There is a strong trend to considering that risk assessment is ‘science based’ and risk management and governance are ‘based on politics’. This leads many to assume that science and policy are done separately, or at least should be. When politics capture science there is a risk of political obscurantism that could lead to endanger common and public goods. This Europa Policy Lab seeks to establish a cross-cultural diagnosis on the way science and policy interact in Australia, France and more largely in Europe.

There will be a specific focus on risk-related policies related to the environment, planning and industry installations. At the same time, the belief that science is absolutely separate from socio political matters could lead to a techno obscurantism world. The two configurations could weaken democracy and have an impact on the way regulatory systems are organised and the policy cycle is framed and designed.

About the speaker:

Professor Myriam Merad is an associate member at UMR LAMSADE, Dauphine University, France. She leads research in risk governance and decisions in safety, security and health and environment. Professor Merad is primarily interested in expertise framing, policy analysis and participative/deliberative decision analysis. She is the author of six books in French on decision aiding, expertise and risk assessment and management; concertation and mediation in environment; and managing the organisational change of sustainable development, as well as three upcoming books in English and French. Professor Merad has contributed to different national guidelines and legislations in the field of safety and sustainability. She has written more than 50 papers for scientific journals and conferences, and has participated in 80 conferences and seminars. Furthermore she has co-organised more than 30 technical and scientific seminars, conferences and meetings.