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PROCESS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT, APPROVAL, AND DISSEMINATION OF COMMISSIONED PAPERS OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGYWhen the Society for Conservation Biology was founded in 1985, the Articles of Incorporation explicitly stated that the Society should advance and articulate its position in matters of public policy. To this end, the creation of a Policy and Resolutions Committee was authorized in the Bylaws, and resolutions of the Society were identified as a vehicle for achieving this goal. Since 1992, the Society has approved and distributed over forty resolutions, but doubts about their effectiveness have remained among the membership. During the same period, other professional societies have moved away from resolutions and refocused their energies toward issue papers, panel reports, and review papers. At the 1991 SCB annual meeting in Madison, Wisconsin, a round-table discussion on advocacy recommended that the Society begin producing "white papers" on issues of policy concern to the Society. As a result, then-SCB President Stan Temple charged the Policy and Resolutions Committee with drafting a process for the development of Society positions. A "Protocol for the Development of Position Statements and Position Papers" was approved by the SCB Board of Governors in June 1992, and the first SCB Position Statement (Livestock Grazing on Public Lands in the United States of America) was subsequently developed and approved by the Board in 1994. Since then, the Board further has revised this guidance to insure that commissioned papers will be accessible to policy makers while also providing detailed scientific information on the issue being addressed. The following Commissioned Paper Process is product of discussion and work on the part of SCB's Policy and Resolutions Committee and Board of Governors during the past five years. It is our hope that Commissioned Papers will be an effective means of giving the Society a clearer and more influential voice in decision-making as it relates to the conservation of biological diversity. The first SCB Commissioned Paper should appear in Conservation Biology in 1998.
CHARGE:The Articles of Incorporation of the Society for Conservation Biology charge the Society to "...disseminate scientific, technical, and management information through meetings, publications, and other media..." and "...advance and articulate the Society's position on matters of public policy."
AUTHORITY:The Bylaws of the Society for Conservation Biology authorize the Policy and Resolutions Committee to develop "...positions for the Society on issues related to conservation biology or policy issues where the scientific or management expertise of the Society will be of value..." and "...such informational material as are consonant with the aims of the Society..." and to adopt "...a protocol for the development of position statements and position papers."
SCOPE:A Commissioned Paper of the Society for Conservation Biology should address an issue of on-going relevance to the operation of the Society, the science of conservation biology, and/or the conservation of biological diversity.
PURPOSE:A Commissioned Paper is developed for the use of the President, Board of Governors, and Members of the Society in guiding the activities of the Society, synthesizing and communicating the findings of conservation biology to the interested public, and informing decision-makers of the Society's insights into an issue of public policy.
COMMISSION:On an on-going basis, the Policy and Resolutions Committee will work with the President and the Board of Governors to 1) identify and approve a list of issues appropriate for the development of Commissioned Papers, 2) identify a Member (or Members) of the Society willing to chair the development of each Paper, 3) provide these Members with advice regarding the scope of the Paper and the membership of his/her committee, and 4) assign 3-4 Board members to serve as sponsors of the Paper, responsible for participating in its review.
DEVELOPMENT:The Member accepting the commission to develop a Paper will be responsible for recruiting a committee of experts on the issue. This committee should represent the diversity of perspectives on the issue that may exist within the Society membership.
CONTENT:The Paper should be brief, and should 1) present the context and scope of the issue being addressed, 2) identify how the issue is informed by and/or affects the science of conservation biology, 3) clearly present areas of agreement, disagreement, and uncertainty on the issue, 4) conclude with a set of recommendations for action, and 5) include a 300-word executive summary.
REVIEW AND APPROVAL:The draft Paper will be reviewed by the Policy and Resolutions Committee for consistency with the purpose and format of Commissioned Papers, and then submitted to Conservation Biology for peer review (with participation by the Board of Governors). If accepted by the Journal, the final draft of the Paper must be approved by two thirds of the voting members of the Board of Governors to be considered a position of the Society.
DISSEMINATION:Once a Commissioned Paper has been approved by the Board of Governors, it will be published in the Society's Journal, and will be made available for distribution by the membership.
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