12 4 / 2021 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS

Leopoldina Vice President Regina T . Riphahn on a survey amongst German parliament members

Unlike in other countries , in Germany there is not much data on which types of scientific expertise members of parliament rely on and how they go about using it . Experience from other countries has shown that this kind of information is instrumental in improving the dialogue between the worlds of science and politics . To address this gap in knowledge , a survey was conducted amongst members of the German parliament and their staff as part of the Leopoldina Evidence Initiative . And the results are now in .

BY REGINA T . RIPHAHN ML *

“ The key conclusions include : Respondents reported relatively great trust in findings based on scientific methods .”

project also aims at identifying ways of better catering to the information requirements of members of parliament and making communications during the advisory process more professional .

The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina commissioned the ISG – Institute for Social Research to conduct the study at the start of 2021 . The 709 members of the German parliament during the 19th legislative period ( 2017 and 2021 ) and their staff were surveyed over a period of five weeks .

The questions were focused on access to sources of information and the frequency with which scientific evidence is relied upon ; occasions and areas that call for scientific evidence to be used ; ways in which scientific evidence is presented ; the value of scientific evidence and expectations of the world of science . Thanks to careful preparation and support from a wide range of sources including German parliament , a satisfactory response rate of 20 % was achieved , with no issues relating to representation to report . The findings are presented in detail in the discussion paper on “ Use of scientific evidence – expectations of expertise in science ”.

The key conclusions include : Respondents reported relatively great trust in findings based on scientific methods . This also explains the relatively high value placed on scientific findings compared to other sources of

Regina T . Riphahn Vice President of the Leopoldina information , and the opinion that scientific knowledge should be taken into account sufficiently in the political decisionmaking process . Interestingly , the survey results did suggest that the longer someone has been working in the German parliament the less value they place on scientific knowledge .

The demand for concise and clearly presented scientific results is high . Respondents believe they are well equipped to judge the credibility and reliability of scientific knowledge . A lack of time and specific usability of scientific findings provide a barrier to drawing on such scientific knowledge . The survey results varied

Regina T . Riphahn ML

Regina T . Riphahn is a Professor of Statistics and Empirical Economics at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg / Germany . Her main areas of research are social policy , job market research and demographic economics . Regina T . Riphahn has been Vice President of the Leopoldina since 2017 .

Image : Markus Scholz | Leopoldina

slightly depending on the respondent ’ s gender and political party . To benefit from scientific knowledge , it needs to be kept concise and presented in an intelligible way .

Recommendations for specific and practical steps can be helpful . It could also be useful to focus on the scientific employees of members of German parliament . The results of the survey are going to be presented and discussed in greater depth during a workshop .

* Regina T . Riphahn is an economist and representative of the Evidence Initiative .

Discussion paper “ Nutzen von wissenschaftlicher Evidenz ” ( German only )