We systematically search for evidence relevant to a topic and summarise or synthesise this to assist in decision making. Often this evidence is from around the world and may be from peer reviewed journals, Master or PhD student theses, conference papers, government reports, unpublished literature or expert interviews. We use evidence based approaches to search for this information and distil the
findings into a comprehensive, user friendly report with clear findings and recommendations to act upon. It’s likely that most issues facing natural resource workers today have been encountered and described by other workers all over this country and the world. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, why not use existing evidence to understand what approaches have been successful and why and which have not and why? Using a large number of evidence sources of high quality to inform natural resource decision making can often lead to better decisions, lower risk and more effective outcomes. This is because comprehensive, better quality information builds a more complete picture of our understanding of an issue. It’s easier to make a good decision about something when you are well informed and understand the many contextual issues at play. Consequently, using evidence to guide decision making is also good risk management.
