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Professor of Research Policy, University of Sheffield

Since September 2013, I have been Chair of the Campaign for Social Science, which was set up in 2011 to raise the profile of UK social science and demonstrate its value to the public, policymakers and the media.

From 2008 to 2011, I was the founding Director of the Science Policy Centre at the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, where I coordinated a series of influential studies on topics such as geoengineering, food security, science diplomacy, open science, and the prospects for science in the Islamic world. I also led the Royal Society's evidence gathering and advocacy for investment in research through the 2010 UK General Election and subsequent Spending Review.

Prior to this, I was Head of Science and Innovation (2004-2008) and Head of Strategy (2001-2004) at the think tank Demos, and Senior Policy Adviser (1997-2001) at the sustainability NGO Forum for the Future. From 2006 to 2008, I was a part-time Senior Research Fellow at Lancaster University's Institute for Advanced Studies.

I've researched and written widely on science policy, scientific advice, the governance of new technologies and the globalization of research. My main publications include Future Directions for Scientific Advice in Whitehall (CSaP/Alliance for Useful Evidence, 2013); The Scientific Century (Royal Society, 2010), New frontiers in science diplomacy (Royal Society, 2010), The Atlas of Ideas (Demos, 2007), China: the next science superpower? (Demos, 2007), The Public Value of Science (Demos, 2005), See-through Science (Demos, 2004) and Digital Futures (Earthscan, 2001).

Experience

  • 2008–2011
    Director of Science Policy, The Royal Society