Proposition de stage de M2/ Master student Proposal

Année / Year 2010/2011

Titre du stage/Title : The role of research findings in applied management decisions and policy making

Laboratoire d’accueil :
Intitulé du laboratoire ou de la structure:
Centre d’études Biologiques de Chizé CEBC, USC CNRS/INRA, 79360, Beauvoir sur Niort www.cebc.cnrs.fr
Intitulé de l’équipe : Equipe AGRIPOP (http://www.agripopchize.fr/)

Responsable du stage :
Nom: Rosalind BRYCE, Vincent BRETAGNOLLE & Elsa BERTHET
Tél :05 49 09 78 17
Email :breta@cebc.cnrs.fr
Description du stage
This project is associated with a European project called Ecocycles which is funded by the European Union through BiodivERsA, an initiative promoting international research projects on biodiversity research with an emphasis on the link between scientific evidence and relevance to policy and management (www.ecocycles-europe.org).
The project will involve conducting interviews with a range of people involved with agricultural land management, conservation and research. The aim is to characterise the pathways by which knowledge from scientific research is transferred between individuals and organisations, and to what extent it is used in policy making and decisions related to conservation management on agricultural land for biodiversity. The relationship between research and decision making is often discussed but the processes involved are unclear for many stakeholders.

In this project, we seek to understand in particular the management of agricultural land to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services. A question that will be addressed is: how much grassland is enough to optimise the production of ecosystem services at a territorial scale in a cereal-growing plain?
The methodology proposed is first to organise a fora with a dozen of stakeholders (conservationists, scientists, managers and policy makers), then carry out questionnaires and interviews.
Understanding the networks through which information from research travel will allow us to determine barriers to the use of evidence-based research in decision making and inform stakeholders about their position in these networks. The results should contribute to finding ways of improving pathways of communication between stakeholders involved in conservation of agricultural land.

The student will work with researchers at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland during the design stages of the project and then carry out the data collection and analysis in France while based at CNRS in Chize. Data collection and analyses will involve both quantitative and quantitative techniques based on interview transcripts. This project would suit to a student interested in ecology, conservation management and public policy. Excellent communication skills are required as well as a good standard of English.

Conditions d’accueil:
The student will be hosted on the site of the CEBC, in a low cost building for trainees (possibility to cook). The student will have access to the restaurant of the laboratory and will receive a stipend.

Please contact Vincent Bretagnolle (breta@cebc.cnrs.fr) or Rosalind Bryce (r.bryce@abdn.ac.uk) for more information.