I deologies—strong beliefs based on untestable assumptions—are the antithesis of science. Whether economic (the ‘‘invisible hand of the market’’ will solve social inequities ‘‘in the long run’’), religious (‘‘we’’ hold the sole truth of a divine entity), or political (our way is the best governance for assuring liberty and justice), these kinds of widespread beliefs are acceptable in individual...

The Lisbon Strategy was adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the European Union (EU) in 2000. By moving science into a central position for the development of a European knowledge-based economy and society, its adoption at political level seems to have been a powerful catalyst for the increased involvement of scientists in science policy in the EU. Recognising the need for scientists...

Prediction in traditional, reductionist natural science serves the role of validating hypotheses about invariant natural phenomena. In recent years, a new type of prediction has arisen in science, motivated in part by the needs of policy makers and the availability of new technologies. This new predictive science seeks to foretell the behavior of complex environmental phenomena such as climate ...

www.thelancet.com Vol 385 June 20, 2015 2445 Evidence-based policy making is an important aspirational goal, but only a small proportion of research has the policy impact it might have. Most researchers are not trained to create policy impact from their work, engagement with policy makers is not encouraged or rewarded in most settings, and the communication of scientifi c fi ndings occurs withi...

Policies can be very difficult to change, and advocates of change who claim a logical or scientific foundation need valid, reliable, and convincing data. An example of the process is the policy of regulating truck drivers’ hours of service in order to reduce motor vehicle crashes. In 1935, Congress directed the Interstate Commerce Commission to establish hours-of-service rules for truckers. In ...

I am concerned that we scientists in conservation biology, ecology, natural resources, environmental science, and similar disciplines are collectively slipping into a morass that risks marginalizing the contribution of science to public policy. Advocating personal positions on ecological policy issues has become widely tolerated as acceptable professional behavior and is even encouraged by a su...

PLoS Biology | http://biology.plosjournals.org Nobody questions the importance of good scientifi c information for sound environmental decision-making. But designing mechanisms to link scientifi c research to the decision-making process is no easy matter. Research and decision-making often seem to operate in different worlds. Policy-makers’ needs for applied fi ndings and best judgment typicall...