Future Directions for Scientific Advice in Whitehall

Abstract

Scientific advice has never been in greater demand; nor has it been more contested. From climate change to cyber-security, poverty to pandemics, food technologies to fracking, the questions being asked of scientists, engineers, social scientists and other experts by policymakers, the media and the public continue to multiply. At the same time, in the wake of the financial crisis and controversies such as ‘Climategate’, the authority and legitimacy of those same experts is under greater scrutiny. To mark the transition in April 2013 to Sir Mark Walport as the UK’s chief scientific adviser, this collection brings together new essays by more than 20 leading thinkers and practitioners, including Sir John Beddington,Sheila Jasanoff, Geoff Mulgan, Roger Pielke Jr., Jill Rutter, Mike Hulme and Sir Bob Watson. In the context of the UK government agenda for Whitehall reform, and a growing emphasis on the use of evidence in policy, these contributors chart future directions for the politics and practice of scientific advice. This project is a collaborative initiative of five partners: University of Cambridge’s Centre for Science and Policy; Science Policy Research Unit(SPRU) and ESRC STEPS Centre at the University of Sussex; Alliance for Useful Evidence; Institute for Government; and Sciencewise.

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