Linking Science to Policy: The Role of Technical Knowledge in Regulatory Decisionmaking: Introduction

The essays in this special issue start from the simple observation that public policy, in governments throughout the world, relies more and more on information and methods derived from the physical, biological, and social sciences. Yet little detailed information is available about the impact of these developments on the organization and procedures of public agencies and, most important, on the quality of their decisions. Scientific evidence alone, of course, does not determine the outcome of controversial issues, but what role does it play? What are its limitations? And how can it be used to affect policy and decisionmaking? To illustrate the research agenda, I will just list some of the questions provoked by consideration of the essays in this journal. How is scientific evidence prepared and used in different institutional settings? How well, or how poorly, is the process managed? Can we define quality standards for science assessments and other analyses intended to guide decisionmakers! What makes assessment documents both scientifically sound and politically useful? What methods are available to verify information and to resolve scientific disputcs? How do diffcrcnt typcs of decision analyscs-scientific, economic, lcgal-contributc to the decision process! How do legislative, rcgulatory, and judicial organizations differ in thc use they make of scientific cvidcncc? Finally, how is scientific cvidencc linkcd to decisions, and are thc consequent decisions, if not objectively “better,” at least more informcd and more comprehensively explained? Answcrs to qucstions such as these will providc important knowlcdge about thc changing work of public ngcncics and the role of science in public policy. Several of tlic authors in this issuc participated in a symposium at the 1983 annual mecting of the American Association for the Advanccmcnt of Scicncc. I am pleascd that we wcrc ablc to continuc that dcbatc in Science, Tcclinology, d Human Values, and I would lilcc to cxprcss my thanks to a11 thc authors for hclping to produce the special issuc. -Jurgcn Schmandt Gucst Co-Editor