(CANCELLED) Joe Roussos: "Science Advising in Crises"

Joe Roussos, Institute for Futures Studies: "Science Advising in Crises"

Abstract
Scientists play a necessary and valuable role in policy making. In times of crisis their input seems still more important, and during the Covid 19 pandemic we have heard many calls to listen to scientists and claims by governments to be “following the science.” But scientists should not make policy decisions themselves: they lack both the democratic authorisation and the necessary information to do so. What then is the proper role for scientists, especially in times of crisis? The orthodox assumption is that scientists should be neutral advisers: providers of objective scientific information to support decision makers. With examples from the Covid 19 pandemic in Sweden and the UK, I argue that the picture must be more complex than this. Truly neutral science advising is impossible and getting closer to it requires, somewhat paradoxically, much greater political involvement in science.