Zollinger, Lukas (2026) The Servant of Two Masters. Scientific Policy Advice: The Establishment of a National Scientific Advisory Network in Switzerland - A Field Report. fteval Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation (58). pp. 148-175. ISSN 1726-6629
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract (english)
This article examines the establishment of the National Science Advice Network (NSAN) in Switzerland as a response to the challenges revealed during the crisis management of the COVID-19 pandemic. The approach of institutionalising scientific expertise in a network managed by Switzerland’s six central education, research and innovation (ERI) actors aims to overcome the fragmentation and insufficiently formalised integration of scientific expertise into crisis management, which was identified after the pandemic. Switzerland’s political system – marked by direct democracy, federalism, and concordance – creates structural conditions that complicate the systematic use of scientific knowledge in policymaking. Unlike countries with more centralised advisory structures, Switzerland relies on a decentralised and often informal system of consultation, which increases coordination costs and lack of transparency. While evidence-based instruments such as policy evaluation and regulatory impact assessments have been steadily developed within public administration alongside a growing and increasingly professional consulting market since the late 1990s, the incorporation of scientific expertise remains often informal, based on personal and organisational networks and influenced by political interests.
| Subjects: | Policy, Fields & Systems Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Institution without fteval membership |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Scientific Policy Advice, Institutionalisation, COVID-19 pandemic, Expertise, Evidence-based policy |
| Identification Number: | 10.22163/fteval.2026.745 |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Jul 2026 15:54 |
| URI: | https://repository.fteval.at/id/eprint/821 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
