GSE conference 2015
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Presentation by Sir Mark Walport at the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) conference on 25 March 2015.
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GSE conference 2015
- 1. GSE Conference 2015 Sir Mark Walport Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government
- 2. 2 Chief Scientific Adviser Priorities ⢠Health, wellbeing, resilience and security ⢠Knowledge translated to economic advantage ⢠The right science for emergencies ⢠Underpinning policy with evidence ⢠Advocacy and leadership for science iStockphoto
- 3. 3 3 Science for decision-making⌠In two days: Fukushima Over decades: climate engineering Potential Global Temperature Change The temperature reverts to its original trajectory rapidly once the geo-engineering stops. Do we evacuate UK nationals? Over months: Ebola response How quickly will infection spread?
- 4. 4 Ebola Outbreak: What has SAGE considered? ⢠Modelling â what are the best and reasonable worst case scenarios? ⢠Risk to UK â how many cases should we expect to see? ⢠Screening â will it be effective in identifying cases? ⢠Virus survival â how long does the virus last on different surfaces? Will it survive in sewage? ⢠Vaccines âWhat clinical trials do we need? ⢠What else can we do? Cumulative cases 24 666 Cases in past 21 days 398 Cumulative deaths 10 179 WHO Ebola Situation Report - 18 March 2015
- 5. 5 Issues we deal with iStockphotowerktuigendagen/CC BY-SA 2.0 US EPA Umass Peter Trimming/CC BY 2.0 PI77/CC BY-SA 3.0 Energy Retailers Association iStockphoto
- 6. 6 GCSA Themed Annual Report Science versus Values â˘Who pays? â˘My pain, your gain â˘Science meets values â˘Unanticipated consequences â˘New challenges More later today - 15:15 panel discussion âThe Role of Government Scientists and Engineers in Communicating Riskâ
- 7. 7 Science Landscape Project What are we looking at? â˘We are mapping the interconnectivity of research disciplines, funders and international partners Why are we Doing It? â˘We want to develop products which will enhance the evidence base for longer-term decision-making. How are we Doing It? â˘Through a series of seminars and an innovative online tool, the Knowledge Landscape Tool www.ukknowledgelandscape.co.uk
- 8. 8 Animal and Plant Health What will be the UKâs future science capability needs to be able to predict, detect and respond to animal and plant pests and diseases? Next Steps: â˘A UK level strategy for animal and plant health science â˘To strengthen the evidence base â˘An integrated and rational strategy for the maintenance of high containment laboratory capability â˘A plan for developing appropriate plant health skills and career pathways. Darren Staples/Reuters The Park Vet Group iStockphoto AnimalPics
- 9. 9 Horizon Scanning and Futures ⢠Linking policy areas ⢠Confounding received wisdom ⢠Avoiding unintended consequences ⢠Targeting investment in the right places Frank R. Paul
- 10. 10 The Future of Cities Emerging Findings: Drivers of change are highly interdependent â˘Ageing and changing city demographics â˘Increasing city housing demand-supply pressures â˘Divergent economic performances of UK cities â˘Differential graduate retention by UK cities â˘Differential connectivities between and within cities â˘Increasing availability of data on city design and operation Net migration of 22-30 yr olds, 2009-2012 CfC, 2014 Change in urban and non-urban age groups, 2012-2037, England, thousandsThe project aims to provide central and local government with the evidence, tools and capabilities they need to make decisions now which will make cities better in the long-term.
- 11. 11 The Future of Ageing What are the opportunities and challenges of an ageing population now and in 2025 and 2040? Emerging Findings: â˘Risk factors accumulate throughout a lifetime, meaning greater differences within older populations over time â˘Housing represents more than just a building in the context of an ageing population â˘Technology will increasingly facilitate inclusion or act as a source of exclusion â˘Financial responsibility and risk is changing between generations 2 0 3 3 1 9 9 2 Figure: Projected percentage of UK population aged 65 and over by local authority 1992 & 2033
- 12. 12 The Internet of Things How can the UK exploit the full economic value of the Internet of Things (IoT) and how can the government use the IoT to its full potential? Key Messages â˘Government, in collaboration with industry, the regulator, and academia, should lead in delivering the vision of the Internet of Things, and set high ambitions. â˘Government should enable innovative use of real-time public data. â˘Developing skills is vital for this new economy and needs to start at school. â˘In the 2015 budget a total of ÂŁ40m will be set aside for demonstrator programmes, business incubator space and a research hub to develop applications for Internet of Things technologies in healthcare and social care, and Smart Cities CeBIT
- 13. 13 The Future of Financial Technologies The UK is a world leader in the development and commercialisation of new financial business models and disruptive innovation, known collectively as âFinTechâ. Commissioned by the Chancellor, the FinTech Futures report examines the enablers and barriers that will shape the UK FinTech sector out to 2025. The report made 10 recommendations. Three of these featured in the 2015 Budget: 1.Development of a regulatory âsandboxâ for financial services innovators 2.Support for the adoption of new technologies to facilitate the delivery of regulatory requirements â so-called âRegTechâ 3.Development of regional FinTech hubs AFP
- 14. 14 14 An effective government science and engineering profession and network which makes best use of its people and skills, and works across organisational boundaries⌠Our Profession
- 15. 15 Personal development A guide to professional development for the Met Office Science Profession, 2011 â˘All staff are expected to take responsibility for structuring their own learning and development, in consultation with line managers. â˘All line managers are expected to encourage and support staff development. â˘All staff should ensure appropriate time has been set for development activities, to help achieve the full range of skills and competencies required. â˘Staff will have the opportunity to follow a range of career paths, with varying degrees of breadth and customer engagement.
- 16. 16 Analysis and Policy: Two Sides of the Same Coin Good policy requires good analysis⌠Good analysis starts with asking the right questions⌠and complex problems may require complex solutions⌠iStockphoto
- 17. 17 ⢠Much of government involves science and technology ⢠Science advice isnât an optional extra ⢠Communication is our most important tool imgbuddy.com
- 18. 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 go-science@bis.gsi.gov.uk . @uksciencechief www.gov.uk/go-science
Editor's Notes
- Image tbc Welcome: Thank attendees for coming, explain that this is an event to bring the profession together, Show the fantastic work that is done and the impact it has, celebrate the work of the GSE Inform about the diversity of the contributions of government scientists and engineers, range of careers etc. This is an opportunity to find out more about what their colleagues do, and build links and networks across a diverse profession. (2 mins)
- The role of the GCSA and GO Science: Ensure that policy is informed by the best possible Science and engineering advice. Why is this important? âeffective policy development requires both an effective scientific advisory system and appropriate use of evidence and advice on science and risk by Government.â A lot of thought and effort goes on into understanding the best ways for evidence to inform policy making. Scientists and engineers engage in policy making by providing insight into policy alternatives through the rigorous analysis of causes and effects, based on the application of scientific techniques and methodologies, and through evaluations which provide evidence adding to cumulative knowledge and understanding about the characteristics of policy interventions. Go-Science can gather this evidence, and identify experts, but we also ensure capability to provide evidence, encourage ability to ask right questions to be embedded in depts. support the profession to ensure that there is science and engineering capability in government. Link to next slide: My role is of course strongly influenced by the issues that the Government of the day cares about, such as health, economic well-being and security, including the countryâs resilience to natural and man-made disasters: all aspects which you and Government colleagues play a part in addressing on a daily basis.
- Practical examples of science in policy-making, science in emergencies: Ebola, Flooding, ash clouds, Fukishima, Climate Change Ebola case study to be supplied by MQW NRA case study to be supplied by MQW Example: Reducing risks of future disasters report âImportant drivers of change could substantially increase future risks of disasters, notably the increasing frequency of extreme weather events due to climate change, and large population increases in cities exposed to natural hazards. However, choosing to deploy resources to reduce these risks presents significant challenges for policy makers. There can be real difficulties in justifying expenditure to address hazards that may occur infrequently, or indeed may never materialise in a given location. In responding to those challenges, it makes clear sense to make full use of new developments in science and evidence.â
- Having identified some possible future needs, we need to be sure that the GSE Profession is able to respond to these. Will we need more taxonomists to assess new species as climate change alters our wildlife? More cryptologists as we move towards an Internet of things? More anthropologists as the movement of people raises cultural conflicts? Eg. Data Science Scientists and engineers make a huge contribution to government in terms of data and analysis, a major cross-cutting theme for GO-Science  Over the past year we have worked with the Cabinet Office on the government data science programme which has catalysed a series of data science demonstrator projects  In particular we have worked with emergency response agencies to produce a live data visualisation tool for emergencies which is being used in COBR committee
- The map is proposed to show the distribution of older people around the UK, the geographical variation of their characteristics (e.g. disability free life expectancy, car ownership and employment) and the availability of services relevant to older people (e.g. suitable housing provision and hospital services). It will be useful for the map to be able to overlay different features to consider the relation between different characteristics. Showing the change in these features over time rather than of a static timeframe will be a key desirable output. This map is expected to be distributed for the use of both governmental departments and external stakeholders. The outcome of this map is expected to highlight areas of vulnerability of older people and help target service delivery to these areas of need. Â The project team, together with advice from Paul Boyle (Lead Expert Group member) and academic experts have begun to explore different options for a final output, including a static flat map and an interactive digital map. Each potential output has different advantages and disadvantages in relation to the project and further work is required to be able to determine which option will be the most useful and feasible within the scope of the project. The rate of population ageing is expected to be highly variable across the country. Likewise there is also will be spatial variability in how well the UK population will live, making it difficult to anticipate local demands. Increasing densification of city centres could provide an opportunity to provide public services more effectively to elderly populations â will current trend for city centres to mainly comprise younger populations persist?
- (Repeat) Go science can gather this evidence, and identify experts, but we also ensure capability to provide evidence, encourage ability to ask right questions to be embedded in depts. We support the GSE profession to ensure that there is science and engineering capability in government. What does a GSE look like? A diverse profession, highly skilled, no one definition possible. Hope today will give you the chance to talk to some of your co-professionals (is this a word?) and discover the variety of career paths and day to day activities that this profession spans. We are united in our use of technical knowledge and evidence to inform our activities. There are some attendees here who are at the bench, as it were, everyday, and others who use their experience to inform their current work as a policy maker. The other key word in the title is âgovernment.â Why do we work for HMG, for the Civil Service? Knowing that the work you do contributes to making our country safer, healthier and wealthier, our society a better place to live, is a pretty good reward. But it should also give you access to that breadth of professional experience, the chance to broaden your skills by applying your knowledge in a variety of applications. What is YOUR vision for a GSE career pathway? â Highly skilled, committed to public benefit, broad experience
- (Repeat) Go science can gather this evidence, and identify experts, but we also ensure capability to provide evidence, encourage ability to ask right questions to be embedded in depts. We support the GSE profession to ensure that there is science and engineering capability in government. What does a GSE look like? A diverse profession, highly skilled, no one definition possible. Hope today will give you the chance to talk to some of your co-professionals (is this a word?) and discover the variety of career paths and day to day activities that this profession spans. We are united in our use of technical knowledge and evidence to inform our activities. There are some attendees here who are at the bench, as it were, everyday, and others who use their experience to inform their current work as a policy maker. The other key word in the title is âgovernment.â Why do we work for HMG, for the Civil Service? Knowing that the work you do contributes to making our country safer, healthier and wealthier, our society a better place to live, is a pretty good reward. But it should also give you access to that breadth of professional experience, the chance to broaden your skills by applying your knowledge in a variety of applications. What is YOUR vision for a GSE career pathway? â Highly skilled, committed to public benefit, broad experience
- The GSE Profession needs to be able to demonstrate its worth, and speak with a strong voice, clear in its value and contribution. The role of GSEs as expert customers for government; cannot procure well if you donât understand the thing youâre procuring The role of GSEs as horizon scanners, providing evidence to policy makers to identify and address developing trends, communicating risks and benefits Important to not see ourselves as separate, but working toward the same goal. Working together, we can improve policy-makers' understanding of the imperfect nature of science. The essential skills are to be able to intelligently interrogate experts and advisers, and to understand the quality, limitations and biases of evidence - interpretive scientific skills, often more accessible than those required to understand the fundamental science itself, and can form part of the broad skill set of most policy makers. Fluidity between job roles, from practitioner to policy maker, aid this shared understanding and values.