Methods for Nature

This project harnesses expertise and experience of EKLIPSE MEG members to develop best practice guidance for methods and bundles of methods to address a range of contemporary environmental challenges at the science policy interface. Building upon an established method typology (literature- or data-based; participatory; decision support; policy evaluation; futures and narrative), 10 selected tools will be identified through a combination of rapid evidence review, expert opinion, and AI-assisted analysis. Artificial intelligence will support the rapid review by identifying patterns, and extracting insights from large volumes of literature and policy documentation. Using an applied policy Delphi over 4 rounds the final methods will be prioritised, with AI-enabled data analysis used to support the synthesis of expert input and detect emerging consensus or divergence, from which best practice guidance will be drafted and validated. Recognizing that tools are rarely used in isolation, we will devise guidance on selecting combinations of tools and associated process pathways, with the help of AI-supported decision frameworks, to tackle diverse environmental challenges. The approved single and bundled guidance will then be tested using past and present EKLIPSE requests, together with one urgent request from BioAgora's Science Service for Biodiversity. The Delphi process will involve the creation of a methods knowledge exchange network from the outset, with an AI-powered platform envisioned to facilitate dynamic knowledge sharing forming a key component of the project legacy.