@article{fdi:010082238,
  title = {{P}ublic perceptions of scientific advice : toward a science savvy public culture ?},
  author = {{S}chultz, {E}milien and {W}ard, {J}. {K}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{O}bjectives: {B}oth the political appetite for a science-based coronavirus disease 2019 ({COVID}-19) policy and its acceptability to the public are little understood, at a time of sharp distrust not only of governments but also of scientists and their journals' review practices. {W}e studied the case of {F}rance, where the independent {S}cientific {C}ouncil on {COVID}-19 was appointed by {P}resident {M}acron on {M}arch 12, 2020. {S}tudy design: {W}e conducted a survey on a representative sample of the {F}rench adult population. {M}ethods: {O}ur data were collected by the {F}rench {I}nstitute of {P}ublic {O}pinion using a self-administered online questionnaire. {T}his was completed by a sample of 1016 people stratified to match {F}rench official census statistics for gender, age, occupation, and so on. {W}e conducted statistical analysis using {P}ython ({P}andas-{S}ci{P}y-{S}tatsmodels) with {C}hi-squared and {W}ilcoxon rank-sum tests to control for statistical significance. {R}esults: {I}ntense media coverage has given the council a very high public profile, with three respondents out of four (73%) having heard about it. {P}erceptions are positive but complex. {F}rench citizens expect science to be important in political decision-making. {F}our of five (81.5%) want political decisions, in general, to be based on scientific knowledge. {B}ut one in two (55%) says that the government has not relied enough on science and only 36% are satisfied with the government's crisis management to date. {A}lthough most feel that the council has a legitimate advisory role even in situations of uncertainty (only 15% disagree), it is not perceived as fully independent. {O}nly 44% think that it directly represents the scientific community, and only one of three people considers it completely independent from the government (39%) and the pharmaceutical industry (36%). {C}onclusions: {O}ur study confirms that while the transparency of scientific advice is important, it alone cannot ensure public confidence in political decision-making. {W}e suggest that efforts made today to instill a 'science-savvy' public culturedone that allows the complex articulation between scientific knowledge, uncertainty, and political decision-making to be understood and accounted for would greatly benefit evidence-based policy in future crises.},
  keywords = {{E}vidence-based policy ; {S}cientific advice ; {P}ublic attitude ; {COVID}-19 ; {F}rance ; {FRANCE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}ublic {H}ealth},
  volume = {194},
  numero = {},
  pages = {86--88},
  ISSN = {0033-3506},
  year = {2021},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.puhe.2021.02.007},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010082238},
}