An intro to science and policy

The Science Advocate aims to bring scientific knowledge to our community to support politicians to make informed decisions and drive political change. This blog post is for those who cannot see the relationship between science and policy or who love science but find politics and law dry and confusing (like I once did!) 

Policies are guidelines or plans of action created by an organisation or individual to address an issue. They can range from a company’s privacy policy to a political party’s climate policy. Policies are not necessarily legally binding, however they can be. A policy that is proposed to government, a.k.a., a bill, becomes a law if it is accepted and passes through the government. In Australia, laws passed by the government become Acts of Parliament. Ultimately, a policy has the potential to become a law, but only if the community supports it. This is why voting is so important (but that’s a topic for another day!)

Laws (collectively known as legislation) and policies are everywhere. They guide how we conduct ourselves in everyday life. They can stop us from speeding on the roads and encourage us to recycle. Given the enormous impact policies and legislation have on our everyday lives, it is important to ensure they are dictated by evidence, not opinion. This is where science should come in and be given the utmost importance.

If scientists are the ones conducting the research, they should also be the ones communicating their findings and whom decision-makers go to for advice. However, there has been a long existing disconnect between scientists and politicians. Government policy can sometimes be influenced by money and corporate power rather than scientific research, which is a huge barrier to creating real systemic change.

Imagine if your astronomist friend told you the Earth is round but you instead believed your lawyer friend who says the Earth is flat – it doesn’t make sense, does it? In the same way, you would probably take legal advice from the lawyer and not the scientist! People are experts in different things and it is crucial we work together to ensure we make evidence-based decisions.

Ultimately, the gap between science and society is caused by two things: lack of investment and lack of advocacy.

Lack of Investment

In a world where the cost of living is increasing and financial difficulties are common, scientists are struggling to support their research. Many scientists rely on government funding and political investment, meaning uninformed or biased decision-makers can hugely impact research processes. Poor investment means less job security for scientists and reduced research output. Additionally, scientists should be encouraged to practice ‘open science’ to enable collaboration with other experts and transparency of research. However, limited investment sources can create competitive and segregated research practices which can lead to secretive and inconsistent findings. Political investment can be increased through advocacy and campaigning, which brings us to the second problem.

Lack of Advocacy

The best way to convince someone to do something is to rally everyone you know and increase your persuading power. They are more likely to act if one hundred people fight for change rather than one person. It’s the same with science – if the general and scientific community can come together to advocate for scientific research and more evidence-based policies, we can lobby decision-makers to take our concerns (and our scientists) seriously. In addition, scientists themselves should not only conduct the research but also advocate for their research and its importance in the community.

While scientific funding issues may be a challenge for the general public to combat, advocating for science is something everyone can do (take the Science Advocate, for example!). The more people who understand research should be the backbone of policy and legislation, the more change we can create.

Hopefully then, one day, the laws that govern our daily lives will be proposed by informed politicians and voted for by informed citizens. 

Knowledge is power,

The Science Advocate

References:

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainability/articles/10.3389/frsus.2021.679019/full

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629621003649

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1443950620303966#sec5

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23299460.2020.1800969

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13241583.2021.1917097#abstract