Science and politics: separate worlds

6 March 2007

There's much speculation and prejudice about how policians involve scientific results with political decision processes. In Lab Times a news article was pulbished presenting the results of an extensive investigation by the Swedisch organisation Vetenskap & Allmänhet on this very subject.

According to politicians science is most influential on the policy areas health, energy and environment. Three quarter of all politicians claimed to search for and use scientific research results to support political desions.

When comparing the use by politicians of different scientific disciplines with the influence politicians attribute to different scientific disciplines, a striking paradox comes to light that is presented in the table below:

The conclusion is that politicians rarely use scientific knowledge from fields they themselves consider most important for society. That is strange indeed.
The article closes:
"It is clear that researchers and politicians need new ways of interacting and new meeting places, as well as easy-to-read information on research."

source: Lab Times 28 february 2007, News, p.8