C₂O Consulting was appointed by the Australian and Queensland governments as an independent organisation to lead and coordinate the delivery of the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement. The team at C₂O Consulting has many years of experience working on the water quality of the Great Barrier Reef and its catchments. They have been involved in the coordination and production of the Scientific Consensus Statement since 2008.

Groups and/or individuals involved in the development of the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement included:

• Australia’s Chief Scientist
• Queensland Chief Scientist
• Probity Advisor
• Scientific Consensus Statement (SCS) Coordination Team
• Evidence Synthesis expert (Evidentiary)
• Methods Working Group
• Reef Water Quality Independent Science Panel (ISP)
• Reef 2050 Independent Expert Panel (IEP)
• Lead Authors & contributors (78 in total)
• Editorial Board (1 Editor-in-Chief, 6 Editors)
• Peer reviewers (69 in total)
• Consensus Process Working Group
• Stakeholders
• Reef 2050 Executive Steering Committee
• Australian and Queensland Government Contract Managers

Australia’s Chief Scientist

Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Foley, provided advice and guidance about the processes to develop the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement, and recommended additional measures to strengthen the delivery of the project in line with the guiding principles. At the conclusion of project, Dr Foley provided an Assurance Statement, as well as a more in-depth analysis of each major step in the process.

Queensland Chief Scientist

Successive Queensland Chief Scientist’s (Professor Hugh Possingham, followed by the Interim Chief Scientist Dr Bronwyn Harch) were engaged in an oversight role similar to Australia’s Chief Scientist, up to the appointment of Professor Kerrie Wilson on 4 August 2023. Prior to her appointment as Queensland’s Chief Scientist, Professor Wilson was a member of the Reef 2050 Independent Expert Panel and participated in two expert working groups supporting the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement process. As a result, the Queensland Government agreed that Professor Wilson would remove herself from an oversight and assurance role to minimise the perception that her continued involvement could be a conflict of interest.

Probity Advisor

The Australian Government appointed an independent Probity Advisor to help navigate the complex conflict of interest process that was required to deliver the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement project. Lead authors and contributors, reviewers and all working group members were required to complete a conflict of interest declaration form for assessment before they could be formally engaged with any aspect of the project.

SCS Coordination Team

The SCS Coordination Team was a small team from C₂O Consulting who were appointed to lead and coordinate the delivery of the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement. The team at C₂O Consulting has many years of experience working on the water quality of the Great Barrier Reef and its catchments. They have been involved in the coordination and production of the Scientific Consensus Statement since 2008.

Evidence Synthesis Expert

Evidentiary, an organisation that specialises in the use of systematic evidence-based approaches to inform decision-making, was appointed to develop best practice methods for synthesising the evidence that underpins the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement.

Methods Working Group

An expert working group was established to provide input to the development of the draft 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement Methods for the Synthesis of Evidence before formal peer review by three independent evidence synthesis experts. The working group included members from the Reef Water Quality Independent Science Panel (ISP) and Reef 2050 Independent Expert Panel (IEP), and an independent individual with experience in developing previous Scientific Consensus Statements. The working group was responsible for endorsing the final synthesis methods following peer review including evaluating whether the SCS Coordination Team had adequately addressed reviewer feedback.

Reef Water Quality Independent Science Panel (ISP)

The Reef Water Quality Independent Science Panel (ISP) is an independent panel that provides scientific and technical advice to the Australian and Queensland governments about water quality-related matters. For the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement, the ISP provided independent expert advice and oversight, and where appropriate, endorsement for the technical content of the Scientific Consensus Statement. Contributions included advice and feedback on the scope, approach, methodology, results and outputs. Several ISP members were involved in the working groups that were established to support the delivery of the Scientific Consensus Statement. The ISP provided formal remarks on the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement at the conclusion of the project.

Reef 2050 Independent Expert Panel (IEP)

The Reef 2050 Independent Expert Panel (IEP) provides the Australian and Queensland governments with scientific and expert advice related to the Great Barrier Reef. For the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement, the IEP was consulted about the question setting, review and consensus processes. Several IEP members participated in the working groups that were established to support the delivery of the Scientific Consensus Statement. The IEP did not have any review or decision-making responsibilities for the project.

Lead Authors and Contributors

Lead Authors were required for each of the 30 priority questions that were addressed as part of the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement. Question Lead Authors were appointed following an open Expression of Interest (EOI), screening for conflicts of interest, and formal selection process. Once Lead Authors were appointed, they were responsible for assembling an author team to support the delivery of their question. Authors were responsible for delivering the evidence synthesis for their question and adequately addressing peer reviewer feedback. Lead Authors and several contributors with specific expertise participated in the consensus processes that underpinned the development of the Summary and Conclusions documents.

Editorial Board

The Editorial Board was responsible for the design, delivery and oversight of the peer review process for the 30 evidence syntheses, the Summary and Conclusions documents. The Editorial Board included an Editor-in-Chief and six Editors who collectively had several decades of editorial experience with indexed scientific journals. Members were appointed following a formal assessment process against pre-determined criteria and their appointments endorsed by Australia’s Chief Scientist. The Editorial Board was the decision-making body for all aspects of the peer review process.

Peer reviewers

Peer reviewers were required to review the synthesis of evidence methods, the 30 questions that made up the Synthesis of the Evidence, the Summary and Conclusions documents. Three independent evidence synthesis experts working in environmental policy/management including two experts from international organisations reviewed the synthesis of evidence methods. A further 66 independent domestic and international peer reviewers were appointed to provide feedback on the primary outputs using a standardised review form containing structured questions to assess the objectivity, rigour, impartiality, and quality of the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement primary outputs.

Consensus Process Working Group

An expert working group was established to provide advice and oversee the design and implementation of the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement consensus process.  The group included three external experts with experience in the design and implementation of scientific consensus processes, and members of the Reef Water Quality Independent Science Panel (ISP) and Reef 2050 Independent Expert Panel (IEP). The group was responsible for endorsing the final consensus process design and delivery for the Conclusions and Summary documents from a technical perspective.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders consulted included those currently represented on the Reef 2050 Advisory Committee. This includes: the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators, Queensland Resource Council, Queensland Farmers Federation, AgForce, Queensland Regional Natural Resource Management Groups Collective Ltd, World Wildlife Fund, Queensland Conservation Council, Australian Committee of IUCN, Traditional Owner representatives, GBRF, Local Government Association of Queensland, CSIRO, CAREFISH, Queensland Ports Association, Australian Institute of Marine Science, CANEGROWERS, Queensland Seafood Industry Australia, and a representative for the Local Marine Advisory Committees (coordinated by GBRMPA). These representatives had an opportunity to input to the question setting process and were informed throughout the delivery and implementation of the project.

Reef 2050 Executive Steering Committee

As the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan governance body and the commissioner of the work to update the Scientific Consensus Statement, the Executive Steering Committee represented key government end users of the 2022 Scientific Consensus Statement outputs. The Executive Steering Committee was consulted regarding specific aspects of overall project scope, timing and resourcing, to ensure coordination with other Reef Water Quality processes, reviews and reports. Copies of draft and final deliverables were provided to the Executive Steering Committee for noting.

Australian and Queensland government Contract Managers

The role of the Australian and Queensland Government Contract Managers was to ensure the project met the contractual obligations by providing input regarding processes, timelines, outputs, and processing variations. Contract Managers provided advice when requested by the SCS Coordination Team to ensure products met end user requirements. Contract Managers did not have any decision-making power on the working groups (i.e. Methods Working Group, Editorial Board or the Consensus Process Working Group).