Lessons for introducing stakeholders to environmental evidence synthesis

Abstract

Involving stakeholders in systematic reviews is common practice and is advised in the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence (CEE) Guidelines (v.4.2). Frameworks for engaging stakeholders exist and should be used; however, there are additional lessons to be learned in a country, or region where evidence-based environmental management is an emerging paradigm. Based on our experience working with Canadian governmental institutions, we provide five lessons that we have learned while introducing stakeholders to the CEE systematic review (hereafter SR) process. These lessons are: (1) Advocate for a systematic review with broad geographical scope and target audience; (2) Control stakeholder mission-creep; (3) Establish a mutually beneficial timeline; (4) Reduce the potential of biased targeted searches; and (5) Manage stakeholder expectations. By incorporating these lessons into existing frameworks, we hope to make the introduction of SRs to stakeholders more efficient to conserve resources and maintain long-lasting, productive relationships between the review team and stakeholders.