The Role for Science in Regulatory Policy

August 6, 2009

An expert panel today suggested ways to improve how U.S. regulatory agencies use input from outside scientists. Their recommendations urge the government to be more transparent in selecting and vetting experts, clearer in defining what questions it wants answered, and more rigorous in reviewing the relevant literature. The report, from the Science for Policy Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., also comes with a warning to the Obama Administration: Asking scientists to make policy undermines the science and leads to bad policies. (ScienceInsider)