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Dr S T Lee Public Policy Lecture 2016
Does the European Union need science advice? :Professor Dame Anne Glover
Chair: Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice Chancellor, University of Cambridge
Venue: Buckingham House, Murray Edwards College
Anne Glover was the first Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission (2012-2015). Prior to that, she was the first Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland (2006-2011). In both positions Anne transformed the way science, engineering and technology were used and discussed within government and developed strategic initiatives to bridge the gap between science and policy. She has also been a very effective and well respected ambassador for European science. She is was Vice Principal for External Affairs and Dean for Europe at the University of Aberdeen
In her talk, Dame Anne examined what mechanisms could be the most effective in the European Commission for delivering evidence-based decision making.
The policies arising from the European Union are generally quite technical in nature and so evidence is a crucial part of getting the best policy outcomes. But the European Union is also a complicated social and political environment with routine complex negotiations between 28 Member States with different economies, objectives and cultures. In the EU, perhaps more than in any one Member State, scientific advice could enable better decision making and have a powerful leadership role in highlighting the value of basing policy on evidence.
S T Lee Public Policy Lectures
The S T Lee Public Policy lectures were established in 2003 thanks to a benefaction from Seng Tee Lee, Singaporean business executive, philanthropist and Honarary Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge. Each lecture considers aspects of scientific, medical or technological research and developments that are likely to have significant implications for public policy over the next decade.