Science and Policy-Making: towards a new dialogue
29th – 30th September 2016, Brussels, Belgium
Around 430 users, practitioners and scholars of science advice from more than 70 countries participated in the event showing the international interest in the discussed topics.
Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, and Commissioner Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport opened the conference by setting out the challenges facing the users and providers of science advice.
While Commissioner Moedas underlined that science advisors must explain the evidence base, Commissioner Navracsics emphasised the role that science advisors have not only in providing possible solutions but also in the identification of the problem in the first place.
Henrik Wegener, the Chair of the High-Level Group of the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) presented SAM as an example of a transnational science advice structure.
Seeking to improve the interface between science advice and policy-making, participants discussed common principles and best practices in different contexts ranging from emergency situations to longer-term advice. The global challenges of climate change, migration and health issues served as concrete examples for analysing what works and does not work in science advice to policy making.
The outcome will fuel the process for the identification of universal principles for science advice worldwide to be presented at the World Science Forum 2017. A big thank you to all speakers and participants for their contributions as well as for their positive feedback!
Conference material
Read the conference report here ( 16.8 MB).
You can browse the programme ( 1.5 MB) as well as the list of speakers (
3.2 MB) .
Missed the Conference or just need to review some ideas exchanged during a session?
Watch: Day 1 – 29/09 | Day 2 – 30/09
Conference presentations
Click on a session title to see presentations
DAY 1
Opening Session
- Setting the scene (
515 KB)
Sir Peter GLUCKMAN, Chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA), Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand
Plenary session 2: Solution-oriented scientific advice
- Solution-oriented scientific advice (
220 KB)
Daniel SAREWITZ, Director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes, Arizona State University - Scientific Advice – How to deliver (
580 KB)
Maive RUTE, Deputy Director-General of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission
Parallel session 1: Responding to global policy challenges
1.1 > Climate change: Science, policy & the road beyond Paris
- Climate change: Science, policy & the road beyond Paris (
373 KB)
Gordon McBEAN, President of the International Council for Science (ICSU) - Communication beyond confusion (
4.7 MB)
Alan FINKEL, Australia’s Chief Scientist
1.2 > Migration: Evidence-informed responses to humanitarian crises
- The European Commissions science and knowledge service (
406 KB)
Alessandra ZAMPIERI, Head of Demography, Migration and Governance Unit, Joint Research Centre of the European - DTM OPS Overview (
1.6 MB)
Patrice QUESADA, Senior Emergency and Post Crisis Specialist, International Organization for Migration (IOM) - Science and Policy making: towards a new dialogue (
2.5 MB)
Aurélie PONTHIEU, Humanitarian Specialist on Displacement, Médecins Sans Frontières
1.3 > Health: Science advice in short- and long-term challenges – from epidemics to chronic diseases
- Science and Policy: the health case (
2.9 MB)
Roberto BERTOLLINI, Former WHO Chief Scientist and WHO Representative to the European Union - Health: Science advice in short- and long-term challenges (
683 KB)
Helen MUNN, Executive Director, Academy of Medical Sciences (UK), Member of the Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM)
Parallel session 2: Brokers and boundary-crossers: Developing the practice of science advice
2.2 > What skills do experts and policy-makers need for better dialogue?
- What skills do experts and policy-makers need for better dialogue? (
1.0 MB)
Julie MAXTON, Executive Director of the Royal Society - Skills for a better dialogue: the Mexican case (
1005 KB)
Arturo MENCHACA ROCHA, General Coordinator of the Science Advisory Council of the Presidency of Mexico
2.3 > How can foresight and horizon scanning better inform policy agendas?
- Science is everywhere (
1.5 MB)
Melanie PETERS, Director of the Rathenau Institute - Science Advice and Foresight under the Complex and Uncertain World (
2.0 MB)
Tateo ARIMOTO, Director of the Innovation, Science and Technology Policy Program, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) - Science and Policy making: Towards a new dialogue (
945 KB)
Fabiana SCAPOLO, Deputy Head of Foresight, Behavioural Insights & Design for Policy Unit, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission
Plenary session 3: Scientific advice for transnational structures
- The European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (
550 KB)
Henrik C. WEGENER, Executive Vice-President of the Technical University of Denmark, Chair of the European Commission’s High-Level Group of Scientific Advisors - The Role of the Academies in the Scientific Advice Mechanism and beyond (
433 KB)
Jos van der MEER, President of the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC)
DAY 2
Plenary session 5: Cool heads in crises: How to provide timely
- Science advice in crisis situations (
1.1 MB)
Carthage SMITH, Head of the OECD Global Science Forum Secretariat - How to use science for effective decision-making in crisis (
2.4 MB)
Vladimir ŠUCHA, Director-General of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission - Cool heads in crisis (
2.3 MB)
Eva ALISIC, Monash University, Immediate Past Co-Chair of the Global Young Academy - Cool heads in crisis: based on Japanese lessons (
1.5 MB)
Satoru OHTAKE, Senior Fellow at the Economic and Social Research Institute of the Cabinet Office of Japan
Parallel session 3: Science advice for and with society
3.2 > How can national academies best contribute to science advice for policy?
- The role of national Academies (
697 KB)
László LOVÁSZ, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences - Knowledge is the common heritage of mankind (
278 KB)
Suad SULAIMAN, Member of the Executive Committee, Sudanese National Academy of Sciences
Parallel session 4: Advising across boundaries and borders
4.1 > Science advice across boundaries and borders: learning from each other
- Providing scientific advice to parliaments – lessons learned from the UK (
408 KB)
Chandrika NATH, Acting Director of the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology - Learning across National Borders and Policy fields: Empirical Prespectives (
1.9 MB)
Yasushi SATO, Centre for Research and Development Strategy, Japan Science and Technology Agency
Plenary session 6: Taking Stock 2
- Rapporteur notes – session 3.1 – Lost in translation? Science advice, the media and social media (
55 KB)
Peter GRIFFIN - Rapporteur notes – session 3.3 – Citizens & civil society in science advice (
99 KB)
Martin KOWARSCH - Rapporteur notes – session 4.3 – Shifting frontiers of science diplomacy (
61 KB)
Kari RAIVIO
Plenary session 7: Strengthening the use of science advice in policy
- #EU INGSA Bingo (
273 KB)
James WILSDON, University of Sheffield, Vice-Chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA) - Designing principles for scientific advice: Report of the Working Group meeting onPrinciples and Guidelines for Scientific Advice (
544 KB)
Marc SANER, Institute for Science, Society and Policy, University of Ottawa - INGSA – the road ahead (
442 KB)
Peter GLUCKMAN, Chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA), Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand
All Presentations (
32.0 MB)
Comments
Thanks for the organization. Glad of attending.
Marcos Antonio Nogueira, IrRADIARE, Science for Evolution, Managing partner
Thanks for a great conference! Really enjoyed it, very interesting group of people.
Emily Hayter, INASP, Programme Manager, Evidence Informed Policy Making
Congratulations to the organisers for an outstanding meeting.
Daya Reddy, University of Cape Town, South African Research Chair in Computational Mechanics
The conference was indeed a dynamic success and you should all be very proud of how well the hard work paid off.
Mari-Vaughn Johnson, co-chair of the Global Young Academy and agronomist at the United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS).
Thank you so much for a very informative and well planned meeting.
Kamiel Gabriel, Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Many thanks for a very interesting conference.
Encarnacion Luque Perez, European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Scientific Project Officer
Just wanted to say thank you for such and interesting and informative conference last week.
Laura Norton, The British Academy, Press and Communications Manager
I really enjoyed the days of the conference & benefited from the extensive discussions.
Suad Sulaiman, Sudanese National Academy of Sciences, Treasurer, Health & Environment Adviser
And much more over twitter, #EUINGSA16
Read conference Twitter activity on Storify