Head of International Resilience, Government Office for Science (GO-Science)

Colin Armstrong is the Head of International Resilience at the Government Office for Science. He was previously Head of Science and Policy Advice for SHED at UKCDS, where he was responsible for the co-ordination of two expert groups – a Risk and Horizon Scanning Expert Group and a Humanitarian Emergency Expert Group – designed to inform Ministerial decisions on emerging international risk and emergencies. These groups, chaired by the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, aim to make a real difference to the way that the UK prepares for and predicts humanitarian emergencies and disasters.

Colin previously worked at the Department of Health where he was responsible for the development of a £2million research programme for pandemic influenza. During the 2009 ‘swine flu’ pandemic, Colin supported the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, which provided scientific and technical advice to UK Government. He also project managed the development of a national policy document outlining the UK strategy for pandemic influenza preparedness.