The Royal Society Science Policy Centre - Science Policy

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Science Policy Centre

The Royal Society has been providing scientific advice to policy makers since 1664, when it delivered to King Charles II a report on the state of Britain's forests. Today, scientific advice to underpin policy is more important than ever before.

From neuroscience to nanotechnology, food security to climate change, the questions being asked of scientists by policy makers, the media and the public continue to multiply. Many of the issues are global in nature, and require international collaboration, not just amongst policy makers, but also between scientists.

The Royal Society has established a science policy centre to strengthen the independent voice of science in UK, European and international policy. We want to champion the contribution that science and innovation can made to economic prosperity, quality of life and environmental sustainability, and we offer the Royal Society as a hub for debate about science, society and public policy.

The work of the Science Policy Centre ranges from targeted policy workshops to global governance frameworks. Our current projects include:
Atlas of Islamic world science and innovation

Working in partnership with the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), British Council, Nature, the Qatar Foundation, the International Development Research Centre and others, the Royal Society is undertaking a landmark study of science and innovation across the Islamic-world. The atlas will explore the changing landscape of science and innovation across a diverse selection of countries with large Muslim populations.
Brain waves

Increasing understanding of the brain and associated advances in technologies to study the brain will enable improved treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and mental illnesses, including depression and schizophrenia. But these advances will also increase our insights into normal human behaviour and mental wellbeing. Brain Waves will explore the potential and the limitations of neuroscience insights for policymaking, as well as the benefits and the risks posed by applications of neuroscience and neurotechnologies.
Global Science Report

Wherever in the world you look, new entrants are reshaping the landscape for science and innovation. But what do these changes mean? How should policymakers, scientists and business leaders respond? And how do we strike the right balance between competition and collaboration? The Royal Society Global Science Report, in co-operation with Elsevier, will map and analyse where, why and by whom science is being carried out around the world, how this is changing and the implications of these developments for global decision makers in science, business, NGOs and government.
People and the planet

Population is a global issue which is moving back up the agenda but debates remain polarised: many still see population as a distraction from the more urgent imperative of reducing resource consumption in the wealthiest countries. Others argue it is an issue that will solve itself, as growth rates peak and then fall from the middle of the 21st Century.
Solar radiation management governance initiative

A major new initiative to ensure strict governance of any plans for solar radiation management (SRM) geoengineering (counteracting global warming by reflecting a small percentage of the sun's light and heat back into space), will be undertaken this year by the Royal Society in partnership with the TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Downloads

Science Policy Centre prospectus

Policy Publications

An archive of our reports, responses and briefing notes

Policy Projects

Find out more about our many forms of policy work

The Scientific Century: securing our future prosperity

No-one can predict the 21st century counterparts of quantum theory, the double helix and the internet, but advances in science and technology will continue to transform our lives, create new industries and enable us to tackle presently intractable problems.

The Scientific Century

Latest policy publications

We publish briefing notes, report on emerging themes in science and governance and responses to legislation and policy initiatives. Most recently:

'State of the nation' - science and mathematics education 5-14 07 July 2010
This is the third project in our 'state of the nation' series, focused on the period from primary school to the beginning of GCSE or equivalent subject choices.

A new golden age? 28 June 2010
A positioning paper profiling advances in science and innovation across the Islamic world, and reviewing the barriers to further and faster progress.

Scientific cooperation to support nuclear arms control and disarmament 16 March 2010
Joint briefing from the Royal Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science ahead of the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in May 2010.

For a full archive please see the policy publications pages.