Uses of scientific,technical, and societal information by policy makers

The entire life cycle of scientific, technical, and societal information is changing, due both to new technologies and to enhanced awareness of the importance of information in everyday life. This article describes features undergoing change within the life cycle and presents two examples, illustrating how information is used in policy setting. Possible measures of the way in which the public policy development process uses scientific, technical, and societal information are proposed.