Dr Robert Sullivan

Head Health Safety Environment Protection at MOD, Defence and Security Accelerator

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Deputy Director, Health Safety & Environmental Protection Policy, Ministry of Defence
Policy Fellow Alumnus, Centre for Science and Policy

Rob has been Head, Health Safety Environment Protection at the Ministry of Defence since December 2019. Previously, he was Head of Defence Science and Technology Change in the Ministry of Defence, working with the Chief Scientific Adviser. Prior to this he was Senior Adviser, New Commercial Models at the British Film Institute, Head of Efficiency Team at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and Chief Executive of Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), which was created within the Department for Media, Culture and Sport as a delivery vehicle for the Government's policies on broadband.

He was previously Director of the Office for Life Sciences in BIS. Before this he was Director Manufacturing, with national policy responsibility for the Manufacturing Advisory Service. As Deputy Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department for Transport he provided policy advice on road and rail infrastructure projects - including road pricing and crossrail. At QinetiQ Plc he led the EU contract research programme across civil aerospace, energy, and communications technology.

During his Policy Fellowship, Rob explored a wide range of research areas which have a bearing on the work of BDUK, including technology (particularly photonics, electronics, radio), engineering, economics (customer willingness to pay, customer behaviour), security and resilience, business models (investment risks and returns), and comparison with other infrastructure areas.

  • 11 November 2014, 3pm

    The GCSA at 50: reflections on the past, present and future of scientific advice

    To mark the GCSA's 50th birthday, the Royal Society, GO-Science, SPRU, and the Centre for Science and Policy, are working in partnership to host a special event on the past, present and future of scientific advice.

  • 23 June 2014, 12pm

    Changing ideas of statecraft in an ever loosening Union

    In this seminar, Professor Mike Kenny will address how both the forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence and the intensification of debates about the UK’s membership of the European Union (as well the growing likelihood of a referendum on this question) have helped catalyse a gathering focus in public discourse and politics upon issues of territory, nationhood and governance.