Communicating science to policy Makers—A case for embedded ecologists

How to make the interaction between ecology and policy more effective?  The typical answer by ecologists is that we need to better communicate our research.  But is political decision making information limited?  Or, is it limited by the willingness of politicians to accept scientific information?  Or, is the information in a form and delivered in a time frame that is usable by politicians?  I suggest that answers to these questions require in part an insider’s knowledge by ecologists of the political decision making process. To gain this knowledge, I propose the concept of embedding ecologists into the political system.