In the fourteenth episode of our series on Science, Policy and Pandemics, we explored the subject of vaccines and immunology. We heard three different perspectives on our current understanding of the immunology and of vaccines under development; challenges involved in vaccine distribution, and insights we’ve gained about innovation and knowledge exchange throughout the vaccine development process.

What do we know about social cohesion in the context of covid-19? As part of CSaP's 2020 Virtual Annual Conference, we heard from a practitioner and two academics about the role of social cohesion, inequalities in the UK, and challenges posed by covid-19.

Why do we need space policy, and what might space policies for the UK entail? As part of our virtual annual conference seminar on space science, researchers and industry professionals explored how interdependency characterizes space policymaking, and how scientific, commercial policy, and international governance influences our management and understanding of the risks in and from space.

Finding a new "normal" after lockdown is fraught with uncertainty. In the thirteenth episode of our podcast series on science, policy & pandemics, we're sharing the perspectives of an engineer, an economist, and a policy advisor on easing the lockdown.

As part of CSaP's 2020 virtual annual conference, policymakers and academics gathered in early June for a discussion which explored how differential privacy might be applied, the value of governed and secure data, online harms, and where privacy enhancing technologies fit within the aims of the National Data Privacy Strategy.

What have we learned about the epidemiology of covid-19 since the onset of the UK’s lockdown? In the twelfth episode of our series on Science, Policy and Pandemics, our host Dr Rob Doubleday was joined by disease dynamic experts to discuss what we know now about the dynamics of covid-19 that we didn't know twelve weeks ago.

As part of our annual conference virtual seminar on getting to net zero, we explored the structural changes needed to get to net zero.

As part of our podcast series on Science, Policy & Pandemics, Dr Rob Doubleday and Salma Shah explored how the relationship between scientists and policymakers works in practice. With guests Lord Alistair Darling and Professor Frank Kelly, they discussed how ministers and their scientific advisers can build relationships based on trust, and how the nature of decisions, the personalities of the people involved, and the wider political context can shape those vital relationships.

The challenges facing government tend to be mutlifacted, complex, chronic, social, economic and environmental, and their causes and potential solutions are typically unobvious, suggests Paul Kett, Director General at the Department for Education. As part of CSaP's 2020 Annual Virtual Conference, we explored how systems thinking can help government seek solutions to wicked problems.

As part of our series on Science, Policy and Pandemics, we explored the principles and practice of decision making in government during health emergencies, using the UK's response to Ebola, Novichok, and childhood obesity as case studies.