The Sendai Framework Eight Years On: Whither the "Science-Policy Interface"?

This short commentary is a general analysis of the current state of the knowledge-policy relationship in the disaster field. This "science-policy interface" was described as fundamental in the 2015 UN Sendai Framework. However, midway to the 2030 deadline, there have been concerns from both the UN and academia about the lack of policy compared to research production. This suggests that barriers to this relationship may exist. To explain these, recent scholarship on factors influencing the general relationship between knowledge and policy is examined. Aspects of the "shape" of disaster research and its effect on policy creation are also examined, and a new direction is proposed. How the UN's initial approach plausibly did not support this interface is also explained; however, more recent advocacy suggests that the organization has taken a new approach that may prove effective. Overall, a debate within the disaster field about its role in policy creation may be necessary.