How Do ‘Experts’ Affect Policy Making?
For animal advocates, especially those advocating on behalf of laboratory animals and other animals directly affected by scientific endeavors, it’s important to remember that the opinions of scientists and other “experts” can carry a great deal of weight in the public consciousness. In a study examining the role of experts and scientific publications in public policy, researchers found that it is a complicated balance. Firstly, policy makers and scientists are often at an impasse of tactics, as “many policymakers seek certainties and solutions, whereas scientists typically offer probabilities, uncertainty and multiple scenarios.”
Secondly, while scientists are generally concerned with data, policy makers may sometimes be concerned with involving public interest groups, or voters, in decision making. Overall, the researchers find that the influence of scientists is contextual: it is “influenced by the type of issue (simple or complex), the type of knowledge an expert has, the core values of an expert, the organization in which an expert works, the changing beliefs of experts and the context.” For animal advocates, this means that for issues like environmental protection, animal testing, and even farm animal welfare science, there is space to maneuver between scientists, policymakers, and the public.