Innovation, Regulation and the Emergence of Regulatory Science: an Empirical and Theoretical Analysis. Alan Irwin, Elaine McCarthy, Henry Rothstein, and Steve Yearley, Universities of Brunel and York
This paper is concerned with two linked issues
which are both relevant to risk and technology management: the
relationship between innovation and external regulation, and the
changing relationship between scientific research and regulation.
Specifically, and based on an empirical analysis of the UK agrochemicals
sector, we will explore and analyse the possible emergence of
a distinct form of regulatory science' which plays a central role
within each of these relationships. We will also consider the
concept of regulatory science in the light of broader discussions
within the sociology of scientific knowledge.
The paper then considers the consequences of this theoretical and empirical analysis for risk and innovation management especially within governmental and industrial organisations. What qualitative changes are taking place within the innovation process as a consequence of the changing scientific and regulatory framework? What issues are emerging concerning the place of scientific evidence within risk-based decision processes?