Photo: Niko Rostedt.
Master of Social Sciences (MSocSc) Katri Mäkinen-Rostedt examines in her doctoral dissertation how diverse perspectives and forms of knowledge can be brought together at the science-policy interface. The study explores what experts learn when they participate in the preparation of reports by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The findings show that expert learning, and consequently the societal impact of knowledge, can remain limited when knowledge production places too much emphasis on reaching a common view. The dissertation introduces the concept of epistemic link, which is a new social network-based tool for examining knowledge-related connections between organisations. The study also shows that there are only few such connections between IPBES and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The findings offer insights into how legitimacy and diversity of global environmental knowledge co-production and science advice can be strengthened.
The doctoral dissertation titled Reflexivity Across Scales: Examining Epistemic Plurality and the Potential of Learning at Global Science-Policy Interfaces by MSocSc Katri Mäkinen-Rostedt will be publicly examined in the Faculty of Management and Business on 20 November 2026. The dissertation is in the field of International Relations.
The Opponent will be Professor Alice Vadrot from the University of Vienna, Austria. The Custos will be Professor Tuomas Forsberg from the Faculty of Management and Business.