How to Report Knowledge Gaps
1. Join the Science Service
To report knowledge gaps into the catalogue, you must first join the Science Service and then one of our Knowledge Exchange Networks.
To join the Science Service, visit the "Join" page in the main menu and create an account. By joining the Science Service you are also joining Oppla.
Once you have verified your account following the steps sent to your email, visit the "Community" page to find the KEN you want to join.
Enter the KEN and press the "Request to join" button on the right of the screen. Your request will be approved by one of the KEN managers.
2. Identify a suitable source of knowledge gaps
The Knowledge Gap Catalogue is open for sources which list knowledge gaps, research priorities and emerging topics relevant to biodiversity, its decline, or the drivers of and solutions to this decline. All disciplines from natural to societal sciences are welcome, including but not limited to biology, ecology, economics, technology, and behavioural sciences, as well as horizon scanning and foresight exercises which identify emerging topics, risks, opportunities or policy gaps which warrant further research.
The source and reported knowledge gaps, research priorities and emerging topics, however, need to fulfil the following criteria:
- The knowledge gaps, research priorities or emerging topics need to be directly or indirectly linked to biodiversity, its decline, and/or the drivers of or solutions to this decline.
- The source must describe a list of knowledge gaps, research priorities or emerging topics in written format. We do not currently consider gaps illustrated by other means than written text, such as images, maps, or graphs.
- The knowledge gaps, research priorities or emerging topics need to be mapped in a systematic or semi-systematic way accompanied by a clear method description on how the list was created and appear in a published source. We do not consider unpublished research, unpublished personal opinions, or confidential data.
Please browse our Knowledge Gap Catalogue for previously reported sources.
Needing support for identifying suitable sources? You can adapt this search string and combine it with thematic key words to identify potentially suitable sources in your areas of interest.
3. Prepare your data submission file
Please fill in the this excel template following the included instructions: KnowledgeGapDataReportingTemplate.xlsx. This will allow the decision-makers to access the gaps in a standardized format. Please download the file offline and save it as .xlsx to avoid compatibility issues.
AI tools may be used in locating and/or extracting the relevant data but the contributor is responsible for confirming its accuracy.
4. Submit your source
Once you have joined one of the Knowledge Exchange Networks (Step 1), you will be able to upload Resources. Please go to the Group Portal page, open the menu under «Add Article» (by pressing the arrow on the button), and click on «Add Resource». Follow the instructions and fill required source descriptions.
For the Resource to be added to the Knowledge Gap Catalogue, please tag it with “Knowledge gap list” in the keyword field and upload your excel file at the step “Additional files”. This way, the Resource will be directed to the Knowledge Gap Catalogue page, no matter on which KEN it was originally published in