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Can scientists and policy makers work together?
  1. Bernard C K Choi1,
  2. Tikki Pang2,
  3. Vivian Lin3,
  4. Pekka Puska4,
  5. Gregory Sherman5,
  6. Michael Goddard6,
  7. Michael J Ackland7,
  8. Peter Sainsbury8,
  9. Sylvie Stachenko9,
  10. Howard Morrison10,
  11. Clarence Clottey11
  1. 1Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  2. 2Research Policy and Cooperation (RPC/EIP), World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland
  3. 3School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
  4. 4National Public Health Institute (KTL), Helsinki, Finland
  5. 5Infostructure Development Division, Centre for Surveillance Coordination, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
  6. 6Research and Technology Division, Centre for Surveillance Coordination, Public Health Agency of Canada
  7. 7Health Surveillance and Evaluation Section, Department of Human Services of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
  8. 8Division of Population Health, Sydney South West Area Health Service, Camperdown, Australia; School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
  9. 9Public Health Agency of Canada; WHO Collaborating Centre on Non-Communicable Disease Policy, Ottawa, Canada
  10. 10Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada
  11. 11WHO Collaborating Centre on Non-Communicable Disease Policy, Ottawa, Canada
  1. Correspondence to:
 Dr B C K Choi
 Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada, Government of Canada, AL no 6701A, 120 Colonnade Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1B4, Canada; Bernard_Choiphac-aspc.gc.ca

Abstract

This paper addresses a fundamental question in evidence based policy making—can scientists and policy makers work together? It first provides a scenario outlining the different mentalities and imperatives of scientists and policy makers, and then discusses various issues and solutions relating to whether and how scientists and policy makers can work together. Scientists and policy makers have different goals, attitudes toward information, languages, perception of time, and career paths. Important issues affecting their working together include lack of mutual trust and respect, different views on the production and use of evidence, different accountabilities, and whether there should be a link between science and policy. The suggested solutions include providing new incentives to encourage scientists and policy makers to work together, using knowledge brokers (translational scientists), making organisational changes, defining research in a broader sense, re-defining the starting point for knowledge transfer, expanding the accountability horizon, and finally, acknowledging the complexity of policy making. It is hoped that further discussion and debate on the partnership idea, the need for incentives, recognising the incompatibility problems, the role of civil society, and other related themes will lead to new opportunities for further advancing evidence based policy and practice.

  • evidence based policy
  • science
  • research
  • policy
  • decision making

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Footnotes

  • Funding: none.

  • Conflicts of interest: none declared.

  • Opinions expressed in this paper are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of any organisation, university, or agency.

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