Science and Public Policy - Use of science in public policy formation

As a result of the hockey stick episode I got interested in the issue of how and whether scientific information should be audited by users, in particular by a government considering a multi-billion dollar public policy decision based on findings in scientific research papers. Bruce McCullough (Drexel University) and I released a study through the Fraser Institute that looks at problems of data secrecy in academia and its effects on public policy formation. 

• *McKitrick, Ross R. and B.D. McCullough (2009) Check the Numbers: The Case for Due Diligence in Policy Formation. (Fraser Institute, February 2009)

A brief summary of that report is in the May 2009 Fraser Forum.

The following two papers were also listed in other sections on this site. They set down my initial thinking on the subject of fixing the process by which scientific information is assembled for use in policy formation. Also see Taken By Storm Chapter 10.

• *McKitrick, Ross R. (2007) Bringing Balance, Disclosure and Due Diligence into Science-Based Policymaking. Presented to "Public Science in Liberal Democracy: The Challenge to Science and Democracy", University of Saskatoon, October 2004; Forthcoming chapter in book of same name, Jene Porter ed. (2007), University of Toronto Press.

• *McKitrick, Ross R. (2005) "Science and Environmental Policymaking: Bias-Proofing the Assessment Process" Invited keynote address, International Policy Forum on Greenhouse Gas Management, University of Victoria, April 29, 2005. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics (53) 275-290.