The value of the issue context approach for scientific policy advice

摘要

Scientific policy advice, and research for such advice, involves making a broad set of choices, for instance on research strategy and on the presentation of results. The issue context approach offers guidelines for individual advisors and advisory bodies (and their designers) to deal with these decisions. It distinguishes types of problems and connects particular strategies to each type. The issue context approach is critically assessed in this paper. Can this approach be of help for responsible scientific advisors and for designers of advisory bodies? We conclude that, for empirical and logical reasons, the issue context approach cannot live up to its promise. This assessment helps to determine the limits of the ambitions of the public administration to make policy-making more scientific.