Themes
Development and infrastructure
Science and research have a critical role to play in development and infrastructure. From interventions to improve public health in developing countries, to major infrastructure projects at home and abroad, the involvement of experts from the research community, including technologists, ...
Emerging technologies and society
Genomics, nanotechnology, neuroscience, machine learning, social media, novel materials. Emerging technologies have the potential to change the way we live, mostly for the better, but not without risks. Looking ahead to the impact that emerging technologies will have on society ...
Global resources and sustainability
We only have one planet and its resources are finite. Understanding and managing global resources is necessary to ensure a sustainable future, which, in the context of climate change and both economic and population growth, is requiring decision makers in ...
Innovation and public services
The current economic climate has put a requirement on public services to deliver more with less. Britain's longstanding interest and excellence in innovation is now more than ever directed at new ways of delivering policy that costs less but delivers ...
Research, evidence and policy
In a little over a decade, the phrase "evidence based policy" has gone from a novel play on words (based on "evidence based medicine") to a common and reasonable expectation of policy makers worldwide. The UK's system of expert advice ...
Risk, uncertainty and resilience
Issues of risk and uncertainty cut across every public policy topic. The systems that make up our society are complex and a deep upstanding of the nature of those systems, and the nature of risk, uncertainty and resilience, is needed ...
Well-being and behaviour
Individual choices and attitudes have population-scale impacts. From energy efficiency to public health, the aggregate decisions of millions of individuals have to be taken into account in the development of policy. It is fitting, therefore, that the science of behaviour ...