No abstract

The quantity and complexity of scientific and technological information provided to policymakers have been on the rise for decades. Yet little is known about how to provide science advice to legislatures, even though scientific information is widely acknowledged as valuable for decision-making in many policy domains. We asked academics, science advisers, and policymakers from both developed and developing nations to identify, review and refine, and then rank the most pressing research questions on legislative science advice (LSA). Experts generally agree that the state of evidence is poor, especially regarding developing and lower-middle income countries. Many fundamental questions about science advice processes remain unanswered and are of great interest: whether legislative use of scientific evidence improves the implementation and outcome of social programs and policies; under what conditions legislators and staff seek out scientific information or use what is presented to them; and how different communication channels affect informational trust and use. Environment and health are the highest priority policy domains for the field. The contextspecific nature of many of the submitted questions-whether to policy issues, institutions, or locations-suggests one of the significant challenges is aggregating generalizable evidence on LSA practices. Understanding these research needs represents a first step in advancing a global agenda for LSA research.Notes 1 By policymakers, we mean those in government who use science to make policy decisions, whether members of staff or elected representatives. ARTICLE PALGRAVE COMMUNICATIONS | https://doi.

No abstract

This report examines the science advisory system in the UK, how it has changed and how it may develop further in the future. It looks at structure and functions within the UK Government (including the Government Chief Scientific Advisor, the Government Office for Science, government departments, scientific advisory committees - including SAGE - and the Science and Engineering Profession). It also describes science advice in the UK Parliament. The report looks at the role of public research funders, particularly UK Research and Innovation and its research councils, and it discusses how universities are responding to incentives to improve the supply of evidence and expertise. There are brief sections discussing the role of other actors (such as national academies, charities and industry) and discussion of some cross-cutting themes.