About The Environmental Science & Public Policy Research Institute

Mission

The Environmental Science and Public Policy Research Institute (ESPRI) serves as an independent and objective resource to aid informed, public policy development and decision making through the utilization of science, technology, and policy analysis.

Linking Science and Society

Science provides the basis for addressing environmental and natural resource issues - but public concerns and values are what ultimately drive the decisions by which proposed scientific solutions are implemented. The true integration of science and public policy is required to effectively resolve environmental, natural resource, and land management issues. ESPRI provides that integration.

ESPRI is designed as an interdisciplinary, science-informed collaborative center that provides and analyzes relevant scientific and socioeconomic data, hosts discussion forums, and synthesizes information to support balanced discussion of issues.

ESPRI is designed to be a resource that will help to cross-cut agency boundaries, both federal and state, and that will attempt to bring together stakeholders to build a different approach to environmental stewardship.

Scrutiny of scientific information by an objective party, like ESPRI, will help to alleviate the growing trend toward "advocacy science."

Who We Are

ESPRI is a joint venture between the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Social Sciences & Public Affairs at Boise State University.

ESPRI has a small staff to coordinate and facilitate projects while drawing upon the expertise of scientists and scholars throughout Boise State University. The Geospatial Research Facility at Boise State provides the technological basis for our efforts.

Guiding Principles

Science provides the basis for addressing environmental and natural resource issues - but public concerns and values are what ultimately drive the decisions by which proposed scientific solutions are implemented. The true integration of science and public policy is required to effectively resolve environmental, natural resource, and land management issues.

What We Do