A conversation with the Government Office for Science · Khat ACMD report “…khat has no direct...

A conversation with the Government Office

for Science

The University of Bristol 29 June 2016

2 Science Advice in Government

Key issues that drive the agenda

Infrastructure

(Natural and built)

Science Policy The Economy

Emergencies


Science Advice:

Dealing with issues

Hydraulic fracturing:

shale gas

Modern Slavery

Foresight – Cities 2065

HOUSEHOLD

INCOME PER

WEEK,

ENGLAND AND

WALES (GBP)


Foresight –

Future of Flooding

Science Advice:

Mitigating Risk

The National

Risk Register


Government Office

for Science

Sir Mark Walport

(~80 people)

Cabinet

Prime Minister

Departmental

Chief Scientific

Advisers

~20

Scientific

Advisory

Committees

~1500

Government

Scientists

and Engineers

~15,000

Public Sector

Research

Establishments

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Secretary

Horizon

Scanning

Team

Council of

Science and

Technology

Science advice in government:

The Government Office for Science

Data Science

Other Government Departments



The Government Office for Science

In practice this means we

prioritise issues that are:

• important

• novel

• present, urgent policy

challenges

• have long-term

implications for science

in relation to policy.

Outcomes at stake must be

large

▼

Science must be a significant

factor in determining the

outcomes

▼

If it can be done by someone

else, it should be

When we get involved:



The wider networks

Expert panel:

• Universities,

• Industry,

• Government,

• Regulators, and

• Think tanks.

The FinTech Futures report, March 2015


1. Clear roles and

responsibilities

2. Independence

3. Transparency and

openness

Giving Science Advice:

The ground rules

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/scientific-advice-to-government-principles











In our experience of giving advice to ministers, there

are three key things to consider:

I will go through each of these in turn…

• Different lenses

• Effective communication is essential

• Help policy makers solve their problems

11 Science Advice in Government 10 Science Advice to Government - Auckland

Scientific evidence is

just one part of the

picture

We can provide the

very best evidence but

must recognise that the

‘lenses’ of politics and

the machinery of

delivery will all interact

to produce the final

outcome.

Politics

DeliveryEvidence

Policy

Different lenses


Different lenses:

Shale gas

Scientific concerns

‘Hydraulic fracturing’

Fossil fuel, engineering and geological:

• Loss of integrity in aquifer zone

• Seismic events

• Methane release

Understanding public attitudes

‘Fracking’

Anti-fracking movements are not solely concerned

with emissions or the risks of pollution or seismicity:

• Opposition to the oil and gas industry

• ‘Not in my back yard’

• Opposition to continued exploitation of fossil

fuels in general


Different lenses:

Respect the different roles

Khat

ACMD report

“…khat has no direct causal link to adverse

medical effects, other than a small number

of reports of an association between khat

use and significant liver toxicity”.

Home Office response

“Based on ACMD’s advice, I recognise that

current evidence shows no direct causal

link to medical harms…(However) I am

concerned that the UK is at serious risk of

becoming a single, regional hub for the

onward illegal trafficking of khat…I have

therefore made the decision to control khat

as a Class C drug...”


Effective communication:

understand your audience

Source: Rankmaniac, 2012



Language matters

Source: Somerville and Hassol, Communicating the science of climate change,

Physics Today, October 2011

The need for scientific

precision needs to be

balanced with the

need to be

understood by non-

specialists


“If you say the world is going to end, people switch off thinking ‘here they go again, trying to sell us something’.” Focus group participant, Sutton Coldfield

(Shuckburgh et al, 2012)


Framing matters Positive or negative

framing (and values

emphasised) can

influence how information

is assimilated

https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl&imgrefurl=http://www.picturesnew.com/children-clip-art.html&h=0&w=0&tbnid=3buQUoDciN5E6M&zoom=1&tbnh=96&tbnw=526&docid=6xP3gdpU2yEc5M&tbm=isch&ei=UPKOU8TaDIXHOcizgLgH

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=HkzCdeXxH1InmM&tbnid=Zmr-UYo4Ul1BXM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://sweetmidlife.com/?p%3D1678&ei=MDuQU8PlGMzB7Abyz4DICw&bvm=bv.68235269,d.ZGU&psig=AFQjCNFIJRFInFMgw2ygp0pJDSCb48-3QA&ust=1402047649459988


Help policy makers solve their problems:

The Internet of Things

GO-Science Blackett review:

• Security

• Standards

• Skills

• Need for demonstrators

(£40m)


Help policy makers solve their problems:

Dealing with an emergency

• Modelling

• Risk to UK

• Screening

• Virus survival

• Vaccines

• What else can

we do?

WHO Ebola Situation Report - 18 March 2015

2014 Ebola Outbreak - What has SAGE considered?


Ways to get involved

Contribute

• Ad-hoc requests

(e.g. in an emergency)

• Calls for evidence

• Workshops and expert

panels

• Papers and peer

reviews

Join the Civil Service!

• Placements

• S&E Fast Stream

• Chief Scientific

Adviser

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. We apologise for any errors or omissions in the included attributions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future versions of this slide set. We can be contacted through [email protected] .

@uksciencechief

www.gov.uk/go-science

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