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Evidence, networks and policy: translating new ideas into better outcomes
10 April 2014
This year's annual conference brought together parliamentarians, civil servants, researchers and business leaders to debate the role of evidence and expertise in policy making. Distinguished speakers from government, academia and civil society addressed some of the key policy challenges facing the UK government: ageing & wellbeing; open innovation; understanding behaviour in emergencies; and big data.
View a snapshot of the day here:
Keynote: Innovative policy making
The day kicked off with a keynote talk on 'innovative policy making' delivered by Richard Heaton (Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Office). He explained why this was a good time for innovation in policy making and the implications for government and public services.
Session 1: Big data - how will citizens benefit?
The Shakespeare Review argued that government was the richest source of data, accounting for the largest proportion of organised human activity e.g. in health, education and transport. Stephan Shakespeare (Founder & CEO, YouGov) chaired a discussion on how we can make use of this data to deliver the greatest benefit to all citizens.
Session 2: Parallel seminars led by CSaP Policy Fellows
Andrea Lee (DoH), Chris Pook (BIS) and Liz Surkovic (GO Science) led discussions which brought research perspectives to bear on (1) Ageing & wellbeing; (2) Open innovation; and (3) Emergency behaviours. You can view edited versions of these talks below:
Seminar 1: Can the future elderly population be healthy, happy, independent and valued?
Chaired by Brian Collins (UCL), Andrea Lee (DoH) set the scene for this discussion which looked at how society should prepare itself for "tomorrow's old" in order to provide tailored services that will enable people to stay healthy, happy, and independent for longer. Andrea was joined by John Clarkson (Cambridge University) and Rama Gheerawa (RCA).
Seminar 2: Just how open is 'open innovation'?
Birgitte Andersen (The Big Innovation Centre); Simon Jewell (Nightworks); and Tim Minshall (Cambridge University) joined Chris Pook (BIS) to discuss the UK science and innovation system. They discussed the value of the networks, and the need for players to engage early and build trusted relationships.
Session 3: Emergency behaviours – Behavioural insights into emergency planning and response
Liz Surkovic (GO Science) was joined by Ed Galea (University of Greenwich) and Theresa Marteau (Cambridge University) in a debate which marked the launch of CSaP's first Policy Challenge briefing on 'emergency behaviours'. The discussion focused on how having a better understanding of the behavioural sciences could improve current planning and allow us to respond more effectively in an emergency.
Session 3: What role does evidence and networks of expertise play in the policy development process?
In this debate, science spokespersons from the three main Westminster parties – Liam Byrne (Shadow Minister, Business, Innovation and Skills), Julian Huppert (MP for Cambridge) and David Willets (Minister for Universities and Science) –discussed the role of evidence in policy making.
Poster competition for early-career researchers
Cambridge University student society (CUSPE) organised a poster competition for early-career researchers. Participants were invited to design a poster to demonstrate the potential policy implications and societal benefits of their research, and to be prepared to explain their research to non-experts, paying particular attention to the conference theme of ‘translating new ideas into better outcomes’. The winner of the competition, Dr Kit Huckvale (Imperial College London) presented a poster of his research on 'Using smartphone apps to manage long term conditions'.
More than 220 people from academia, government and industry attended the conference.
What did the attendees have to say about the conference?
"I liked the open format, providing lots of space for debate, it was excellent" - Home Office attendee
"Great to see Richard Heaton speak, he was very impressive" - Cambridge academic
"Having a series of really interesting questions being posed in a very structured way was fantastic. It's identifying emerging issues that weren't on the radar in the past" - science jouranlist
"Brilliant. I've met at least six people I'd be keen to keep in contact with and for future projects. And big data is exactly the topic to kick off with" - researcher, Kings College London
"Its opened my research topics, my research limits and transformed my views towards government policy" - researcher, Queen Mary University London
"Really liked the combination of speakers, the different backgrounds and the different positions they were representing. It opens up a lot of big questions, not just the tech issues, but big societal and ethical questions of citizens and government" - UK civil servant
"Really interesting, the range of perspectives that have been presented is so diverse, and that's rare to get at an event" - UK government scientist
"The big data debate was fantastic, especially the fact that everyone disagreed with each other. It's interesting to hear something from the government side, rather than the normal instigators of big data" - head of learned society