New BioAgora paper explores actor networks within the biodiversity science-policy-society interface

The future Science Service for Biodiversity (SSBD), the centrepiece of BioAgora’s efforts, is meant to bridge the gap between knowledge holders and decision-makers, thereby fostering informed, evidence-based policy at the European level. Naturally, realising this aspiration hinges upon a comprehensive understanding of the various stakeholders operating at the science-policy-society interface on biodiversity. 

In pursuit of this goal, BioAgora produced a social network analysis of the actor landscape, with a particular focus on the European Union (EU). The findings areavailable in BioAgora deliverable 2.1, as well as in a scientific article titled “A social network analysis of the European science–policy–society interface on biodiversity” that was published in April 2025 in the journal Conservation Biology.

By way of introduction, the article explains that relevant scientific knowledge on biodiversity, while substantial, is often disconnected from decision-making, thus hampering the effective implementation of the Green Deal and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.  

On this basis, the study relies on a comprehensive database of relevant actors compiled through the use of existing sources and expert consultation. Interviews with representatives from key organisations were also held to map their interactions across the science-policy-society interface. These interviews also explore the role of actors in the SSBD.  

The study maps a diverse landscape of one hundred actors, including, among others, EU organizations, international and intergovernmental organizations, public and private interest groups as well as science-based organizations. 

More information on the SSBD and its vision for an inclusive and accessible biodiversity science-policy-society interface can be found on this page.