The Government Office for Science is an science advisory group that is part of the

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. The organisation advises the UK Government on policy and decision-making based on science and long-term thinking. It is led by the

Government Chief Scientific Adviser The UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) is the personal adviser on science and technology-related activities and policies to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet; and head of the Government Office for Science. The Chief Scientific Adv ...

(GCSA),

Sir Patrick Vallance Sir Patrick John Thompson Vallance (born 17 March 1960) is a British physician, scientist, and clinical pharmacologist who has worked in both academia and industry. He has served as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of the Unite ...

who reports to the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

and

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

. The office is based in the

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is a department of His Majesty's Government. The department was formed during a machinery of government change on 14 July 2016, following Theresa May's appointment as Prim ...

where it works with other parts of the Department, including the Science and Research Group, which funds research through

Research Councils Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of natural science, technology, and social science. Different methods can be used to disburse funding, but the term often connotes funding obtained ...

Networking

The Government Office for Science works collaboratively, using formal and informal networks, including colleagues in other departments and external experts. Together, they create and promote guidance and frameworks describing how departments can use the natural and social sciences, engineering and medicine to provide a sound evidence base for making policy. The guidance and frameworks encourage and support departments’ use and management of science, as well as challenging them to match best practice across Government and (where appropriate) outside.

Advice

Government departments each have their own Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA), and CSAs work together on cross-cutting issues. In some cases the GCSA leads in advising the Government on major cross-cutting issues, working with other CSAs. In doing so he engages the best scientists nationally and often internationally to help him and ensure that his advice is as robust as possible.

Main networks

*Chief Scientific Advisers Committee *Heads of Analysis Group (includes heads of all the main analytical professions in Government) *Departmental Heads of Science and Engineering Profession * Council for Science and Technology *Horizon Scanning Center Futures Analysts Network *

UK Science and Innovation Network The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...

(based in British Embassies and consulates)

Foresight

Much of the Government Office for Science's work looks to the future, focusing on what science and the evidence base can tell us about how the world could develop and what effects potential interventions might have. The Foresight program and its Horizon Scanning Center enable the Government to plan for the long term by providing a view of potential futures under a variety of conditions. Foresight projects address broad policy areas with a strong scientific component such as flooding and infectious diseases, whereas the Horizon Scanning Center conducts smaller projects across the full policy spectrum and increases the Government’s capability to think about the future systematically. Much of the value of Foresight comes from connecting experts from diverse disciplines and organisations with each other and with policymakers, and facilitating their collaboration to produce credible yet challenging visions of the future.

Foresight Projects

Foresight projects are in-depth and long term studies looking at major issues. Examples are: * Tackling Obesities, * Future Flooding, * Mental Capital and Wellbeing.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Government Office For Science Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Government agencies established in 2007 Innovation in the United Kingdom Science and technology in the United Kingdom 2007 establishments in the United Kingdom