Manufacturing consensus: Independence in consensus statements in health

Project Details

The project will conduct the first international systematic inquiry into the value, use and protection of public interest in Consensus Statements in health. Consensus Statements based on scientific evidence are a useful platform to progress policy and practice in an environment of uncertainty. Consensus Statements acknowledge both the importance of evidence but also the imperatives for action. However there is concern that they are inefficient, easily co-opted by interest groups and have changed the way the enterprise of science is perceived. The project will help inform future processes for improving the incorporation of evidence in policy and practice in a way that balances pragmatic, scientific and public concerns.