Conference Blog

By Kimberly Nicholas, Assistant Professor of Sustainability Science, Lund University Many high-level science advisory panels are drawn from a list of the usual suspects, said Jacquie McGlade, chief scientist of the UN Environment Program at... Read More

This piece was submitted by Catherine Rhodes, Research Fellow in Science Ethics, Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, UK. Science Advice in International Treaty Organisations Many international organisations*... Read More

The Guardian’s Political Science blog ran a series of articles linked to the Global Science Advice to Governments Conference, held in Auckland on 28-29 August 2014, featuring several of the conference speakers. The following is... Read More

This is a guest post by Heather Douglas, the Waterloo Chair in Science and Society in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Waterloo, Canada. In the last week of August, science advisors from... Read More

Robert Patman, Professor of International Relations at the Department of Politics at the University of Otago, New Zealand, was a speaker at the Science and Diplomacy Symposium on 27 August. Along with Professor Lloyd Davis,... Read More

A new report Science Culture: Where Canada Stands paints the clearest picture of Canada’s science culture and science culture support system in 25 years. The report comprehensively examines Canadians’ science attitudes, engagement, and knowledge, reviewing data... Read More

  Public and political confidence in Japan’s science system collapsed after the devastating earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011. Tateo Arimoto and Yasushi Sato describe the process of rebuilding trust and reforming Japanese science policy. Science... Read More

We need a strong scientific voice in policy and decision-making, but there is also a crucial role for the public, writes Heather Douglas. There is now a growing consensus about the importance of science advice in... Read More

  Yellow fever killed hundreds of thousands of people and sickened many more throughout the 19th Century, and nobody knew for sure how it was spread or how to contain it. It was the most... Read More

The conference SlideShare page will be updated over the coming weeks. Read More

This session brought the accumulated ideas, challenges and opportunities emerging from the four previous sessions to bear on the practice of science advising. Delegates explored the questions: Is there a common model and approach that... Read More

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Panellists considered what can be achieved multinationally that could not be done by individual countries. The following questions were debated and discussed: What would be the added value of a network of senior science advisors, both... Read More

“A giant among men” is how a recent media article described Dr Zakri Abdul Hamid, Malaysia’s chief science advisor and founding Chair of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. “His list of achievements is staggering,... Read More

By Heather Douglas, Waterloo Chair in Science and Society, University of Waterloo Heather contributed this article as part of our call for blogposts on conference themes. Submit your blogpost: http://bit.ly/1yyo1P2 Here at the Science Advice to Governments Conference, the... Read More

By Sir Mark Walport, UK’s chief science advisor Ebola infections, wars in the Middle East, an erupting volcano in Iceland – a glance at newspaper headlines in London last week shows how important issues requiring... Read More

One of the most difficult situations for science advisors to government is when evidence contradicts entrenched political (ideological) positions, whether these are within national, regional or local governments. Well established examples are seen in debates... Read More

Examples such as SARS, bird flu and natural/industrial disasters provide opportunities for science advisors not only to help provide strategic direction to governments, but also to play a key role in public outreach and risk... Read More

Opening speech to the First Global Conference on Science Advice to Governments, Sir Peter Gluckman FRS, Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand I want to welcome you to Auckland. When we planned... Read More

Anne Glover, EU’s chief science advisor, tells us her story. Read More

This session focused on the processes of procuring and synthesising evidence to provide scientific advice in typical policy development situations. It also considered the various systems in which these processes are embedded. Participants discussed challenges,... Read More

A symposium ahead of the Science Advice to Governments conference on 27 August that aimed to explore the place of science in foreign ministries. For more information on the event, click here  [View the story... Read More

By Aidan Gilligan, Founder & CEO of SciCom Aidan contributed this article as part of our call for blogposts on conference themes. Submit your blogpost: http://bit.ly/1yyo1P2  Representatives of the Offices of Chief Scientific Advisers, large membership organisations, and the fields of... Read More

Scientists in government must know how to explain the economic cost, significance or impact of their work, Chris Whitty, chief scientific adviser to the UK’s Department for International Development, has said. “Economics is the language... Read More

  Scientific and political leaders need to focus more attention on the integrity of advisory processes, rather than taking sides in the political battles of the day, says Roger Pielke Jnr. This is the first... Read More

By Shaun Hendy Scientific evidence is held in high regard by New Zealand’s government and its public officials, and frequently plays a significant role in the policy arena. As the late Sir Paul Callaghan said,... Read More

By Sir Peter Gluckman, New Zealand’s Chief Science Advisor This is the first in a series of articles about science advice published on The Guardian. No one doubts that the challenges citizens and their governments face... Read More

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 and other... Read More

Dr Bertrum MacDonald, Head of Environmental Information: Use and Influence research program, Dalhousie University Bertrum contributed this article as part of our call for blogposts on conference themes. Submit your blogpost: http://bit.ly/1yyo1P2  How many of us have read... Read More

By Aidan Gilligan, Founder & CEO of SciCom Aidan contributed this article as part of our call for blogposts on conference themes. Submit your blogpost: http://bit.ly/1yyo1P2 Having worked inside the EU’s scientific services for nearly ten years, it often amazed... Read More

By Masahiro Matsuura, Janesse Brewer, and Peter Adler This article was submitted as part of our call for blogposts on conference themes. Submit your blogpost: http://bit.ly/1yyo1P2 Decision-makers in the public policy arena are often requested to provide the... Read More

    By Aidan Gilligan, Founder & CEO of SciCom Aidan contributed this article as part of our call for blogposts on conference themes. Submit your blogpost: http://bit.ly/1yyo1P2 Having worked for ten years as a specialist communications contractor and direct... Read More

When policies are developed, a fairly standard procedure, called a “policy appraisal” is often followed. Research is commissioned, stakeholders consulted and policy impacts assessed, supposedly leading to “better” regulation. This rational approach, which is designed to help decision-makers... Read More

By Dr Kate Wilson, Executive Director of Science Division, New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage, Australia Dr Wilson contributed this article as part of our call for blogposts on conference themes. Submit your blogpost: http://bit.ly/1yyo1P2  Those in... Read More

By David Ropeik, Instructor, Harvard University David contributed this article as part of our call for blogposts on conference themes. Submit your blogpost: http://bit.ly/1yyo1P2  Save for a few exceptions, the idea of an independent government science adviser is... Read More

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  When physicist and astronomer Penny Sackett was appointed to be Australia’s chief scientist in 2008, many other scientists thought she was an excellent choice for the job. US-born Sackett is a successful researcher, most... Read More

By Elizabeth Bohm, The Royal Society Elizabeth contributed this article as part of our call for blogposts on conference themes. Submit your blogpost: http://bit.ly/1yyo1P2 The spotlight is on science advice this year.  It might not be trending on... Read More

By Paul Dufour. This article was first published in Research Fortnight. In his speeches when he travels abroad, Canada’s governor-general David Johnston is fond of referring to “thediplomacy of knowledge”, defined as the ability and willingness... Read More

By Rose Wilcher, Director, Research Utilization, FHI 360 Rose contributed this article as part of our call for blogposts on conference themes. Submit your blogpost: http://bit.ly/1yyo1P2 In July, the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) released a report that seeks to... Read More

By Yulye Jessica Romo Ramos, SciDev.Net. Jessica contributed this article as part of our call for blogposts on conference themes. Submit your blogpost: http://bit.ly/1yyo1P2 This blog is based on research I have been conducting since 2011 on... Read More

Battle lines are being drawn in scientific communities across Europe after an open letter from NGOs earlier this week called into question the need for a chief scientific adviser working for the president of the European Commission. On... Read More

Download Heather’s slides on our SlideShare account Heather Douglas, a researcher at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada recently gave a talk at the Science and Citizens conference in Costa Rica. It’s a comprehensive overview of the... Read More

Ed note: The author of this article, Chris Tyler, is speaking on a panel about Science Advice in the context of opposing political/ideological positions at next month’s Auckland conference. There are some common misunderstanding among scientists about... Read More

Thursday 14 August, 10-11am CET (8-9pm Auckland, 3-4pm Bangkok) Moderator: @GlobalSciAdvice Guest: @PeterGluckman Tweet questions to: #SciAdvice14 The role of science in society and government has been evolving rapidly over the past decade. New alliances... Read More