Fire manager agreement/disagreement with 16 potential barriers to using research (n=530).Fire Manager Agreement/Disagreement • December 8th, 2010
Interagency wildland fire policy directs manager to apply “best available science” to management plans and activities. But what does “best available science” mean? With a vague definition of this concept and few guidelines for delivering or integrating science into management, it can be difficult for scientists to effectively provide managers with the science they need. As a result, valuable information and tools can go unused. To better understand the factors influencing research use, principal investigator Vita Wright conducted a literature review, agency meetings, in-depth interviews, and a survey of approximately 500 fire and fuels specialists and decision makers. Her study was based on social science theory, including the Diffusion of Innovations theory, which notes that there is a time lag between the introduction of
