Lab Colleagues find the need for scientific advice changes

Courtesy of @ousachea

The HMP Governance Lab published a recent article in the BMJ titled “Role of scientific advice in covid-19 policy”. Led by Dr Holly Jarman, HMP Governance colleagues analyzed the scientific advisory advice taken during the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic, comparing decisionmaker response in UK, France, and Germany. Results pointed to the importance of accountable and transparent governance and the hopeful finding that political pressure led to greater accountability in decisionmakers.

Scientific advise may have been taken, but it's full application in COVID policies faltered. Better results are correlated with decision-makers who take advice from autonomous scientific advisors, make intentionally transparent decisions, and use this transparency to better manage internal governmental communications.

“Role of scientific advice” serves as a pertinent reminder that receiving advice does not equate to implemented action, as political and social factors play a role in the use of science. "Advising is not decision making," Jarman and colleagues state, pointing to the need for the autonomous advisors' advise to be taken seriously by policymakers. After the failures seen throughout the covid-19 pandemic, the public has a role in keeping the government accountable for its actions.

As society continues to consider the missteps taken by decisionmakers, the study affirms that there is possibility for us to gather evidence and learn the best steps to address future health occurrences. Holding leaders accountable is a role that all citizens can enact. Through the comparison of the UK, France, and Germany, citizens may demand greater consideration of scientific evidence from their decisionmakers in the future.

Read the full BMJ article here.