Questions to stimulate a smarter election campaign

Politicians who make use of science, create better policies. But they must also take many things into account at the same time: science, values, economics, society’s opinions and attitudes. Some of these have more influence on certain issues than others and it is important to know why. Politicians need to be open about what they are basing their proposals and decisions on, and to be able to access and assess scientific evidence.

#Hurvetdudet? (’How do you know that?’) is a Swedish initiative promoting more evidence-based election campaigning in the run up to the Swedish general election in September 2018.  The campaign ended on the Swedish election day on September 9, 2018 but the qustions is forever important. The initiative follows the success of March for Science in Sweden and the campaign urges all political candidates to highlight research findings and science in political debates and to make a clear distinction between perceptions and facts. Using the question ‘How do you know that?’, the aim is to ensure that scientific knowledge plays a greater role in public debate. It’s a simple but effective question to ask elected representatives, researchers and yourself – so go ahead and ask!

#Hurvetdudet? is supported by around 80 Swedish organisations committed to improving understanding of what science is and how it can be used to build a better society. These include representatives of trade unions, research funding organisations, associations, companies, authorities and universities.

The campaign is coordinated by the Swedish civil society organisation Vetenskap & Allmänhet (Public & Science).