Watching the Watchers: Lessons From the Science of Science Advice

Institutions that play a watchdog role in society offer a persistent challenge for democracy: who shall watch the watchers? We shrink at the thought of unlimited police power or judges who place themselves above the law. Scientific advice is not immune to such concerns. Its role is to keep politicians and policymakers honest by holding them to high standards of evidence and reason. But who ensures the rationality of science advisers, making sure that they will be held accountable for the integrity of their advice?

That question may seem too trivial to be worthy of serious consideration. Aren't science advisers accountable at the end of the day to science itself? Most thoughtful advisers have rejected the facile notion that giving scientific advice is simply a matter of speaking truth to power. It is well recognized that in thorny areas of public policy, where certain knowledge is difficult to come by, science advisers can offer at best educated guesses and reasoned judgments, not unvarnished truth. They can help define plausible strategic choices in the light of realistic assessments of evidence...