Duncan, RRobson, MEdwards, Sarah2018-10-302018-08-302018-08https://hdl.handle.net/10182/10322In knowledge-based societies characteristic of Western democracies, ‘brokers’ are increasingly required to navigate heterogeneous ontologies, epistemologies and practices in order to help communities deal with the challenges posed by ‘wicked’ environmental issues. Popularised in the work of Roger Pielke, brokers that are ‘honest’ and strive to open-up rather than close down options are assumed to pave the way for the movement of scientific knowledge into policy. Yet, little is known about what brokers actually do in practice, what factors influence the courses they chart, and their transformative role in the movement of knowledge. This paper presents the findings of qualitative interpretive research conducted across New Zealand’s South Island region of Canterbury where deliberate efforts and institutional changes have been made by regional government to change the way technical expertise is produced and mobilised with roles for brokers created to support collaborative decision-making processes. The findings illustrate the complex facets of brokering and the multiple scales at which knowledge co-production takes place. This paper opens important questions about current conceptions of knowledge translation and movement and links the findings of the research to the STS strands of the ‘knowledge ecologies’ literature.pp.1-1enScience & Technology Studiesco-production of knowledgescience advicebrokerboundary objectknowledge ecologiesConference Contribution - published