Next Event
Free Seminar by Dr. David Rose
University of East Anglia
Thursday 26th April, 2018
3pm, Lecture Theatre A, Hicks Building
Despite claims that we live in a post-truth society, it remains commonplace for policy-makers to consult evidence to increase the robustness of decision-making. Few scholars of the evidence-policy interface, however, have used legislatures as sites of study, despite the fact that they play an important role in modern democracies. There is thus limited knowledge of how evidence is sourced by, and used in, legislatures, which presents challenges for science advisory structures, as well as to others who are interested in ensuring that democratic decisions are evidence-informed. In this talk, I present results from an empirical study, conducted with UCL STEaPP and POST, into the use of evidence in the UK Parliament. We were interested in how evidence was defined, sourced, and used by various actors in Parliament, including MPs, Peers, and parliamentary staff. Through the use of a mixed methodology, including interviews and surveys of people in Parliament, as well as an ethnographic investigation of committees, we found that evidence is sourced from a variety of different places. The Higher Education sector, however, had a relatively poor record of direct engagement with Parliament and my talk will discuss how we might better incentivise academic policy engagement. In mapping out the journey of evidence through the UK Parliament, the talk also offers advice to science advisory structures about how evidence can be delivered in a timely, targeted, and relevant manner. I also consider how parliamentary processes for sourcing and using evidence might be refined to improve the robustness, and transparency, of evidence use.
Free refreshments will be provided during the event and there will be opportunities to network at the end.
Free Seminar by Dr. David Rose
University of East Anglia
Thursday 26th April, 2018
3pm, Lecture Theatre A, Hicks Building
Despite claims that we live in a post-truth society, it remains commonplace for policy-makers to consult evidence to increase the robustness of decision-making. Few scholars of the evidence-policy interface, however, have used legislatures as sites of study, despite the fact that they play an important role in modern democracies. There is thus limited knowledge of how evidence is sourced by, and used in, legislatures, which presents challenges for science advisory structures, as well as to others who are interested in ensuring that democratic decisions are evidence-informed. In this talk, I present results from an empirical study, conducted with UCL STEaPP and POST, into the use of evidence in the UK Parliament. We were interested in how evidence was defined, sourced, and used by various actors in Parliament, including MPs, Peers, and parliamentary staff. Through the use of a mixed methodology, including interviews and surveys of people in Parliament, as well as an ethnographic investigation of committees, we found that evidence is sourced from a variety of different places. The Higher Education sector, however, had a relatively poor record of direct engagement with Parliament and my talk will discuss how we might better incentivise academic policy engagement. In mapping out the journey of evidence through the UK Parliament, the talk also offers advice to science advisory structures about how evidence can be delivered in a timely, targeted, and relevant manner. I also consider how parliamentary processes for sourcing and using evidence might be refined to improve the robustness, and transparency, of evidence use.
Free refreshments will be provided during the event and there will be opportunities to network at the end.
Welcome
We are a group of early career researchers based within the Faculty of Science at the University of Sheffield.
We are interested in how policies are made at local, national and international levels, how scientific research feeds into these policies and how we as scientists can engage in policy issues.
As a group, we aim to bridge knowledge gaps between scientists and policy-makers by facilitating discussions and debates at monthly events, with talks from scientists and policy makers, alongside workshops covering key issues and career sessions.
There are many ways to get involved - please follow us on our Twitter account, Facebook page, email us or follow our blog. Have a look at our events page too for details of upcoming workshops and talks.
We are interested in how policies are made at local, national and international levels, how scientific research feeds into these policies and how we as scientists can engage in policy issues.
As a group, we aim to bridge knowledge gaps between scientists and policy-makers by facilitating discussions and debates at monthly events, with talks from scientists and policy makers, alongside workshops covering key issues and career sessions.
There are many ways to get involved - please follow us on our Twitter account, Facebook page, email us or follow our blog. Have a look at our events page too for details of upcoming workshops and talks.
Latest News
22nd May 2017
POSTnote competition 2017: we have our winners!
1st Place: Alcohol and Cancer
2nd Place: Household food security
3rd Place Cyber security and critical national infrastructure
17th May 2017:
In two days time, we announce the winner of our POSTnote competition, where we challenged each team to write a briefing note for MPs in the exact style of those issued by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. Although each group had a deliberate mix of different disciplines, we were very impressed with the standard of all the entries, which covered topics as diverse as cyber security; how alcohol influences cancer risk and low-carbon aviation. Come along to our awards ceremony this Friday, where our guest speaker James Wilsdon, Professor of Research Policy (University of Sheffield) will present the prizes and you can view all our excellent entries. And there will be a drinks reception of course! 15.00-16.30, Council Room, Firth Court.
15th August 2016:
After a bit of a break over the summer months SiP have got a fantastic line-up of events planned for the autumn months. First up is our Science Policy Careers workshop. More details and registration here.
14th August 2016:
House of Lords Science and Technology Committee recruiting for a policy analyst... See here for details. Closing date for applications is Monday 29th August.
14th January 2016:
Happy New Year from everyone on the SiP committee. We're looking forward to a fantastic year of science and policy related seminars, workshops, careers days, competitions and our biennial conference in the autumn. We've got a number of speakers lined up including Paul Pearce-Kelly (Zoological Society of London and IUCN Climate Change Group) and Saskia Richartz (Deputy Director of the Greenpeace European Unit), along with a panel debate for Science Week on 'Food Production, Health and the Environment'. Keep an eye on our events page for further details when they're confirmed.
8th December 2015:
Following our Science in Policy trip to Westminster last month, we’re delighted to announce the winner of our blog competition! The exciting day included lunch with Paul Blomfield MP, a chance to sit in on a Select Committee evidence hearing, and of course a tour of the venerable Houses of Parliament. Congratulations to Jonathan Green from Animal and Plant Sciences, who wins £100 for his engaging and atmospheric blog post about his time in Westminster. We also commend Connor Heapy and James Bradley for their entries, and we particularly enjoyed James’s creative account which likened policy-making to plant function! All three accounts are published on our blog so do have a look.
13th October 2015:
Science in Policy are going to Westminster! On Tuesday 17th November we have 25 places on an expenses paid trip to the Houses of Parliament. Come and see where policy is made. You've heard of select committees - come and see what an evidence session looks like. You've seen the House of Commons chamber - come and see where policy is debated. See our events page for details of how to book your place!
28th September 2015:
Seven ideas for getting your research heard in policy environments: https://t.co/AzqdJDhf09
20th August 2015:
Just thought we'd flag this one up for anyone who might be interested. Chris Peters from Sense About Science did a really great "Ask For Evidence" talk at one of our SiP sessions last year. Sense About Science are now recruiting for 6 ambassadors to represent the Ask for Evidence campaign and give talks to different groups around the UK. It looks like a fantastic opportunity to get involved with a really great campaign. See http://bit.ly/1PlL5bf for more details and how to apply!
29th July 2015: Are you a Research Council funded PhD student? Fancy getting some experience of working in a policy-influencing organisation? If so Research Councils UK are offering three-month internships in one of a group of organisations including POST and the Centre for Science and Policy. The deadline for applications is 28th August and you can find out more here: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/skills/policyinternships/
26th June 2015: We've just uploaded a new blog post about our EU Policy workshop led by Dr Martin Penny in collaboration with Think Ahead and photos from the event.
26th May 2015: Sheffield Science Gateway have featured our POSTnote competition on their website as a case study: you can read all about it here or see the full pdf on our POSTnote competition resources page.
8th April 2015: Great news. We've just secured new funding from Sheffield Science Gateway to run a whole host of fantastic events from now until January 2016. Hurrah! Keep an eye on the events page for details and announcements of upcoming events!
18th February 2015: Congratulations to all of our POSTnote competition groups on a fantastic selection of presentations at the 'Hot Topics in Science and Policy' event on Monday. In particular, well done to our 3 prize-winning teams: Parkinson's Disease, mHealth Apps and Social Mobility and Science Education.
The Social Mobility and Science Education team: Winners of the SiP POSTnote competition
Previous news items
9th February 2015: The deadline for the POSTnote competition has passed and we've had 8 superb entries. We have a fantastic line-up for the prize-giving ceremony: 'Hot topics in science and policy: a whistle-stop tour'
3rd December 2014: An informal talk and Q & A session with Dr Rosie Woodroffe from the Zoological Society of London on Monday 8th December.
19th November 2014: Our second event of the month is taking place this Friday - a POSTnote workshop and competition with a £500 prize for the winning POSTnote! See details here.
22nd October 2014: Our next event is our FREE one day conference Science based policy or policy based science? Discovering the potential of your research in the real world on the 7th November
20th October: Dr Chris Peters, Scientific Liaison at Sense about Science will talk about 'Ask for Evidence- Sense about Science'
3rd June 2014 - New blog post by Catherine Preece about her time shadowing an MP at the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff, courtesy of the scheme run by the British Ecological Society.
14th April 2014 - A new blog post by Rebecca Atkinson can be found here, where she talks about her experience of shadowing MEP Chris Davies in Brussels as part of a shadowing scheme run by the British Ecological Society.
11th April 2014 - This week six committee members from our Science in Policy group went on a field-trip down to London to attend the BES Policy Workshop, we heard many inspiring science-policy talks and Kim Mullins has written a blog about our day here.
1st April 2014 - This month's event will take place on this Friday, 4th April, at 3pm in the BMS Conference Room. It's a talk by Dr Graham Hopkins from The Ecological Consultancy on "The barriers to implementing science-driven policy: Invertebrates & the Habitats and Environmental Impact Assessment Directives as a case study" which will be an opportunity to learn more about EU Directives, their practical application and the issues standing in the way of delivering science based policy. See you there!
24th March 2014 - Today we have a great new blog post from Angie White about her visit to the Voice of the Future event where young people quizzed MPs on science and technology issues. Plus here's a reminder of this week's Science in Policy event: a talk by Angus Innes MBE, Prosecution Team Leader at the Environment Agency on Thursday 27th March at 3.30pm in the BMS Conference Room.
5th February 2014 - Our next event will be on Monday 10th February when we'll be hosting Juliette Young from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology who will talk about the recently completed Spiral Project, a European Commission funded project researching science-policy interfaces
13th December 2013 Check out our guest article post on our blog by Dr Emily Mockford on 'The Poetry of Science'
6th December 2013 Next event is TODAY at 3pm, a talk by Dr Hayley Stevenson on the topic of politics and climate change, in Jessop West Exhibition Space
5th November 2013 Remember, remember... that we have a very exciting talk coming up this week! Dr Peter Bridgewater, Chair of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee will be talking about "Life in the science-policy interface: high risk strategy or easy option?" on Friday 8th Nov at 3pm in the BMS Conference Room
23rd October 2013 A new blog post is now online, written by Carla Turner
26th September 2013 We're back from the summer with a new event - a talk by Martin Smith, Policy Manager from the British Ecological Society on 3rd Oct.
29th July 2013 We have two new great blog posts written by Angela White for you to read. 'Parliamentary Links Day in Westminster' and 'Silent Debate'.
18th July 2013 We are very much looking forward to our next event, a talk and Q&A session by Xameerah Malik from the Parliamentary Select Committee for Science and Technology at 1pm on Monday 22nd July in Jessop West Exhibition Space.
9th July 2013 Are you a PhD student funded by NERC or BBSRC? If so, there are 35 (!) policy internships you can apply for here.
5th July 2013 Our first workshop was a great success and we had lots of lovely feedback. A special thank you to Dr Ruth Little, from the Department of Geography, for starting us off with a really great background to policy making in government.
24th June 2013 You can sign up for the Physics of Life Network event in Sheffield on 22/23rd July 2013: The Living Cell
20th June 2013 New blog post about Valuing Nature, by Rebecca Atkinson
6th June 2013 New blog post by Rebecca Atkinson about Networking
May 2013 - Our launch event will take place on 14th June 2013 and will include a talk by Dr Charlotte Bell, a PhD graduate from APS and currently a Living Rivers Officer at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. The event will be in BLT1 and there will be nibbles and drinks after the talk. Hope to see you there!
9th February 2015: The deadline for the POSTnote competition has passed and we've had 8 superb entries. We have a fantastic line-up for the prize-giving ceremony: 'Hot topics in science and policy: a whistle-stop tour'
3rd December 2014: An informal talk and Q & A session with Dr Rosie Woodroffe from the Zoological Society of London on Monday 8th December.
19th November 2014: Our second event of the month is taking place this Friday - a POSTnote workshop and competition with a £500 prize for the winning POSTnote! See details here.
22nd October 2014: Our next event is our FREE one day conference Science based policy or policy based science? Discovering the potential of your research in the real world on the 7th November
20th October: Dr Chris Peters, Scientific Liaison at Sense about Science will talk about 'Ask for Evidence- Sense about Science'
3rd June 2014 - New blog post by Catherine Preece about her time shadowing an MP at the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff, courtesy of the scheme run by the British Ecological Society.
14th April 2014 - A new blog post by Rebecca Atkinson can be found here, where she talks about her experience of shadowing MEP Chris Davies in Brussels as part of a shadowing scheme run by the British Ecological Society.
11th April 2014 - This week six committee members from our Science in Policy group went on a field-trip down to London to attend the BES Policy Workshop, we heard many inspiring science-policy talks and Kim Mullins has written a blog about our day here.
1st April 2014 - This month's event will take place on this Friday, 4th April, at 3pm in the BMS Conference Room. It's a talk by Dr Graham Hopkins from The Ecological Consultancy on "The barriers to implementing science-driven policy: Invertebrates & the Habitats and Environmental Impact Assessment Directives as a case study" which will be an opportunity to learn more about EU Directives, their practical application and the issues standing in the way of delivering science based policy. See you there!
24th March 2014 - Today we have a great new blog post from Angie White about her visit to the Voice of the Future event where young people quizzed MPs on science and technology issues. Plus here's a reminder of this week's Science in Policy event: a talk by Angus Innes MBE, Prosecution Team Leader at the Environment Agency on Thursday 27th March at 3.30pm in the BMS Conference Room.
5th February 2014 - Our next event will be on Monday 10th February when we'll be hosting Juliette Young from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology who will talk about the recently completed Spiral Project, a European Commission funded project researching science-policy interfaces
13th December 2013 Check out our guest article post on our blog by Dr Emily Mockford on 'The Poetry of Science'
6th December 2013 Next event is TODAY at 3pm, a talk by Dr Hayley Stevenson on the topic of politics and climate change, in Jessop West Exhibition Space
5th November 2013 Remember, remember... that we have a very exciting talk coming up this week! Dr Peter Bridgewater, Chair of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee will be talking about "Life in the science-policy interface: high risk strategy or easy option?" on Friday 8th Nov at 3pm in the BMS Conference Room
23rd October 2013 A new blog post is now online, written by Carla Turner
26th September 2013 We're back from the summer with a new event - a talk by Martin Smith, Policy Manager from the British Ecological Society on 3rd Oct.
29th July 2013 We have two new great blog posts written by Angela White for you to read. 'Parliamentary Links Day in Westminster' and 'Silent Debate'.
18th July 2013 We are very much looking forward to our next event, a talk and Q&A session by Xameerah Malik from the Parliamentary Select Committee for Science and Technology at 1pm on Monday 22nd July in Jessop West Exhibition Space.
9th July 2013 Are you a PhD student funded by NERC or BBSRC? If so, there are 35 (!) policy internships you can apply for here.
5th July 2013 Our first workshop was a great success and we had lots of lovely feedback. A special thank you to Dr Ruth Little, from the Department of Geography, for starting us off with a really great background to policy making in government.
24th June 2013 You can sign up for the Physics of Life Network event in Sheffield on 22/23rd July 2013: The Living Cell
20th June 2013 New blog post about Valuing Nature, by Rebecca Atkinson
6th June 2013 New blog post by Rebecca Atkinson about Networking
May 2013 - Our launch event will take place on 14th June 2013 and will include a talk by Dr Charlotte Bell, a PhD graduate from APS and currently a Living Rivers Officer at Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. The event will be in BLT1 and there will be nibbles and drinks after the talk. Hope to see you there!