Hi Melanie,
There has been quite a bit of select committee interest in this area.
Although not on environment issues per se, the Science and Technology
Committee's report on 'Scientific Advice, Risk and Evidence Based
Policy Making' (2006) is a good place to start. Another report worth
checking out is the Environmental Audit Committee's 'The structure of
Government and the challenge of climate change' (2007) -- I understand
it considers how scientific advice is taken on by Government.
The Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee is in the
closing stages of a major inquiry on engineering, a strand of which
considers engineering advice in Government. A number of comments made
by senior engieers in evidence sessions have revealed a belief that
there is insufficient engineering expertise in Government, which means
that engineering input is often missing from policy formulation. This
may be a major problem in environmental policy (see the evidence
session with Lord Broers on the Committee's website). Scientific
evidence has been important in informing and directing policy on
environmental issues, but it is equally important that policy is
formulated with any resulting actions in mind, e.g., their
technological and logistical feasibility, cost effectiveness, risk
assessments etc... enter the engineers. The report will be worth a
look when it is published in late March.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Chris
Dr Christopher Tyler
6b Chaucer Road
London SE24 0NU
T: 07855 329854
On Thursday, December 11, 2008, at 05:25PM, "Melanie Smallman" <[log in to unmask]
> wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
We are currently involved with a project that aims to identify lessons
for communicating science to policymakers by looking at previous
instances where scientific evidence has influenced policy > ->
environmental policy in particular.
The research is at the earliest stages and we are currently conducting
a survey to help us identify a series of case studies that we will
investigate further.
If any list members have any relevant experience or ideas, I> '> d be
extremely grateful if you could take part in the survey (link below)
or email me thoughts directly. More information about the project
itself can be found if you follow the link to the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=blhbD07ZmOdZu92JTJqxHA_3d_3d
Thanks in advance for your help.
Best wishes
Melanie
Melanie Smallman
Think-Lab
www.think-lab.co.uk
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