David Mair

The places where we live affect our trust in institutions Graph showing the percentage of people who trust the EU in cities towns and rural areas in each EU country. For detailed data, read the article linked in the post.

The place we live in influences our trust in institutions.

In 2024, on average:
- 60% of people living in cities trusted the EU,
- compared to 52% of people in towns,
- and 48% of those in rural areas.

Read the article: link.europa.eu/p9T3gG #JRC #SciPol

Proud that work of @ec.europa.eu Centre for Organisational Transformation can now be found online.
The Joint Research Centre #JRC @scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu brings scientific insights to improve the way we share knowledge and work together.
knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/organisation...

@dmirny.bsky.social

Why we remember the source of an opinion better than the source of a fact – new research Experts can combat misinformation by sharing their opinions, instead of just information.

"By sharing what they believe about the data – rather than just the data itself – experts can provide the social cues that our brains need to more strongly bind the information to its source."

Don't just "stick to the facts"!
#scipol @scharfbillig.bsky.social

theconversation.com/why-we-remem...

Generals prepare to fight the last war, politicians the last election?

This.

One of the best arguments for #science4policy #scipol #evidence-informedpolicy is that science is good at causality and problem definition, so it helps policymakers tackle underlying, systemic causes rather than symptoms and develop a robust intervention logic.

Power is a function of relationships has been living rent-free in my head ever since.

Want to become more powerful? Build more trusting relationships.

I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.

They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1

UK and Belgium both have Budgets this week with comparable fiscal challenges.

Interesting to compare and contrast the process and durability of the outcomes under FPTP and proportional (plus compulsory voting) electoral systems.

“People in countries… with a high level of general and institutional trust, low level of corruption, a stable, well-performing economy and high level of social cohesion and inclusion… fear migration the least,”

Two gripping episodes that demonstrate the power of history to illuminate our understanding of the present.

“Normative power of the factual”; all power is relational and thus constantly changing; the value of not switching off your brain when you are outraged; and other penetrating insights.

#scipol

Important - algorithms distort salience, normalisation, pluralistic ignorance, Overton window etc;

Citizen Engagement listening exercises, civic tech and public spaces, science part of the answer to keep debate grounded in reality.

World still on track for catastrophic 2.6C temperature rise, report finds Fossil fuel emissions have hit a record high while many nations have done too little to avert deadly global heating

World still on track for catastrophic 2.6C temperature rise, report finds
Fossil fuel emissions have hit a record high while many nations have done too little to avert deadly global heating

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

There’s a missing link in British public life – and it underpins crises from the BBC to our prisons | Rafael Behr A declining sense of collective identity is corroding trust in our institutions and undermining democratic politics, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr

“And so politics stays trapped in the doom loop: distrusted governments are afraid to take unpopular but necessary decisions; hard problems are deferred; things do not get better; governments become less popular.”

@rafaelbehr.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Excellent podcast, not least for Dr Buchanan recalling the great Cialdini quote “The media doesn’t tell you what to think, it tells you what to think about”.

Distraction just as much a threat as disinformation to make some issues more or less salient.

#merchantsofdistraction

Why is science for policy so hard? #3

A lot of public policy is about people, the economy and society all of which are complex systems. So a lot of social and behavioural science will be needed but these sciences are relatively new compared to natural sciences and are more affected by myside bias.

Why is science for policy so hard? #2

Science can’t answer a political/normative question.

Myside/confirmation bias means we see facts through lens of our values, identities & politics. So science for policy often leads to policymakers being confronted by evidence that challenges core beliefs.

Why is science for policy so hard? #1

Science is vast and of uneven quality and policy problems are complicated. So finding the most relevant and robust evidence in good time requires a huge synthesis effort.

Why science for policy?

It helps define the policy problem and find underlying causes.

It helps reach trade-offs and compromises by understanding impacts.

It helps find out what works through evaluation.

Most of all, it helps earn trust in democracy by grounding it in facts and reality.

Full house in MOLI for the Ireland Research for Policy conference. Looking forward to the next two years of the @scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu project for Ireland on the science for policy eco-system.

Anxiety as a greater inability to distinguish stability from volatility is a powerful idea.

Clear exposition of meta-learning and why increasing volatility and uncertainty increases willingness to believe conspiracy theories.

Increasing loss of stability in the environment, society and economy may be creating more demand for disinformation.

Excellent book on the predicting mind.

Nietzsche had a great science for policy insight. #scipol

“If someone has mastered one subject, it usually has made him a complete amateur in most other subjects; but people judge just the reverse.”

Science for policy is a team sport with intellectual humility the cardinal virtue.

“If the public does not have confidence in science, they will not rely on science to make decisions.”

Virginia Burkett on the money on the importance of scientific integrity in science for policy.

Homework for scientists and governments.

#scipol

Tips for resisting the anti-science lurch The loss of robust evidence in the public realm harms us all

Tips for resisting the anti-science lurch on.ft.com/47XOPkv | opinion

Too many other examples to mention by this also caught my eye as a cyclist riding in heavy traffic. #scipol

Another brilliant example of the science for policy work of @scienceinnovation.ec.europa.eu #JRC rewarded in our 2025 Excellence awards.

Golden Autumn trees and wet road in the Ardennes

Autumn in the Ardennes yesterday