Policy expertise and use of evidence in a populist era

ABSTRACT

Populism and media-enhanced polarisation are reinforcing the declining trust in public institutions. These forces also undermine the perceived legitimacy of using expertise and evidence in highly contested policy areas. Expertise has been decried as elitist, or serving vested interests, or ineffective in tackling real-life problems. We argue that applying relevant expertise to public policy problems remains essential. However, this use of expertise must be situated within improved democratic decision-making and governance arrangements. Good policy governance requires not only using best available knowledge, but also strengthening civic trust and legitimacy, through fair and open processes. We also explore the continuing critical role of senior public servants in strengthening deliberative processes and in enhancing the flows of knowledge.     

Marine geophysical investigation of the inshore coastal waters of Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has been subject to significant maritime influences throughout its 9000-year known human history. In 1997 the University of Ulster in partnership with the Environment and Heritage Service (DOE, NI) embarked on a programme of seabed mapping in an attempt to record the submerged and buried archaeological resource using a suite of geophysical equipment including a side-scan sonar, a Chirp sub-bottom profiler and a proton precession magnetometer. The geophysical research programme has successfully imaged 80 19th- and 20th-century wrecks, and 20 targets of further archaeological potential. These data will aid the production of wreck-prediction indices for the coastline of Northern Ireland based on site formation processes and site stability. This information will make valuable additions to both Sites and Monuments Records and to the shipwreck database currently under consideration at the University of Ulster.