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Examples of questions asked by our Policy Fellows

  1. What are the conditions which foster the development of technology clusters? What can policy makers do to facilitate this?
  2. How can uncertainty – and the likely costs of action vs inaction – be communicated?
  3. How can more be made of the UK’s strengths in science to improve our economic performance and strengthen our society?
  4. What role can be played by the promotion of “social justice” in achieving the objectives of security policy?
  5. Why do policies fail? What can be done about it?
  6. How important is land as a contributor to economic growth and well-being?
  7. What role does public perception play in policy making and what account should be taken of it?
  8. How can one measure and quantify sustainability?
  9. Where and how might it be appropriate to undertake randomised control trials to evaluate the impact of policy, and what are the limits to such approaches?
  10. What could policy makers do to create the right environment for emerging technology innovation required for the transition to a more sustainable energy future?
  11. What do we know about the social connectivity of older people? How does the connectivity of older people vary across the population?
  12. Which types of growth are wellbeing-enhancing and which are not?
  13. What does research show about the ways in which social policy (e.g. the benefits system) supports or deters entrepreneurialism and innovation? How might this be improved?
  14. How do people reach decisions under conditions of uncertainty? What other sources of influence play a part in decision-making?
  15. What are the pros and cons of "open data"?
  16. Under what circumstances can decentralisation of power and funding increase the ability of organisations, communities and individuals to be resilient?
  17. What does the latest research have to say about techniques for noise mitigation?
  18. How best should politicians draw on "the wisdom of the crowds"?
  19. How should the overall economic value to the national economy of investments in aviation infrastructure be assessed?
  20. What does research tell us about the nature of societal and economic systems in which innovation flourishes?
  21. What factors influence public understanding and acceptance of scientific advice, and why do people tend to be more sceptical of some issues than others?
  22. What approaches might be adopted from the culture of entrepreneurship to make better use of public sector assets?
  23. How can we get better at foresight of technical areas that are critical for defence and security?
  24. What should the respective role of government and industry be in the identification and protection of the discrete and systems-level elements of a nation's critical national infrastructure?
  25. What factors determine the growth of cities relative to the nations of which they are part (e.g. national administrative factors, place in broad industrialisation cycle, connectivity)?
  26. What new ways of delivering educational services will be supported by new technologies and business models? How will this impact on the role of education in the UK economy?
  27. How can the global supply of food and other commodities be secured and expanded against the backdrop of rapidly increasing demand from fast growing emerging economies?
  28. What factors could push people to change travel patterns (or stop travel) through the use of technology, thereby making a positive environmental contribution?
  29. Are policies designed to address conflict of interest issues proportionate to the problem?
  30. What models other than “economic rationality” might be used to explain or predict behaviour?