The ALLEA Working Group Truth, Trust and Expertise (WGTTE) is a transnational platform for perspectives on the nature of and relationship between truth, trust and expertise in the field of science. The expert group aims to interrogate and explore current and past dynamics of public trust in expertise and the contested norms of what constitutes truth, facts and evidence in scientific research and beyond. Central themes of the group include: the alleged loss of trust in science and evidence, questions of how valid knowledge can and should be acquired and communicated, and how different academic disciplines are dealing with these challenges.

The objectives of the Working Group are to promote the values of science and research, as well as the benefits of including scientific reasoning in public discourse. The group further aims to conceptualise a pan-European, or possibly global, initiative on the above questions deriving from changing social and political contexts in relation to truth, trust and expertise.

 

Publications

 

ALLEA Discussion Papers

Loss of Trust? Loss of Trustworthiness?
Truth and Expertise Today

 

Trust Within Science: Dynamics and
Norms of Knowledge Production

Trust in Science and Changing
Landscapes of Communication

 

Conference Proceedings

Science in Times of Challenged Trust and Expertise

 

 

 

 

 

Events

18 October 2017

Kick-off working group meeting in London at the British Academy

19 February 2018

Workshop in London at the British Academy on the alleged loss of trust(worthiness) in science and expertise in a changing world.

15 May 2018

Workshop in Sofia at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences on the spectres of scientific knowledge production in the 21st century.

16 May 2018

Scientific Symposium “Science in Times of Challenged Trust and Expertise” in the context of the ALLEA General Assembly 2018 at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

31 August 2018

Workshop in Amsterdam at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences on the changing landscapes of communication.

24 January 2019

International Forum “Democracy in a Digital Society – Trust, Evidence and Public Discourse in a Changing Media Environment” at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The event was co-organised with Re-Imagine Europa.

Panel discussion at the international forum “Democracy in a Digital Society” held at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities on 24 January 2019. Credit: Lioba Keuck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members of the Working Group Truth, Trust and Expertise

  • Baroness Onora O’Neill (Co-Chair) – British Academy and Royal Society
  • Ed Noort (Co-Chair) – Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)
  • Maria Baghramian – Royal Irish Academy
  • José van Dijck- Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW)
  • Luke Drury – Royal Irish Academy (RIA)
  • Göran Hermerén – Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities (KVHAA)
  • Gloria Origgi – Institut Jean Nicod                           
  • Christiane Woopen – Köln University

 

Contributing Experts to the Working Group Truth, Trust and Expertise

  • Ash Amin – British Academy
  • Yesim Arat – Science Academy Istanbul
  • David Boucher – Learned Society of Wales
  • Boris Grozdanoff – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
  • Katherine Hawley – Royal Society of Edinburgh
  • Lisa Herzog – Global Young Academy
  • Cathrine Holst – University of Oslo
  • Vassil Kirov – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
  • Stephan Lewandowsky – University of Bristol
  • Antonio Loprieno – Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences
  • Susan Owens – British Academy
  • Mike Schäfer – University of Zurich
  • Judith Simon – University of Hamburg
  • Günter Stock – Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
  • Nikolay Vitanov – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
  • Helen Wallace – British Academy
  • Erika Widegren – Re-Imagine Europa
  • Milena Žic Fuchs – Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Expert workshop at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Credit: KNAW