Abstract

This article presents a systematic literature review of science-policy interfaces (SPIs) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), examining how these processes are addressed conceptually and methodologically in the regional academic literature. Based on 61 peer-reviewed articles published between 2014 and 2024, the study applies the SPI framework of Sarkki et al. (2015) to classify cases along five dimensions: structures, objectives, dynamics, outputs and outcomes, and governance context. The analysis shows that SPIs in LAC operate predominantly through informal, flexible, and project-based arrangements, more often initiated by the scientific community than by public agencies, and oriented toward evidence-informed policymaking. Intermediation emerges as the weakest link: outside a small set of consolidated boundary organizations, mediation typically depends on isolated individuals or ad hoc arrangements. Diverse knowledge integration remains uneven, with persistent epistemic asymmetries. Cross-country comparison reveals shared vulnerabilities to administrative turnover and political cycles across Mexico, Brazil, and Chile, even where institutional density is higher. Together, these findings characterize a regional mode of interfacing that is adaptive and participatory in its dynamics but structurally fragile and highly sensitive to political cycles. This pattern suggests that dominant SPI frameworks, largely built on assumptions of institutionalized boundary organizations and stable policy cycles, need to be adjusted to account for interfacing sustained by individuals, short-term projects, and informal networks, as LAC evidence shows. Strengthening intraregional comparative research could thus both advance evidence-informed decision-making in LAC and contribute analytical resources for SPI scholarship in other settings where adaptive, project-based configurations prevail.