The Nexus Seminar will provide some facts on what the science-policy gap is, why it exists and what needs to be done to address it. This will be done by exploring avenues for science to better support and inform decision-making and provide some examples of transdisciplinary sciences as a means for more social impact-oriented science. Next, the Seminar will provide an overview of the work done within the Cost Action NEXUSNET on policy measures and present some of the results we are elaborating related to where the nexus research effort is going (regions within Europe and topics), and in which way we want to address the policy impact of nexus research.
About the Speaker: Dr Barbara Willaarts
Bárbara Willaarts (PhD) is an environmental scientist working in the Water Security Research Group from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and as a Senior Researcher at ICATALIST. She has over 16 years of professional experience, and her research covers a broad range of topics relevant to water-food-energy nexus governance and sustainability transitions. It also benefits from an international reach through geographical settings ranging from Europe to Latin America, and, more recently, Africa and Asia. Her work is driven by two main principles. One is collaborative and interdisciplinary research to explore complex problems and find joint and sustainable solutions. Two, impact-oriented research in and beyond academia to enhance the social and policy relevance of science. In addition to her work as an academic, she is also an independent consultant, and benefits from a wide experience working with different regional and international organisations. Much of this work is geared towards making scientific knowledge accessible to all relevant stakeholders, including the policymakers, to support informed decision-making.
Background of the Series:
UNU-FLORES, in collaboration with PRISMA – Centre for Sustainability Assessment and Policy on behalf of TU Dresden, is excited to announce the Nexus Seminar Series. The joint seminar series, which launched in 2015, features lectures by senior scholars and successful practitioners that highlight all dimensions of research on the Nexus Approach, ranging from hands-on implementation strategies to theoretical debates. The Nexus Seminars serve not only as a platform for scientific exchange and cooperation between UNU-FLORES and TU Dresden but also as a medium for the partner institutions to discuss their research with a broader audience. The Nexus Seminar, which takes place monthly during the academic semester, is open to the public and delivered in a digital format through online webinars.
