The debate on the use, non-use and abuse of science in regulatory policy is as old as the field of regulation. But, there have been few attempts to link the different usages to specific policy instruments. This paper focusses on a policy instrument called impact assessment. Since 2005, the European Commission has prepared its policies by using a process of impact assessment that is supposed to collate the best available evidence before making a formal policy proposal to the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. We consider a sample of impact assessments of regulatory proposals in different domains (such as health and safety, environment, media and communications) and code the type of scientific evidence mentioned in the references of the document, covering both social sciences and natural sciences. We then relate the findings to the literature on regulatory policy and the usages of science in government.
