Walking on Tightrope: The Challenging Role of Science Advice in Managing the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines

  • Kristoffer B. Berse National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines

Abstract

Science advice is an exercise in funambulism. To effectively influence the grand spectacle of politics, science needs to constantly walk on a tightrope, as it carries the weight of objectivity on one hand and the complex, often subjective, demands of the government and public sector on the other. Lean too much on either side and it can easily lose either its credibility in the eyes of the public or its seat in the corridors of power. This struggle is no small feat given that scientists have to “muddle through”—to borrow the words of Charles Lindblom (1959)—a system that is highly bureaucratic and not easily malleable to scientific persuasions. This delicate balancing act is even more critical during major disasters such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The trail that SARS-COV-2 leaves behind has all the ingredients of a challenging crisis: its impacts are massive and unprecedented, it requires urgent action, and it comes with a good deal of uncertainty. While it is not exactly a black swan event, it is pretty much a major perturbation that makes a perfect ground for science to assert its authority as a provider and arbiter of scientific evidence.

Author Biography

Kristoffer B. Berse, National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines
Kristoffer B. Berse is Associate Professor at the National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG), University of the Philippines Diliman, and concurrent Director for Research and Creative Work of the UP Resilience Institute (UPRI). He has a multi-disciplinary background in urban management (PhD, University of Tokyo), environmental studies (MES, University of Tokyo) and public administration (BA, University of the Philippines). He has also received advanced training in sustainable development, environmental leadership and disaster risk management through programs offered by the University of Tokyo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Chalmers University of Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH-Zurich), United Nations University, and Academia Sinica (Taiwan). He teaches courses on public policy, research methods, local government, and special topics in public administration, particularly disaster risk governance, at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Published
2022-03-14
Issue
Vol 64 No 2 (2020)
Section
Reflections from Scholars and Practitioners

Keywords

COVID-19; emergency management; scientific application; science advice