Where is the evidence in policy making?

摘要

In 2017,the House of Commons Science & Technology Committee ran an open call to the science community and wider public to pitch their ideas for Committee inquiries.The resulting’My Science Inquiry’ led to a successful programme of work,and the Committee decided to run another iteration of the open call in 2019.This open call presented us at CaSE with a great opportunity to directly influence the work of the Committee.The idea for our pitch to the Committee originated from CaSE’s 2017 report on the use of evidence and policy making.One of our recommendations was for the Commons S&T Committee to review the uptake of and adherence to the Government Chief Scientific Advisor’s(GCSA)guidelines on the use of science and engineering advice in policy making.Science and engineering advice and expertise can assist all Government departments in meeting their respective aims.From shaping education policy,to the digitisation of government,to technical advice on building regulation post-Grenfell,or introducing new regulation for Al,all aspects of public policy can benefit.Despite the publication of clear guidelines,concerns remain about the adherence to these guidelines.Many Government departments have been without a Chief Scientific Advisor for extended periods,while the current GCSA has recognised that there are variations in the uptake of scientific advice between departments.