Decision Science Working Group

The Decision Science Working Group (DSWG) was established under CPSG in 2019. 

Given the urgent challenges involved with global biodiversity conservation, it is increasingly difficult for humans to decide which actions to take. Decision science approaches can help people to understand the best options to take to address a given situation, while systematically accounting for challenges such as climate change, diverse values, uncertainties and constraints.

The group was established with the purpose of:

  • providing a network of support for conservation practitioners and policymakers applying decision science approaches or using decision-support tools, with a focus on prevention of species declines and extinctions;
  • co-developing guidance materials to support the application of decision science and communicating this guidance throughout the IUCN and global conservation community; and
  • strengthening the use of decision science in relevant tasks and business of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and other government and non-government conservation decision makers, to help those groups meet their objectives and maximise outcomes.

The IUCN and its Species Survival Commission have a prominent role as a reference point for global best practice in conservation. The DSWG aims to contribute to this role, by promoting and facilitating the application of decision science. 

Group Members

What is decision science?

How does decision science help conserve the globe’s species and ecosystems?

Decision Science is the collection of quantitative techniques used to inform decision-making at individual, population and landscape levels. By focusing on decisions as the unit of analysis, decision science provides a unique framework for understanding biodiversity conservation issues, for choosing between actions, and for improving policies to address those problems.

How is decision science different from other research approaches?

Decision science is uniquely concerned with making optimal choices based on available information. Decision science seeks to clarify the scientific issues and value judgments underlying alternative choices, and to identify tradeoffs that might accompany any particular action or inaction.

What kinds of methods do decision scientists use?

Decision science utilizes a variety of tools which include models for decision-making under conditions of uncertainty, experimental and descriptive studies of decision-making behavior, economic analysis of competitive and strategic decisions, approaches for facilitating decision-making by groups, and mathematical modeling techniques. It includes methods such as risk analysis, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, constrained optimization, simulation modeling, and behavioural decision theory.

Contact Us

We are committed to growing a network and community of practice of conservation practitioners and policymakers applying decision science, to facilitate information-sharing, collaboration and capacity. If you are interested, please join our mailing list, or get in touch via any of the platforms below.

Email us: DecisionScienceWG[at]cpsg.org

Follow us on Twitter: @DecisionSciWG