What one knows is unknown to others: A sediment transport study and its policy application

Abstract

The uptake of scientific knowledge is not always a grand affair. Many observers assume that scientists need to communicate with high-ranking government officials to influence policy. Grandiosely seen, scientists’ views and understandings are utilised by government officials to change a national, provincial, or local government policy. Scientists can also communicate scientific knowledge with government officials in a ‘low-key’ manner where public administrators are not at the top of the governmental hierarchy. This paper reports on a dialogue between scientists from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and officials from the South African Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) regarding a sediment research project in the Olifants River, South Africa. One of our results is that how scientists view the policy environment could have a bearing on the nature of their initiatives to develop uptake strategies. A view that exclusively highlights governments as policy actors could inevitably exclude non-state actors and vice versa.