ABSTRACT
Science policy involves navigating diverse worlds and worldviews, brokering knowledge and relationships, and translating evidence into usable knowledge that informs policy decisions and public debate. The post-truth phenomenon – characterised by changing interactions between people and information, and by changing trust in institutions and expertise – adds an extra layer of complexity. But there are ways of managing these post-truth challenges, along with opportunities for upgrading the practice of science policy. One way is through evidence synthesis – ensuring that trustworthy synthesised evidence is readily available across all areas of science and policy. Another is through public dialogue – engaging the public in ways that reveal new articulations of the questions we should be asking and that boost the legitimacy of public policy. Ultimately, the post-truth challenge might be no bad thing for science policy. It might force a healthy degree of introspection and might nudge us to consider new, improved, more socially robust modes of evidence-based policymaking.
