expertmedverkan

Expertmedverkan is a term used in Swedish public administration and research policy to describe structured involvement of experts in decision-making, policy development, program evaluation, and governance. It aims to integrate specialized knowledge and rigorous evidence into processes that affect public outcomes, while balancing efficiency with accountability and transparency.

Forms of expertmedverkan include advisory committees, expert panels, commissioned reports, external peer reviews, and structured inquiries. Experts may be invited to assess stimuli such as policies, risk assessments, or program designs, and their findings are compiled into serving materials for decision makers.

The process typically involves clear mandates, defined timelines, transparent selection criteria, and explicit conflict-of-interest policies to protect independence.

The objectives are to improve the quality and credibility of decisions, ensure relevance to technical realities, and enhance legitimacy by making policy choices more evidence-based. Effective expertmedverkan relies on professional integrity, diverse expertise, and mechanisms for documenting deliberations and rationale.

Challenges include potential bias or overreliance on a narrow set of experts, difficulties in balancing speed with thorough review, costs, and concerns about democratic legitimacy. Institutions may address these by broadening representation, combining expert input with stakeholder engagement, and evaluating impact of expert contributions.

Expertmedverkan is distinct from general public consultation but often complements stakeholder participation and democratic processes. It is commonly applied in areas such as regulatory impact assessment, research funding, health technology assessment, and science policy. See also advisory committee, expert panel, and stakeholder engagement.