Jeroen P. van der Sluijs

Professor, Theory of Science & Ethics of the Natural Sciences

Department of Chemistry Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities

E-mailJeroen.Sluijs@uib.no
Phone+47 55 58 27 95
Visitor Address
Parkveien 9

5007 Bergen

Room
205, 2nd floor
Postal Address
Postboks 7803

5020 Bergen

My research seeks to increase our understanding of the phenomenon and dynamics of scientific controversy on contemporary old, new and emerging environmental and health risks.

My work on the conceptualization of uncertainty in science for policy and on reflective approaches to the assessment of (model) quality is internationally recognized. It has significantly advanced understanding of deep uncertainty in scientific assessment of issues such as climate change and risks of new and emerging technologies. It has inspired and enabled many scholars and science–policy interface institutions around the world to develop new ways of interfacing complex science and policymaking. Among them are Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) [lead author of ch.5 of the 2019 Making Sense of Science report]; the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency [lead author of their uncertainty guidance] and the European Environment Agency [invited chapter author of 2013 Late Lessons from Early Warnings II report].

My conceptual work on the phenomenon of uncertainty is widely cited and my various practical tools for knowledge quality assessment are now widely used in many disciplines and EU projects and on a broad range of sustainability issues.

I work or have worked on contested science in the fields of climate change, pollinator decline, fish stock assessments, endocrine disruptors, elcetromagnetic fields, nanoparticles, underground storage of CO₂, risk migration in sustainable technologies.

In addition to my position as professor at the Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities (SVT) at UiB, I am guest researcher at Utrecht University, The Netherlands and visiting professor at Coöperatieve Universiteit Amersfoort (a citizen science initiative).

Interview in Forskningspolitikk ("Research Policy" - an open and independent Norwegian magazine for analysis and debate on research and innovation): Å kuratere kunnskap for ei ny tid - 13.06.22

Op-ed in forskning.no (website for Norwegian and international research news): Forskere må ta ansvar for å stanse den globale biedøden (in Norwegian - based on the following article) - 27.10.21.

-> Response to the op-ed: Må forskere ta ansvar for å stanse biedøden? (Must researchers assume responsibility to halt the bee decline?) Anders Nielsen, 09.11.21

Online open course in Knowledge Quality Assessment (hint: click the blue [+] in front of each main lesson to see sub-lessons)

UiB article: How can we make good decisions when experts lack the answers?

EU Ban on Neonics: Too Little, Too Late (invited opinion article in Green European Journal)

Interview in Morgenbladet on Post Normal Science: Fakta, faen (in Norwegian) (23 Sept 2016)

We live in times of science on demand: an interview with Jeroen van der Sluijs

Putting scientific facts under the magnifying glass

Pollinators and Global Food Security: the Need for Holistic Global Stewardship

Room for climate debate: Perspectives on the interaction between climate politics, science and the media

Uncertainty and Dissent in Climate Risk Assessment: A Post-Normal Perspective

Coordinator of the PhD course “Theory of Science and Ethics” for all PhDs in the Fac. of Mathematics & Natural Science, University of Bergen:

MNF990 Theory of Science and Ethics (formerly known as MNF490!)

Here is the schedule for the fall 2020 semester.

Selected publications:

I am currently (2020) guest-editing a special issue of Current Opinion in Insect Science on 'Pollinator decline: human and policy dimensions', and a special issue of Frontiers of Climate on 'What is high quality knowledge for climate adaptation?'. I am (co-)author of a 4-page comment in Nature (2020: Five ways to ensure that models serve society: a manifesto, 73x cited Google Scholar; Altmetric: 1323) and 4 correspondences in Science (2018: Call to restrict neonicotinoids 27x cited Google Scholar: Altmetric: 700; 2011: Science-Policy Interface: Beyond Assessments, 80x cited Google Scholar; Altmetric: 28) and Nature (2014: Biodiversity reports need author rules, 11x cited, Altmetric: 45; 2016: Climate costing is politics, not science 10x cited, Altmetric: 30). Several of my key-papers have been translated into Japanese (11), Chinese (3) and French (4).

Drivdal L & Van der Sluijs, JP (2021) Pollinator conservation requires a stronger and broader application of the precautionary principle. Current opinion in insect science.
Van der Sluijs, JP (2020) Insect decline, an emerging global environmental risk. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. Altmetric: 130. One of highest-scoring outputs from this source (#5 of 680)
Saltelli A, Benini L, Funtowicz S, Giampietro M, Kaiser M, Reinert E, van der Sluijs JP (2020) The technique is never neutral. How methodological choices condition the generation of narratives for sustainability. Environmental Science & Policy, 106, 87-98 [4x cited ISI; 8x Google Scholar] Altmetric:45
Bremer S, Wardekker A, Dessai S, Sobolowski S, Slaattelid R, van der Sluijs JP (2019) Toward a multi-faceted conception of co-production of climate services. Climate Services doi: 10.1016/j.cliser.2019.01.003. [20x cited ISI; 39x Google Scholar] Altmetric:23
Maxim L & van der Sluijs JP (2018) Quality of epidemiological studies: Procedural rules for uncertain science for policy. Environmental Science & Policy 84: 80–87. [2x cited ISI; 2x Google Scholar] Altmetric:3
van der Sluijs JP et al. (30 authors) (2015) Conclusions of the Worldwide Integrated Assessment on the risks of neonicotinoids and fipronil to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, Environmental Science and Pollution Research 22 (1) 148-154. [135x cited ISI; 230x cited Google Scholar] Altmetric: 74
Chagnon M, Kreutzweiser D, Mitchell EAD, Morrissey CA, Noome DA, van der Sluijs JP (2015) Risks of large scale use of systemic insecticides to ecosystem functioning and services, Environmental Science and Pollution Research 22 (1) 119-134. [160x cited ISI Highly Cited Paper; 292x Google Scholar] Altmetric:110
van der Sluijs JP, Delso NS, Goulson D, Maxim L, Bonmatin JM, Belzunces LP (2013) Neonicotinoids, bee disorders and the sustainability of pollinator services, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 5: 293-305. [213x cited ISI Highly Cited Paper; 379x cited Google Scholar] Altmetric:140
van Dijk TC, van Staalduinen MA, van der Sluijs JP (2013) Macro-invertebrate decline in surface water polluted with imidacloprid. PLOS ONE, 8(5): e62374. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062374 [179x cited ISI; 290x cited Google Scholar] Altmetric:213; Covered in international media, the Guardian, Le Monde
Petersen AC, Cath A, Hage M, Kunseler E, & van der Sluijs JP (2011) Post-Normal Science in Practice at the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency. Science Technology & Human Values, 36 (3) 362-388 [53x cited ISI; 121x Google Scholar] Altmetric:3
Maxim L & van der Sluijs JP (2011) Quality in environmental science for policy: Assessing uncertainty as a component of policy analysis. Environmental Science & Policy 14:482-492. [59x cited ISI; 127x Google Scholar]

Academic article

Show author(s) (2022). Editorial: High-Quality Knowledge for Climate Adaptation: Revisiting Criteria of Credibility, Legitimacy, Salience, and Usability. Frontiers in Climate.

Show author(s) (2021). Quality Assessment in Co-developing Climate Services in Norway and the Netherlands. Frontiers in Climate. 1-15.

Show author(s) (2020). The technique is never neutral. How methodological choices condition the generation of narratives for sustainability. Environmental Science and Policy. 87-98.
Show author(s) (2020). Pandemie post-normali. Perché CoViD-19 richiede un nuovo approccio alla scienza. Recenti Progressi in Medicina. 202-204.
Show author(s) (2020). Insect decline, an emerging global environmental risk. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 39-42.

Show author(s) (2019). Toward a multi-faceted conception of co-production of climate services. Climate Services. 42-50.
Show author(s) (2019). Silver as a Constraint for a Large-Scale Development of Solar Photovoltaics? Scenario-Making to the Year 2050 Supported by Expert Engagement and Global Sensitivity Analysis. Frontiers in Energy Research.

Show author(s) (2018). Quality of epidemiological studies: Procedural rules for uncertain science for policy, a case study on bisphenol-A. Environmental Science and Policy. 80-87.

Show author(s) (2017). Analyser la qualite de l'evaluation des risques: L'exemple des perturbateurs endocriniens. Natures sciences sociétés. S72-S75.
Show author(s) (2017). An update of the Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) on systemic insecticides. Part 2: impacts on organisms and ecosystems. Environmental science and pollution research international. 11749-11797.
Show author(s) (2017). A critical assessment of knowledge quality for climate adaptation in Sylhet Division, Bangladesh. Climate Risk Management. 43-58.

Show author(s) (2016). Screening regional management options for their impact on climate resilience: an approach and case study in the Venen-Vechtstreek wetlands in the Netherlands. SpringerPlus. 1-17.
Show author(s) (2016). Pollinators and Global Food Security: the Need for Holistic Global Stewardship. Food Ethics.

Show author(s) (2015). Systemic insecticides (neonicotinoids and fipronil): trends, uses, mode of action and metabolites. Environmental science and pollution research international. 5-34.
Show author(s) (2015). Risks of large-scale use of systemic insecticides to ecosystem functioning and services. Environmental science and pollution research international. 119-134.
Show author(s) (2015). Effects of neonicotinoids and fipronil on non-target invertebrates. Environmental science and pollution research international. 68-102.
Show author(s) (2015). Dealing with uncertainties in fresh water supply: experiences in the Netherlands. Water resources management. 703-725.
Show author(s) (2015). Critical appraisal of assumptions in chains of model calculations used to project local climate impacts for adaptation decision support-the case of Baakse Beek. Environmental Research Letters.

Show author(s) (2014). Uncertainty of population risk estimates for pathogens based on QMRA or epidemiology: a case study of Campylobacter in the Netherlands. Risk Analysis. 847-864.
Show author(s) (2014). Qualichem in vivo: A tool for assessing the quality of in vivo studies and its application for Bisphenol A. PLOS ONE. 16 pages.
Show author(s) (2014). Conclusions of the Worldwide Integrated Assessment on the risks of neonicotinoids and fipronil to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Environmental science and pollution research international. 148-154.
Show author(s) (2014). Bijen en insecticiden: late lessen uit vroege waarschuwingen. Milieu Dossier. 37-41.

Report

Show author(s) (2021). WP2 Case study: Neonicotinoid insecticides. .

Show author(s) (2019). Initial Guidance Framework for Knowledge Quality Assessment in CoCliServ (CoCliServ D5.1). .

Show author(s) (2018). Gevaarlijke stoffen in een circulaire economie. .

Show author(s) (2014). The future social robustness of smart electricity networks in Europe. .
Show author(s) (2014). Briefadvies Risicocommunicatie op een nieuwe leest schoeien. .
Show author(s) (2014). Advisory letter The health risks of Bisphenol A analogues. .

Lecture

Show author(s) (2018). Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI).
Show author(s) (2018). Responsible Evidence Appraisal.
Show author(s) (2018). Research Integrity in Norway (RINO).
Show author(s) (2018). Post-Normal Science & Controversy Studies.
Show author(s) (2018). Knowledge Quality Assessment in model based scientific assessment.
Show author(s) (2018). Higher Education Institutions & responsible research and Innovation (HEIRRI).
Show author(s) (2018). Dealing with scientific uncertainty at the science-policy interface.

Show author(s) (2014). Wrapping up: The future of Post Normal Science.
Show author(s) (2014). Tools for Post Normal Science.
Show author(s) (2014). Tools for Knowledge Quality Assessment.
Show author(s) (2014). The risks of neonicotinoids to aquatic ecosystems.
Show author(s) (2014). Strategies on dealing with uncertainties in urban climate change adaptation.
Show author(s) (2014). Social robustness of smart electricity networks in Europe.
Show author(s) (2014). SCRUTINISE DISCORD.
Show author(s) (2014). Post Normal Science: A reflective approach to Knowledge Quality Assessment.
Show author(s) (2014). Neonicotinoids: risks to pollinators, ecosystems and humans.
Show author(s) (2014). Ingredients for a socially robust smart electricity grid.
Show author(s) (2014). Critical reflection on assumptions: the NUSAP approach.
Show author(s) (2014). Adaptation to uncertain future climate change.

Popular scientific lecture

Show author(s) (2018). The role of convenience pesticides in the collapse of the entomofauna.
Show author(s) (2018). Co-development of place-based climate services for action (CoCliServ).

Show author(s) (2014). Bijensterfte Oorzaken, gevolgen oplossingen.

Academic lecture

Show author(s) (2018). Unraveling Controversy on Vexed Environmental Risks.
Show author(s) (2018). Uncertainties and Quality Assurance in Research.
Show author(s) (2018). Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI).
Show author(s) (2018). Maintaining Scientific Integrity in Present Day Academic Reality.
Show author(s) (2018). Knowledge Quality Assessment.
Show author(s) (2018). From bee health to insectageddon: the battle over problem frames seen through a post-normal science lens.
Show author(s) (2018). Dealing with uncertainty in model-based assessment: the NUSAP approach.

Show author(s) (2014). Post Normal Science and Knowledge Quality Assessment.
Show author(s) (2014). Post Normal Science - theory and practice.
Show author(s) (2014). Knowledge Quality Assessment - an introduction.
Show author(s) (2014). Decades of climate research: Lessons for science.

Editorial

Show author(s) (2021). Halting the pollinator crisis requires entomologists to step up and assume their societal responsibilities. Current Opinion in Insect Science. vi-xiii.

Show author(s) (2017). Post-normal science in practice. Futures: The journal of policy, planning and futures studies. 1-4.

Reader opinion piece

Show author(s) (2018). Stop de mallemolen van pesticiden. One World.

Non-fiction book

Show author(s) (2016). Science on the verge. Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes.

Research groups

Research Group Theory of science

Research group Environmental Humanities

Documents

actionable_knowledge_for_precaution_11_may_recipes.pdf

pp_stockholm_jvds_28_april_2022.pdf

Conservation of misery lecture

Making Sense of Science presentation, Oslo, 4 Nov 2019

Uncertainty, risk, precaution - science for policy under complexity (EEA Webinar Drivers of Change, 30 June 2020)

Science for policy under deep uncertainty - AFINO Webinar 7 Sep 2020

Føre-var men alt for sent? The EU ban on neonics: too little, too late

Broadening the scope of future environmental risk assessments of pesticides (22 Jun 2022)

Twitter

Tweets by @Jeroen_vdSluijs

Centre of Actionable Knowledges (AcKnowledges)

AcKnowledges explores if and how including more diverse knowledges in expert advice yields policy options that better match the complexity of pressing issues.

Smilande mann med briler og svart skjorte sit framfor ein laptop og ein ekstern skjerm

Å kuratere kunnskap for ei ny tid

Interview with Professor Jeroen van der Sluijs in Norwegian magazine Forskningspolitikk 2/22 ("Research Politics") about the Center of Excellence application Centre of Actionable Knowledges (AcKnowledges).

Systemic pesticides and the biodiversity crisis: Toxic practices in agriculture, aquaculture and policy making

Welcome to a joint symposium organized by the University of Bergen's BeeCaution project and the International Task Force on Systemic Pesticides.

A bee between lilac flowers - two in focus and several others blurred in the background

Researchers have a responsibility to help stop the pollinator crisis

In a recent editorial, UiB professor Jeroen van der Sluijs and co-editors encourage entomologists to join other scientists, legislators and policymakers in addressing and countering pollinator decline.

SVT application in the final to become Norwegian Centre of Excellence

Out of 161 applications, SVT’s Centre of Actionable Knowledges (AcKnowledges) was one of 36 initiatives nationwide that made it to round two of the call.

A covid-19 dashboard with a large world map in the centre, statistics to the left and right

CoPol: Covid-19 contact tracing as Digital Politics

CoPol studies Covid-19 contact tracing as digital politics and as data practice on the interfaces between technology, public health and fundamental rights.

Cautiously precautious - pollinators, pesticides and the precautionary principle in European environmental policy

In this workshop, we invite a multidisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners to discuss how European legal and regulatory frameworks can be adapted to promote agile responses to serious environmental threats.

Case Study 4: Neonicotinoid insecticides

This case outlines scientific uncertainties and ambiguities regarding the effects of neonics on pollinators (but also other species), in addition to the diverging perceptions of the role of the precautionary principle.

SVT publication on list of most downloaded papers

Jeroen Van der Sluijs' paper, "Insect decline, an emerging global environmental risk", is among the most downloaded of the journal's papers in the last 90 days, three weeks after publication.

A woman, a man and a cake with a candle shaped as the number 3

Citizen science project wins 3rd place

The project Meet je Stad (Measure your City), which has links to two UiB research projects, has been named the 3rd most sustainable Dutch initiative.

Members of the Bergen Filharmonic Orchestra with umbrellas

Stories of climate adaptation across Europe

UiB researchers Scott Bremer and Diana Wildschut have together with Werner Krauss co-edited a special issue about narratives in the journal Climate Risk Management.

Risks, uncertainties and resilience

AFINO invites everyone who is interested to a webinar on Responsible Research and Innovation after the Covid-19 crisis.

Illustration: Researchers study the nuts and bolts of a box producing policy

Can we ensure that mathematical models serve society?

Inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic, UiB researchers present five principles for model quality.

Drivers of change, risks and opportunities: navigating an uncertain and complex world

On the occasion of their recently published report, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has organised a webinar where Centre for the Study of the Sciences and Humanities (SVT) professor Jeroen van der Sluijs is keynote speaker and SVT professor II Silvio Funtowicz is a panel participant.

How can we make good decisions when experts lack the answers?

– Covid-19 has shown that we need a new debate about decision-making in crises when the scientific answers are not yet available. Numbers and calculations are insufficient when it comes to handling the worldwide crisis that the pandemic has triggered, says Professor Jeroen Van der Sluijs.

The Uummannaq community gather on the sea ice in front of the island, while the dogsled race is about to start

SeMPER-Arctic

The SeMPER-Arctic project collects local stories of changes, crises and shocks in three Arctic communities in Greenland and Russia, and analyses in an interdisciplinary way how these narratives incorporate notions of resilience.

Man with facemask, red cap and red jacket holds a homemade sign with the text "Support your local planet" and an image of the globe

Knowledge quality assessment as a sensemaking device (KQA-SMD)

This project is an enquiry into the ability for climate change knowledge assessment to strengthen local communities through sensemaking.

RECIPES

RECIPES aims to reconcile innovation and precaution to foster social awareness and responsibility in the EU in research and innovation.

BeeCaution

The aim of Beecaution is to build a Norwegian epistemic network of relevant actors to engage in the RECIPES discussion on Precaution and innovation, looking specifically at the case study on neonicotinoid pesticides and bees.

#LoVeSeSDG

#LoVeSeSDG - Localizing and developing SDG-thinking for local communities - is a project that focuses on the Lofoten-Vesterålen-Senja (LoVeSe) region in Norway.

Research group Environmental Humanities

The research group Environmental Humanities shall initiate, coordinate and develop integrated interdisciplinary research projects and highlight the relevant and potential contributions to the field from humanistic research.

Uncertainty and Dissent in Climate Risk Assessment: A Post-Normal Perspective

Uncertainty, complexity and dissent make climate change hard to tackle with normal scientific procedures. At this seminar, Professor Jeroen van der Sluijs gives an introduction to the post-normal perspective on climate change.

Putting scientific facts under the magnifying glass

Jeroen van der Sluijs studies the use of scientific facts in policy making. He is now in the final round in the competition of becoming a Norwegian Centre of Excellence (SFF).

Science for Policy: Post-Normal Science in Practice

In honor of our new professor Jeroen Van Der Sluijs, The Centre for the Study of the Sciences and Humanities, at the University of Bergen announces the mini-symposium:"Science for Policy: Post-Normal Science in practice"

Co-cli-serv

Co-cli-serv explores novel ways to transform climate science into action-oriented place-based climate services to engage, enable and empower local communities, knowledge brokers and scientists to act locally.

Co-development of place-based climate services for action

Co-development of place-based climate services for action (Co-cli-serv) is about how we can develop fine-scaled and tailored information to support local adaptation to a changeable climate.

The Measure your City Project in Bergen

There is a lot of concern about climate change and the effects it has on the world. But what does it mean for Bergen?...

Blurry picture of researcher looking into a microscope, photo used to illustrate article about candidates for the Centre of Excellence scheme.

Four new centres aiming for excellence

Four research centres at the University of Bergen have gone to the second round in the process of becoming a Norwegian Centre of Excellence.

MNF990: Course in Theory of Science and Ethics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences

MNF990 is a mandatory PhD-level course for Research Fellows with The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences

Integrated Assessment of Societal Impacts of Emerging Science and Technology from within Epistemic Networks (EPINET)

The EPINET project reviewed and evaluated assessment methods, commonly used to address societal impacts of new and emerging S&Ts.

Higher Education Institutions & Responsible Research and Innovation (HEIRRI)

HEIRRI was a Horizon 2020 project aimed to integrate the concept of “Responsible Research and Innovation”, or RRI, into the science and engineering degrees.

Salmosterile

Researchers at SVT contributed to the ELSA part of the project 'Salmonsterile', which aimed to use information from the salmon genome in order to develop vaccines that can make farmed salmon sterile.

Mainstreaming Sensitivity Analysis and Uncertainty Auditing

This project was financed by the Peder Sather Grant and was a cooperation between the Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities, NTNU and UC Berkeley.