Introduction

Academies around the world are increasingly in the business of giving advice to policymakers. They do this in order to influence policy outcomes. Quality management in this context is therefore about ensuring that influence is actually achieved. It is not primarily, or at least not only, about avoiding factual error. Avoiding factual error is, of course, a prerequisite for a national science academy that seeks to embody the cream of the nation's science. But there's more to influencing policy than that.

Quality management has to embrace process as much as final output, since process is a key determinant of credibility and credibility, in turn, is central to influence. Particularly on issues that arouse public interest, public perceptions about the credibility of the adviser affect how readily the policymaker can embrace the advice being offered. Credibility depends both on the overall reputation of the organisation and on how the particular project is carried out. In the current climate in Western democracies there is a premium on openness (including consultation with a range of stakeholders) and transparency. This may be challenging for an academy more used to technical debate with experts. It is not always easy for an intrinsically elite body also to be inclusive and accessible.