Evidence-Based Policy driven by the scientific point of view – a Hong Kong covid-19 experience
Evidence-Based Policy driven by the scientific point of view – a Hong Kong covid-19 experience

Summary/Abstract: RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This article identifies conditions that were relevant to the implementation of principles of the evidence-based thinking (EBP) model in Hong Kong in 2020. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: By employing public policy analysis the article discusses whether the scientific perspective truly prevailed over the political perspective in the first months of the pandemic in Hong Kong, and whether this represented a lasting change. In the Hong Kong case study both quantitative and qualitative approaches are employed, as well as participant observation, throughout content analysis of the source material. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The EBP concepts discussed in the first part of the text encompass four perspectives on public policymaking – including scientific and political perspectives. The article then examines the 2003 SARS epidemic and the relationship between it and the institutional preparedness and trust in scientific knowledge in Hong Kong during the covid-19 period. The article provides a case study of the management of the pandemic crisis in Hong Kong during early months, demonstrating the visibility of scientific experts and government actors and their influence on public policies. RESEARCH RESULTS: The article shows that in Hong Kong, during the initial period of covid-19 pandemic, the scientific perspective indeed dominated the process of formulating and communicating public policies. However, this dominance was limited in time. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: While the scientific perspective was prominent in Hong Kong and had a strong impact during the first weeks of the pandemic, the return of political control over public policy that occurred in mid-2020 signals that this episode was not a systemic change in Hong Kong, but it certainly highlighted the conditions under which an EBP process might re-emerge in the future.

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