Science and the future of the NRA

Sir Mark WalportChief Scientific Adviser to HM Government

• Health, wellbeing, resilience & security

• Knowledge translated to economic advantage

• The right science for emergencies

• Underpinning policy with evidence

• Advocacy and leadership for science

Government Chief Scientific Adviser

Credit: iStockphoto

Where does risk come in?

Built &Engineered

Credit: Reuters Credit: iStockphoto

Where does risk come in?

NaturalCredit: CDC/EthleenLloydCredit: Maccheek/PD

Social

Where does risk come in?

Credit: @Boston_to_a_T/TwitterCredit: Duk/PD

National Risk Assessment

Focus on prevention and mitigation

Speech Title

Prevent Mitigate

RecoverRespond

Credit: US Navy/Chad ZenthoeferCredit: iStockphoto

Credit: iStockphotoCredit: iStockphoto

• Hazard

• Exposure

• Vulnerability

• Risk

• Uncertainty

Hazard and Risk

Credit: Philippe Guillaume/CC BY-NC 2.0

What can science contribute?

Innovation: Managing Risk, Not Avoiding It, 27th March 2015

Solar Flares

Impacts:

•Potentially dangerous radiation exposure, especially to anyone airborne

•Power outages

•Disruption of satellite operations leading to GPS and SATCOM disturbances

•Disturbances to small-part electronic systems

Credit: NASA

Develop the necessary tools

Communicating to the public and to government

Scientific Diplomacy

Conclusion

• Focus more on preventing and mitigating risks

• Investigate the potential of cascading risks and impacts

• Use this knowledge to develop the tools necessary to deal with risks

• Work together to share information and expertise

• Communicating to the public effectively is vital

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 contact@go-science.gsi.gov.uk.

@uksciencechief

www.gov.uk/go-science