PICO
The science-policy-practice (SPP) nexus approach is considered optimal in the sustainable management and governance of water resources, which lies at the heart of the global development. Whilst the science-policy interaction has received considerable attention, the practice component of this nexus remains to be comprehensively promoted for both improving operational hydrology services and achieving science-informed policies.
Operational hydrology as part of practice is defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as “the real-time and regular measurement, collection, processing, archiving and distribution of hydrological, hydrometeorological and cryospheric data, and the generation of analyses, models, forecasts and warnings which inform water resources management and support water-related decisions, across a spectrum of temporal and spatial scales'' (WMO, 2019). The operationalization of research for hydrological services is not straightforward.
Whilst applied hydrology research is of direct relevance to many professionals - such as national hydromet agencies and catchment managers - uptake is still limited. Development and sharing of methods/tools by the scientific community is necessary for translating scientific information into a format facilitating education, decisionmaking and policy formulation (UNESCO IHP IX, 2022-2029). Making hydrology research actionable should be a priority strategy in the design of knowledge translation mechanisms. In the context of SPP, this requires alignment of needs/expectations and an understanding of the frameworks that different stakeholders must work within, and the agendas/ legal constraints contemporary and salient to them and their funders.
Liaising with stakeholders, policy-makers, and society is needed not only to turn research into impactful action but also to improve research outcomes by capturing issues that cannot be understood via disciplinary lenses. It is necessary to create the interdisciplinary knowledge needed to address the questions faced by decision-makers and all the societal stakeholders.
For this session, we welcome contributions on interdisciplinary collaborations and existing hydrology initiatives, organizations, and networks that offer modalities and frameworks aimed at connecting typically isolated stakeholders of research and improving hydrological research-services interface on various scales and directions.