Expert advice to public policy: the challenges for a reasonable dialogue in times of problems and post-normal science

Authors

Keywords:

public communication of science, governmental experts, COVID, post-normal science

Abstract


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The article examines the practices of governmental expert advice from the theoretical field of public communication of science, as a particular case of the interactions between experts and specific audiences conditioned by epistemic and extra-epistemic factors that affect their dynamics and results. The approach is based on the premise that the contexts of post-normal science, as characterized by Funtowicz and Ravetz, can no longer be considered exceptional circumstances but are nowadays the usual environment in which the links between agents take place. After a brief review of the main critical issues that cut across formalized counseling practices, it discusses how these became more acute and visible during the COVID-1 pandemic. Finally, a series of reflections are presented on the lessons to be learned from the experience in the event of a crisis of similar magnitude.

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2024-06-06

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Artículos Académicos

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“Expert advice to public policy: the challenges for a reasonable dialogue in times of problems and post-normal science” (2024) Ciencia, Público y Sociedad, 1(1), pp. 53–64. Available at: https://revistas.psi.unc.edu.ar/index.php/cps/article/view/45270 (Accessed: 21 November 2024).