EXPERT PANELS OVERVIEW

 

Update from the Chair of the Committee on Expert Panels (CEP)
 William Leiss

 

 

Among the many public-service roles of national academies around the world, perhaps none is more important than the preparation of expert assessments on critical issues of public policy.  The national academies in the United States are the most active in this regard, but the senior academies in other nations, notably in England, France, and other European countries, have been very active on this front for many years.

Now, after a hiatus of some years, RSC will soon be active once again in carrying out this mandate in Canada.

The Society renewed its commitment to this type of activity in the period 1996-2004, producing a series of eight reports, many of which received widespread recognition around the world for their excellence in providing authoritative guidance on difficult issues of public policy. 

Typically, national governments request such assessments, but other governments and organizations also may do so, and the academies may also undertake such projects on their own initiative.  Over the years, academies have developed specific procedures for doing such assessments, and they are in a position to guarantee to produce a report that is authoritative in all respects:  balanced, thorough, independent, free from conflict of interest, and based on a deep knowledge of all of the published research that is pertinent to the questions that have been posed.

Specifically, expert panels

• summarize and critically evaluate the “weight of evidence” on the questions posed to it, based on the published, peer-reviewed literature;
• follow recognized procedures in their inquiries, based on the practices of senior national academies that have extensive experience in such matters;
• are “balanced” in their composition (with respect to recognized disciplinary approaches), are free of conflict of interest, have all of the expertise necessary to answer the questions, and are suitably varied in their composition;
• prepare reports that are peer-reviewed, but are not seen by the organizations which request them until the report is released to the public.

The members of the Society’s CEP are responsible for selecting the membership of panels, including the chair, overseeing the conduct of panel activities, managing the peer review of the draft final report, and assisting the panel chair and members with any difficulties that arise during the conduct of their work.

Current members of the CEP:
Françoise Baylis, Dalhousie; Keith Banting, Queen’s; Tim Caulfield, Alberta; T. Geoffrey Flynn, Queen’s (Associate Chair); Chris Garrett, Victoria; John Grace, UBC; Steve Hrudey, Alberta; Jeffrey A. Hutchings, Dalhousie; Réjean Landry, Laval; David Layzell, Calgary; William Leiss, Ottawa (Chair); Louise Lemyre, Ottawa; Gordon McBean, Western Ontario; Jeremy McNeil, Western Ontario; Mona Nemer, Ottawa; Harrie Vredenburg, Calgary