Science, technical expertise and the human environment

Science permeates all aspects of daily life. Increasingly, however, the role of science knowledge in the policy making arena has been problemised as the assumed status of scientific knowledge as a neutral arbiter in public decision making has been challenged by scientists, policy makers, and the public. Concomitant with this challenge has been the demand for the incorporation of a plurality of forms of scientific knowledge into the public policy making process, and the extension of public participation in the decision making process. This paper draws on a range of sources to examine how science and policy making are being integrated in response to such challenges. In doing so the paper provides a comparative analysis of these changes through an examination of a range of different national contexts. The paper makes the point that despite a variety of traditions and institutional forms in these national contexts all have been marked by significant institutional change, and that a common feature of such change has been the increasing codification of approaches, and in particular the production of guidelines to shape the public science-public policy interface.