Dr Marina Antoniou reflects on her experience of working in the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy in 2019.
In 2017, the Royal Society launched a fully-funded Science Policy Secondment scheme offering its Research Fellows the opportunity to gain policy experience at the heart of government. Below, we hear about Dr Marina Antoniou's experience of the secondment. Dr Antoniou was a Royal Society Research Fellow, and is Associate Professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Warwick.
Background
Given my background in Electrical Engineering and research into the energy efficiency of power electronics and smart grids, I am particularly interested in sustainability, energy and industrial strategy. I was therefore delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to policymaking in areas ranging from energy supply to electric vehicles, innovation and industrial policy as part of the Royal Society Policy Secondment scheme.
I joined the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in September 2019 as a Policy Associate within the Chief Scientific Adviser’s Office. BEIS is responsible for business, industrial strategy, science, research and innovation, energy and clean growth and climate change policy. The Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) in BEIS is a Director General whose role is “to provide independent, impartial assurance on scientific rigour, and access to expertise drawn from the cross-government network of CSAs and more widely”, and is not directly responsible for policy delivery. My role as a Royal Society Policy Associate was to shadow the CSA and contribute my independent academic opinion in the projects I was involved in.
What was the scheme like?
Through my secondment I was able to witness first-hand how scientific advice and scientific evidence help to shape “evidence‐informed” policies. Scientific advice is multifaceted and is utilised throughout the policymaking process. From the identification of early issues, through to the design and formulation of policies and the efficient allocation and use of public resources, scientific evidence helps identify the most relevant questions for policymaking, informing their responses, and crucially, maximising the impact of government interventions.
Examples of projects I was involved within the CSA’s office include work around secure, resilient Position, Navigation and Timing. The complex issues arising from the heavy reliance on the US Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system are documented in the Blackett review, published in January 2018. Looking at what alternative technologies might provide back-up for resilience of critical applications was a key focus of my secondment activities.
Another topic was the implementation of the “Government Science Capability Review” within BEIS. Following the publication of this report from the Government Office for Science (Nov 2019), the CSA office was tasked with looking into the recommendations of how science could be better utilised in all aspects of BEIS activities, in order to help improve its role and services. Ironically, this could not have been timelier as the pandemic proved to us!
My overall impression of working within the civil service and more specifically as part of the CSA team at BEIS is extremely positive. The dynamic and diverse nature of the work, as well as the professional and efficient attitude of civil servants have greatly impressed and inspired me. Their daily activities and decisions have a real impact on people’s lives at the national, and at times, the international level. The different teams have extremely diverse skillsets with backgrounds varying from maths and physical sciences to humanities and engineering. This unique blending of experiences and varying viewpoints supports decision making at all levels. The overall experience was something rather different to an academic environment!
This experience has convinced me to pursue any future opportunities to engage with policy. The idea of making a difference (big or small) to people’s lives is truly inspiring!
