Post
Published on February 8, 2023
![](https://www.yorku.ca/dighr/wp-content/uploads/sites/181/2023/01/16.-Jan-24-Jean-Jacques-1-4-300x157.png)
On January 25, Dr. Jean-Jacques Rousseau used his broad experiences in government in Canada and abroad to comment on instances when scientific and technical advice fails to have a positive influence on public policy: "Science is necessary but not sufficient for positive public policy impacts". For him, the winning combination is science and a deep understanding of the context in which policies are deployed. Therefore, the onus is on experts to close the gap between technical solutions and the audiences that will be subject to their effects.
To illustrate the point, Dr. Rousseau introduced the distinction between quantitative and qualitative majorities by Haitian Canadian economist Fred Doura. The target of a policy cannot be assessed simply by counting. This is the weighing problem. He specified, "what is acceptable is a matter of divergent opinion. Whereas scientists rely of reproducible experiments, policy makers depend on stakeholder engagement". Technical experts that want to influence policy makers must also engage with that thinking. The talk ended with reflections on how his time as advisor in Haiti helped improve his ability to understand policy impacts in Canada.
Watch the seminar presentation below:
Themes | Global Health & Humanitarianism, Global Health Foresighting |
Status | Active |
Related Work |
N/A
|
Updates |
N/A
|
People |
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, AI4PEP Network Manager, Global Health & Humanitarianism Alum
|
You may also be interested in...
Recap — Utilizing Academic Research to Support Real-Time Decision-Making in Health and Humanitarian Crises
On November 30th, Dr. Ahmad Firas Khalid delivered an interactive seminar about how the Canadian Red Cross makes decisions using scientific, real-time evidence amidst health and humanitarian crises. Twenty-six participants discussed the Red Cross' involvement ...Read more about this Post
Research Fellow Syed Imran Ali Presented the Safe Water Optimization Tool at York’s Academia to Industry (A2I) Event
On June 15, at this unique in-person A2I event on current challenges in water sector research, Dr. Syed Imran Ali shared the Dahdaleh Institute’s experience with translating engineering and health research into practitioner-facing tools that help advance public ...Read more about this Post
York U researchers’ revamped AI tool makes water dramatically safer in refugee camps
As the world’s refugee crisis intensifies and climate change linked natural disasters become more frequent, unique machine-learning enabled tool helps aid workers deliver safe water in displaced-population settlements Woman and children gather at a tapstand ...Read more about this Post