A new "Crisis Science Hub (CSH)" is supposed to facilitate rapid and structured cooperation between science and politics in future crisis. This is the recommendation of the developers of the Crisis Science Project (CRISP) initiated by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Irene Broer from the Leibniz Institute for Media Research (HBI) was part of the team as an expert in science communication.
The final paper has been published, in which the authors explain what is important for a successful crisis management and how a new institution like the Crisis Science Hub (CSH) could help.
"In times of crisis, quick assessments are needed," says Irene Broer. "But in most cases, scientific expertise cannot be easily applied to practical problems. Our task was to develop new mechanisms to facilitate communication between science and public administration that promote informed decision-making when time is of the essence."
Irene Broer supported the project with her expertise for four months. The interdisciplinary and intersectoral development team of administrators, scientists and civil society members analysed crisis situations and developed new formats and prototypes using methods of design thinking. The focus was on different forms of communication and cooperation between science and politics.
"It was important to us not to deny the complexity of the scientific advisory process, but to give it a home," said Irene Broer. "In the Crisis Science Hub that we proposed, scientists and administrators pursue co-creative approaches to jointly develop an understanding of the underlying problem situations and options for action."
Irene Broer has been researching editorial practices of science communication in Germany at the HBI since 2018. Findings from the project "Kommunikation in Krisen" [Communication in Crises], which analysed the interaction between different groups of actors, including science and government, during the Corona pandemic, were particularly relevant for her work in the CRISP team.
Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
