TY - JOUR
T1 - A collaboratively derived international research agenda on legislative science advice
AU - Akerlof, Karen
AU - Tyler, Chris
AU - Foxen, Sarah Elizabeth
AU - Heath, Erin
AU - Gual Soler, Marga
AU - Allegra, Alessandro
AU - Cloyd, Emily T.
AU - Hird, John A.
AU - Nelson, Selena M.
AU - Nguyen, Christina T.
AU - Gonnella, Cameryn J.
AU - Berigan, Liam A.
AU - Abeledo, Carlos R.
AU - Al-Yakoub, Tamara Adel
AU - Andoh, Harris Francis
AU - dos Santos Boeira, Laura
AU - van Boheemen, Pieter
AU - Cairney, Paul
AU - Cook-Deegan, Robert
AU - Costigan, Gavin
AU - Dhimal, Meghnath
AU - Di Marco, Martín Hernán
AU - Dube, Donatus
AU - Egbetokun, Abiodun
AU - El Kharraz, Jauad
AU - Galindo, Liliana Estrada
AU - Ferguson, Mark W.J.
AU - Franco, José
AU - Graves, Zach
AU - Hayter, Emily
AU - Hernández-Mondragón, Alma Cristal
AU - Hobbs, Abbi D.
AU - Holden, Kerry L.
AU - IJsselmuiden, Carel
AU - Jegede, Ayodele Samuel
AU - Krstic, Snezana B.
AU - Mbonyintwali, Jean Marie
AU - Mengesha, Sisay Derso
AU - Michalek, Tomas
AU - Nagano, Hiroshi
AU - Nentwich, Michael
AU - Nouri, Ali
AU - Ntale, Peter Dithan
AU - Ogundele, Olusegun M.
AU - Omenma, Jude Tochukwu
AU - Pau, Louis François
AU - Peha, Jon M.
AU - Prescott, Elizabeth M.
AU - Ramos-Vielba, Irene
AU - Roberts, Raimundo
AU - Sandifer, Paul A.
AU - Saner, Marc Albert
AU - Sanganyado, Edmond
AU - Sanni, Maruf
AU - Santillán, Orlando
AU - Stine, Deborah D.
AU - Straf, Miron L.
AU - Tangney, Peter
AU - Washbourne, Carla Leanne
AU - Winderickx, Wim
AU - Yarime, Masaru
N1 - Funding Information:
Science advice is also delivered to legislatures through channels other than dedicated units. It may be provided informally, such as by constituents, lobbyists, and advocacy organizations, or formally through parliamentary procedures such as inquiries and evidence hearings. Insights may also be shared by scientists and engineers placed in legislatures in programs such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Congressional Science & Engineering Fellowship and the Swiss Foundation for Scientific Policy Fellowships. Other initiatives directly pair scientists with policymakers, such as the UK’s Royal Society Pairing Scheme and the European Parliament MEP-Scientist Pairing Scheme. In yearly “Science Meets Parliament(s)” events in Europe and Australia, researchers and parliamentarians participate in discussions on science and policy issues (European Commission, 2019; Science and Technology Australia, 2019).
Funding Information:
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1842117.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, The Author(s).
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - 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 context-specific 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.
AB - 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 context-specific 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.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85073078420&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1057/s41599-019-0318-6
DO - 10.1057/s41599-019-0318-6
M3 - Article
SN - 2055-1045
VL - 5
JO - Palgrave Communications
JF - Palgrave Communications
IS - 1
M1 - 108
ER -