The aim of the programme and its progress
A core aim of the programme was to cast new light on two types of evidence, science and proven experience (VBE, vetenskap och beprövad erfarenhet), and on the way decisions are founded on them. We have succeeded in doing that and more. Today we have a far better understanding of these fundamental forms of evidence, and this allows us to make better use of each in decision making, communication (i.e. the communication of science and proven experience), and healthcare recommendations and policy making.

The concept vetenskap och beprövad erfarenhet has for more than a century been a standard of evidence in Swedish law and public policy in areas as diverse as education, environmental risk assessment, dental services and social care. In the VBE programme, we have conducted an extensive survey of the role of the concept in contrasting fields and professions. We have found that vetenskap och beprövad erfarenhet is not one concept but a family of closely related and contextually dependent concepts. We have done this, for example, by comparing various similar and dissimilar Swedish laws and regulations. We now have a significantly improved understanding of the role of vetenskap and beprövad erfarenhet in decision making and policy making. We also have a deeper understanding of the "logical structure" tying the concepts vetenskap and beprövad erfarenhet together, and we have analysed the best way to paste them together.

We have, for example: undertaken research into the ways in which expert witnesses give, and should give, evidence (science and proven experience) in a court of law; made contributions to the science of communication, seeking to draw lessons here for science and proven experience; seen that election polls are more accurate if they ask participants how others will vote; looked at health care transparency in an organizational perspective; studied forest owners' responses to climate change; seen how individuals with greater science literacy and education have more polarized beliefs on controversial science topics; and studied the theoretical challenge of communicating uncertainty in systematic reviews when applying GRADE ratings.

We have conducted two extensive surveys giving us important knowledge of the way dentists, doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists understand science and proven experience, and showing just how salient the concept is for their decision making.

Implementations
The VBE programme today has over 150 publications, and several more are in the pipeline. Many of the papers have been published in prestigious journals, including Science, PLOS ONE, Nature, Förvaltningsrättslig tidskrift, PNAS, Ecology and Society, Journal of Dentistry, Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine, BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, and Medical Decision Making. We have also published a series of eleven short books in Swedish and English on different themes (medicine, law, education, the environment, politics, social services, nursing, dental care and health advice) – all of which have a special focus on the role of vetenskap och beprövad erfarenhet in Swedish rules and regulations and decision making by different professions. In addition, by working with agencies, and in a series of workshops highlighting different aspects of science and proven experience, we have created meeting places where researchers and professionals can discuss these concepts.

A comment on implementation
The programme has been carried out on time and in accordance with the original plans. However, at its inception, in January 2015, no one had heard of Covid-19. Today, six years later, we are in the midst of a pandemic. This year some of us have researched and published new work on Covid-19. Others have participated in writing reports and statements. All of this was very much inspired and informed by our previous work on science and proven experience.

Future research questions
A large number of research questions will need to be tackled in the future. The broad field of AI, other new technologies, and the integration of science and proven experience with these covers quite a few of them. Another interesting area of research is the relationship between science and proven experience and tacit knowledge. Covid-19 has shown us that it is vital to study hard, high-stakes choices made under conditions of significant uncertainty.

Collaborations and dissemination of results
VBE associates have collaborated in several external research projects, including: the Foresight programme (dental care), Malmö University; the Health Law Research Centre, Lund University; BOOSTB4 (stem cell therapy), KI; Adapting community support for people with intellectual disability and challenging behaviours: barriers and facilitators in developing high quality support for a vulnerable group, City of Malmö; the Linné program LUCID (Lund University Centre of Excellence for Integration of Social and Natural Dimensions of Sustainability), Lund University.

Researchers within the VBE programme have worked with various agencies and academies in Sweden, Europe and the US on various VBE topics. Our external partners included: the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services (SBU); the Swedish National Council on Medical Ethics (Smer), the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE), Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA), the Santa Fe Institute, RAND, and National (US) Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Our collaborative work has resulted in joint research papers, reports and statements of various kinds. It has also involved workshops and conferences (in Sweden and abroad), and many research seminars.

We have written referral responses and op-ed pieces, editorials (for the Cochrane Library) and viewpoints (JAMA Network), as well as four pieces for The Conversation. We have participated in podcasts and radio broadcasts (including the BMJ's covid-19 coverage), in Almedalen, and in scientific events at the Göteborg Book fair. We have also given many talks designed to interest, inform and entertain members of the general public.

And we have a VBE webpage (www.vbe.lu.se).