003

· Professor Poul Harremoës died


Monday, August 04 2003

· Towards a synthesis of qualitative and quantitative uncertainty assessment


Monday, July 21 2003

· Workshop: Interfaces between science and society, 27-28 nov 2003, Milano


Monday, June 23 2003

· RIVM/MNP guidance for uncertainty assessment and communication


Thursday, June 12 2003

· Workshop: Uncertainty in environmental health risk science and policy


Saturday, May 17 2003

· Mini sysmposium:
The management of uncertainty in risk science and policy



Tuesday, January 28 2003

· Symposium: Uncertainty and Precaution in Environmental Management (June 2004)


Tuesday, November 05 2002

· Ruskin and the Scientists


Tuesday, October 29 2002

· The Precautionary Principle, Knowledge Uncertainty, and Environmental Assessment


Monday, October 07 2002

· MUST Session at November FP6 conference


Thursday, September 12 2002

· Safety in the Globalising Knowledge Economy


Wednesday, June 19 2002

· One day free course on Sensitivity Analysis at the JRC - Ispra.


Friday, June 07 2002

· Conference announcement: Foresight
· EoI Management of Uncertainty in science for suSTainability sent to Brussels


Tuesday, May 28 2002

· Utrecht University to start Master Sustainable Development


Monday, May 27 2002

· State of affairs FP6 EoI Uncertainty Management


Older Articles




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