The new Policy-Club website, developed by the SeConS Development Initiative Group within the PPMA project, was presented to the public at the International Conference “Science Meets Public Policies” in Novi Sad. The conference was organized by the Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad and Public Policy Secretariat of the Government of Serbia.
During this two-day international conference, more than 30 participants from 11 countries presented and discussed ways, aided by scientific knowledge in various fields, to better understand problems of the society and find better solutions in devising public policies, with a special focus on sustainable development, by using data science methods to make decisions and strengthening the link between education and science on one hand, and public policies on the other hand.
The Policy-Club website is a space for experts to post their policy analyses and for visitors to search, read and download the published analyses.
According to Jasna Atanasijević, president of the Scientific Committee, University of Novi Sad, decisions on public policy are usually very complex and require different knowledge which immediate decision-makers are not necessarily equipped with. Bad decisions, made in opposition to indisputable truths, sooner or later become problematic and controversial. “Scientists are a part of society that nurtures values and competencies such as critical thinking, objectivity, openness to criticism and knowledge testing. All the findings arising from scientific research may contribute directly or indirectly to decision-making, whether private or collective. How progressive and rich our society will be, depends largely on the good collective decisions we make. In other words, as a society, we make progress to the extent we allow talent and knowledge to drive our decisions. If we keep them away from the decision-making process, we give up the products of our progress”, Atanasijević pointed out.
