Expertise, trust and public policy

2018 CSaP Annual Conference

28 June 2018, The Royal Society, London

The challenges facing government require ever more sophisticated use of data and evidence. At the same time, public legitimacy of expertise is called into question.

What are the terms under which data can be used by government to improve public policy outcomes? To what extent are experts open and accountable to the wider public?

This conference will highlight specific cases where these issues are being addressed.

Our 2018 annual conference will bring together members of our extensive network to discuss some of the opportunities for policy makers at both local and national levels to draw on academic expertise in support of more effective public policy.

To book your place at the conference, please click here.

In addition to widely discussed questions of the relevance and timeliness of expertise to inform policy making, discussions will focus on the importance of public trust and legitimacy:

• On what terms should experts have a voice in public policy making?
• How should the relevance and quality of their contributions be judged?
• Who should be accountable for expert contributions?

Plenary sessions throughout the day will offer examples of how the latest research has the potential to help shape policy as the UK prepares for Brexit.

Download the latest agenda here

Topics include

• Public policy for behaviour change
• Data science and AI for policy
• Advanced manufacturing: future opportunities for the UK
• Uncertainty, communication and trust

Confirmed speakers and chairs include:

The day will start with a keynote from Patrick Vallance, Government Chief Scientific Adviser, who will set out his agenda and ambitions for his new role.

• Keynote speaker: Dr Patrick Vallance, UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser
• Dr Katherine Barclay, Independent Consultant, and Non-Executive Director of the Institute for Apprenticeships
• Dr Karen Croxson, Head of Research & Deputy Chief Economist at the Financial Conduct Authority
• Amanda Farnsworth, Head of Visual and Data Journalism, BBC News
• Keith Hodgkinson, Deputy Director of Manufacturing, Defence and Marine, Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy
• Professor Helen Margetts, Professor of Society and the Internet, University of Oxford, and Director of the Public Policy Programme, Alan Turing Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
• Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, Director, Behaviour and Health Research Unit, University of Cambridge
• Emily Miles, Group Director, Strategy, Defra
• Professor Tim Minshall, Head, Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge
• Dr Helen Munn, Executive Director, Academy of Medical Sciences
• Dr Guy Poppy, Chief Scientific Adviser, Food Standards Agency
• Hetan Shah, Executive Director, Royal Statistical Society
• Dr Emily Shuckburgh, Head of Data Science Group and Deputy Head of Polar Oceans Team, British Antarctic Survey
• Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, University of Cambridge
• Professor William J Sutherland, Miriam Rothschild Professor of Conservation Biology, University of Cambridge
• Harriet Wallace, Deputy Director, Air Quality and Industrial Emissions, Defra
• Rosa Wilkinson, Communications Director, High Value Manufacturing Catapult
• Dr James Wilson, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University College London

Registration and cost of attending

• Students and postdocs - £30
• CSaP Fellows - £95
• Government, academia. learned societies and voluntary sector - £130
• Industry - £300

Costs include attendance at all sessions, as well as lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

To book your place at the conference, please click here

Conference sponsors