scholarly journals Science in Parliament

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 48-49
Author(s):  
Ellen Colebrook
Keyword(s):  
Science Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Select Committee ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Science Topic ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
Insight Into

Parliamentary Fellowships give PhD students the opportunity to spend 3 months working in Parliament, providing scientific information to policy-makers. Whereas most Fellows work with the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), researching and writing a briefing on a science topic, I had the opportunity to work with the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills (IUSS) Select Committee. The Committee is responsible for scrutinizing science policy across Government. My experience has given me an insight into how science policy is formed, and how scientists can inform the policy-making process.

scholarly journals Does Controversial Science Call For Public Participation? The Case Of Gmo Skepticism

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-50
Author(s):  
Andreas Christiansen ◽  
Karin Jonch-Clausen ◽  
Klemens Kappel
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Scientific Experts ◽  
Policy Making Process

Many instances of new and emerging science and technology are controversial. Although a number of people, including scientific experts, welcome these developments, a considerable skepticism exists among members of the public. The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is a case in point. In science policy and in science communication, it is widely assumed that such controversial science and technology require public participation in the policy-making process. We examine this view, which we call the Public Participation Paradigm, using the case of GMOs as an example. We suggest that a prominent reason behind the call for public participation is the belief that such participation is required for democratic legitimacy. We then show that the most prominent accounts of democratic legitimacy do not, in fact, entail that public participation is required in cases of controversial science in general, or in the case of GMOs in particular.

Policy analysis in state governments in Mexico

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan C. Olmeda
Keyword(s):  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
State Level ◽  
Executive Branch ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Mexican State ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
Mexican Politics

State governments have acquired a central role in Mexican politics and policy making during the last decades as a result of both democratization and decentralization. Nowadays state governments not only concentrate a significant portion of prerogatives and responsibilities in terms of service delivery but also control a substantial share of public spending. However, no systematic studies have been developed in order to understand how state governments function. This chapter provides an overview on how policies are crafted at the subnational (state) level in Mexico, the main actors taking place in the process and the way in which professional knowledge and advice influence policy makers. As it argues, the central role in the policy making process is played by the executive branch, being the governors the ones who have the final word in most important decisions. In addition, secretaries also concentrate power in particular policy areas. As a result of the lack of a professional civil service, however, a significant portion of policy analysis is performed by non-governmental actors (universities, NGOs and private firms). The chapter applies this framework to analyze a particular Mexican state, namely Mexico City.

The dynamics of innovation: on the multiplicity of the new

1995 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helga Nowotny
Keyword(s):  
Science Policy ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Individual Life ◽  
Relative Loss ◽  
The Individual

Innovation has become a leading slogan for world economies, politicians and science policy-makers alike. It is the driving force of Western consumer societies, which have come to expect the new to be replaced by the newest. However, in contrast to mere fads and fashions, the consequences of relentless innovation are real. They manifest themselves in changes in lifestyle, in the ways societies function and in profound changes in outlook and perception. This paper will ask how innovation became so central and which mechanisms sustain it in science and technology, art and individual life. One consequence to be further explored is the relative loss in importance of the individual creative act, with implications on how we view creativity, knowledge production and even the concept of the individual. Another question to be raised is that of the multiplicity of the new: despite the seeming diversity and multiplicity of option, is there also convergence or a process of synchronization at work?

scholarly journals THE USE AND INFLUENCE OF SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY MAKING: LESSONS LEARNED FROM NOVA SCOTIA

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzuette S. Soomai
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Coastal Policy ◽  
Strategic Approach ◽  
Science Policy Interface

Governmental organisations produce vast quantities of scientific information on the state of the marine and coastal environment which is often intended to guide policy-making to mitigate or reverse the declining trends in the health of the environment. How scientific information is used and how it influences environmental policy and decision making are however not well understood. The apparent disconnect between the knowledge and information produced by scientists and that used by policy makers is attributed to problems at the science-policy interface. Based on a multi-disciplinary literature review, this paper describes how policy makersseek out and use scientific information within the context of policy design in the 21st century. Best practices for increasing information flows across the science-policy interface are drawn from a study of the awareness, use, and influence of The 2009 State of the Nova Scotia Coast Report in coastal policy making in Nova Scotia.Strategic or rational approaches to policy making can increase the two-way flow of information across the science-policy interface as it facilitates collaboration among multiple actors in information generation, transmis-sion, and use. The production, use, and influence of The 2009 State ofNova Scotia's Coast Report in coastal policy making in Nova Scotia demonstrates the strategic approach to policy making whereby coastal policy is being developed through (i) intergovernmental partnerships, (ii) the use of best available information, (iii) linkages between the policy process and policy output, and (iv) public participation.

Developing Virtual Communities to Support Drug Policy Knowledge Exchange

2013 ◽  
pp. 279-302
Author(s):  
Mowafa Househ ◽  
Andre W. Kushniruk ◽  
Malcolm Maclure ◽  
Bruce Carleton ◽  
Denise Cloutier-Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Drug Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
Action Case

Within Canada, there is a growing need in the area of drug policy to develop virtual communities to facilitate knowledge exchange between academics and policy-makers. Such collaborations are regarded as a way to make research relevant by influencing the policy-making process. This chapter presents an action case study of three drug policy groups participating in various virtual knowledge exchange activities. The experiences and lessons learned by each group participating in this study are provided. Recommendations and solutions to conduct successful virtual knowledge exchange meetings based on the findings of this research are also provided.

How do radical right populist parties influence resurging debates over the stripping of citizenship?

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-237
Author(s):  
Benjamin Biard
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Process Tracing ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
The Media

Debates over the stripping of citizenship have been rekindled in many countries in recent years. Radical right populist parties (RRPPs) are often perceived to have played a significant role in these resurging debates, even when they do not possess executive power and are often marginalised by mainstream parties. Thus, RRPPs’ real influence on policy-making remains unclear and the way RRPPs intervene in the policy-making process to influence it has not yet been satisfactorily determined. By focusing on policy-making, this study asks the question: how do RRPPs influence resurging debates over the stripping of citizenship? Using process-tracing and evidence from archives, memoirs and 67 interviews with policy-makers and party leaders, this research aims to determine if and how RRPPs intervene in the process in France and Belgium. The results indicate that RRPPs matter but that their influence is strongly curtailed. Their influence is not exercised directly and through institutional arenas, but indirectly: based on a provocative style, in a specific context, and through public opinion and the media.

Deliberation and Policy-Making: Three Ways to Think About Minipublics’ Consequences

2020 ◽  
pp. 009539972096451
Author(s):  
Vincent Jacquet ◽  
Ramon van der Does
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Structural Change ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Making Process

Policy-makers are increasingly experimenting with various ways to involve citizens in policy-making. Deliberative forums composed of lay citizens (minipublics) count among the most popular of such innovations. Despite their popularity, it is often unclear in what ways such minipublics could affect policy-making. This article addresses this issue of conceptual ambiguity by drawing on an original systematic review of the literature. It shows that the literature has approached these consequences in three ways: congruence with decisions, consideration in the policy-making process, and structural change. The article discusses the implications for empirical research and points out trajectories for future research on deliberative minipublics.

The interrelationship between information systems and science policy formulation

1979 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-90
Author(s):  
C. Keren ◽  
Pauline A. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Policy Maker ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Technology Policy ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
National Level ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Information Resources ◽  
Science And Technology Policy

Improved information systems are a significant resource through which Science and Technology policy making can be considerably enhanced. The complexity of Science and Technology and its diversity raise serious problems as to definitions, quality and quantity of information resources which serve the policy maker, and the organizational and technical methods through which available knowledge is made accessible. The interrelationship of inter-organizational, national and international information systems is discussed in this context. Internationally accepted standards and proce dures should be developed and implemented but it is emphasized that international operations and conventions must have application at the national level if they are to have some permanency and be effective.

Temporal patterns of scientific information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 969-985 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elad Segev ◽  
Aviv J. Sharon
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Cyclic Patterns ◽  
Online Engagement ◽  
Engagement Process

In response to the news coverage of scientific events and to science education, people increasingly go online to get more information. This study investigates how patterns of science and technology information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia change over time, in ways that differ between “ad hoc” terms that correspond to news coverage and “cyclic” terms that correspond to the academic period. Findings show that the science and technology activity in Google and Wikipedia was significantly associated with ad hoc and cyclic patterns. While the peak activity in Google and Wikipedia largely overlapped for ad hoc terms, it mismatched for cyclic terms. The findings indicate the importance of external cues such as news media and education, and also of the online engagement process, and particularly the crucial but different role played by Google and Wikipedia in gaining science and technology knowledge. Educators and policy makers could benefit from taking into account those different patterns.

SEA MUST LEARN HOW POLICY MAKING WORKS

2001 ◽  
Vol 03 (03) ◽  
pp. 329-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
TRACEY NITZ ◽  
A. L. BROWN
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Strategic Environmental Assessment ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Environmental Input ◽  
Widespread Adoption ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness

The concept of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has developed rapidly in recent years and has been extensively promoted by environmental assessment (EA) practitioners. SEA has been the focus of considerable dialogue, increasing regulatory attention and emerging evidence of application. This paper seeks to advance the potential for the adoption of SEA in policy making by focusing attention on policy making processes themselves, and on the need for SEA procedures to be moulded to these existing policy making activities. We argue that widespread adoption of SEA concepts is unlikely unless EA practitioners become much more cognisant of the policy making process. Too much of the literature on SEA to date is insular — EA practitioners communicating amongst themselves. Dialogue on SEA development must be between EA proponents and policy makers/theorists if SEA of policy is to fulfil its promise. In order to make SEA of policies effective, SEA must influence the decisions that are intrinsic in policy making. We provide a simplified policy making model and demonstrate that it is necessary, and possible, for SEA to provide environmental input throughout the stages of policy formulation and decision making. The policy making context must drive the form and process of the SEA. In effect, this is an extension of Brown & Hill's (1995) notion of decision scoping, originally developed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of project-based EIA, to the environmental assessment of policies.

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