Government Science & Engineering e-Newsletter
Friday, 29 June 2012 Summer Special
Dear Colleague
With the watered down message of the climate conference in Rio and sadly soggy English soccer team, June has been all too gloomy so far. Fear not, this bumper edition of the GSE newsletter will get you singing (about science and engineering) in the rain.
It is all change at the top! We are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Sir Mark Walport as the new Government Chief Scientific Adviser. He will take over the role from Sir John Beddington in April 2013. Currently the Director of the Wellcome Trust, Professor Walport will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the role. Welcome also to Professor Vernon Gibson who takes up his post in July as new Chief Scientific Adviser at the Ministry of Defence.
Changes are afoot for all civil servants. The Civil Service Reform plan, published last week, will have implications for all professions including scientists and engineers. We are launching a survey of scientists and engineers to learn more about the people we have in our professional community and what you think about some of the issues raised in the reform plan.
This edition of the GSE newsletter brings news from across the Civil Service, including awards, training opportunities and events on systems thinking and drug detection technology. We also ask for your help to refresh the Foresight review on technology and innovation and offer the opportunity to join a new community of practice on public engagement. Finally, news of UCL’s Olympic “Exercise your Brain” event and the Royal Society’s Summer exhibition shows that summer must finally here.
We welcome your questions, comments and contributions, so please email us at GSE@bis.gov.uk If you missed any past GSE newsletters, you can read them online.
The Skills & Profession Development Team, Government Office for Science
Contents
Articles
1. Review of the future of the Civil Service - implications for scientists and engineers
Published on 19 June, the Civil Service Reform plan will have implications for all professions including scientists and engineers. Professional groups will have an increasingly important role in the future civil service. The plan proposes encouraging flexible working culture (including working across departmental boundaries) and increasing interchange with the private sector. There is a particular emphasis on encouraging learning and development, including developing talented staff whatever their professional background. There is also a desire to develop systems for more open and collaborative policy making. We think this is a particular strength of the science and engineering community in government where we have very well developed systems for involving external experts in policy making in a transparent way.
The full plan can be found here:
http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/reform
2. Survey of Scientists and Engineers
To help us learn more about our professional community and get your views on the implications of the changes proposed in the Civil Service reform plan for science and engineering in government, we are launching the first ever survey of scientists and engineers working in the Civil Service. Developed with help from our heads of profession network, the survey will give us valuable evidence to inform the future development of the GSE community and help achieve Sir John Beddington's vision to strengthen the role and status of scientists and engineers across government.
The survey can be accessed here:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8FWXGJ6
Please do all you can to encourage your colleagues to complete the survey. The information you provide will be critical for the future development of the GSE community.
3. Professional curriculum launched
The professional curriculum for scientists and engineers in government has been launched on the Civil Service Learning (CSL) website (you will need to register to view the curriculum)
The curriculum provides guidance on the training and other learning resources that can help you develop your professional skills as a scientist or engineer. The curriculum is aimed at practitioners working in specialist roles and will also be relevant to colleagues who work with scientists or engineers, or who work across disciplines or in roles where they apply their scientific or engineering background more broadly. We’ll continue to develop the curriculum so please let us know if you have any suggestions or recommendations for training or other learning resources.
4. Do you or someone you know deserve recognition for outstanding contributions to the civil service?
Nominations opened this week for the Civil Service Awards 2012.
Award categories include:
• Innovation; Best practice in innovative use of science and technology as part of the policy making, operational delivery, or business planning process.
• Collaboration; Effective joint working arrangements that bring together colleagues from multiple teams, departments or other internal or external organisations.
• Innovation; recognising innovative approaches which successfully addressed an issue or challenge.
• Analysis and Use of Evidence for policy teams who worked well with scientists, engineers and other analysts to develop and apply an integrated evidence base to make effective decisions
• 'Professional of the year', recognising outstanding achievement by an individual who in their civil service role is working as a member of an accredited profession or profession recognised within the civil service.
Click here for further details or go to:
http://network.civilservicelive.com/pg/cmspages/read/csa2012categories
Deadline for nominations is 27 July 2012
5. LAST FEW PLACES REMAINING; Seminar on systems thinking at Civil Service Live - Tuesday 3 July 2012
Do you have to deal with complex problems that involve multiple stakeholders and require many possible solutions? The Government Science and Engineering (GSE) community event at Civil Service Live this year will focus on Systems Thinking in the Civil Service. The seminar offers an introduction to systems thinking and demonstrates the different approaches applicable in a civil service context. Over 200 people are already attending, book your place now!
Timing: 11:10 to 12:10 on Tuesday, 3 July at Olympia National Hall, Kensington, London.
You will need to register for this event on the CSLive website. Click on the link below for more details:
http://network.civilservicelive.com/pg/cmspages/read/csldayone
Civil Service Live is free to attend for civil servants and all those working in local government and the wider public sector. It will feature over 80 sessions and workshops, keynote addresses from senior civil servants, industry experts and innovative leaders combined with a lively and engaging exhibition of both public and private sector partners.
We look forward to seeing you there.
6. Tackling drug use in prisons - a systems approach to technology application (report from GSE and Ministry of Justice workshop
On Tuesday 15 May 2012, the Government Office for Science and the Ministry of Justice hosted a workshop which brought together policy makers and experts to identify potential research avenues for drug detection in prisons. The event was attended by 27 participants from government departments and research institutions, including GSE members.
The workshop was introduced by Rebecca Endean, Director for Analytical Services at the Ministry of Justice. Professor Dick Lacey, Head of Contraband Detection at the Home Office Centre for Applied Science and Technology, reviewed current approaches to drug detection. Matt Bullard, Head of Key Threats at the National Offender Management Service gave a presentation on drugs in prisons from the operational perspective.
Representatives from research institutions (National Physics Laboratory, Laboratory of the Government Chemist, University of Birmingham and University of East Anglia) gave a brief overview of drug detection research in their organisations. A key conclusion of the workshop was that technology research on drug detection in prisons should be embedded in a broader systems approach.
An online workspace has been set up through www.huddle.com to continue discussions. Any GSE members interested in participating in this work are invited to contact Mireille Levy at the National Offender Management Service. Email: mireille.levy@noms.gsi.gov.uk
7. A fresh look at technology and innovation: your views are needed.
In November 2010, Foresight published its report Technology and Innovation Futures: UK Growth Opportunities for the 2020s. The report identifies technologies and areas of innovation which could enable economic growth in the UK over the next 20 years. It made a strong impact, both in the UK and internationally.
As part of the government's commitment to identify and nurture opportunities for long-term growth, David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, asked Sir John Beddington's office to 'refresh' the project’s findings.
A survey is being conducted to provide crucial evidence for the refresh and your views from GSE members are needed. The team are particularly interested in your views on:
-New potential applications for existing technologies or new technologies not already identified;
-Key organisations contributing to their development;
-Opportunities associated with the technologies and how government support could make a difference; and
-Data on the potential size of the future market and its disruptive potential.
Please contact Oliver Grant oliver.grant@bis.gsi.gov.uk or Alun Rhydderch alun@horizonscanning.com if you would like more information.
8. MoD searches for the manufacturing solutions of the future
Machines that build themselves, electronics embedded in skin-thin layers of material and clothing that changes colour to alert the wearer to chemical agents – these are the 'James Bond' style future technologies that the MOD is searching for. The MOD is inviting research proposals from the UK’s most inspiring innovators including those in academia, entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises and multinational defence giants, with the aim of informing future research in the area of design, fabrication and manufacture.
Proposals can be submitted online until 17:00 on Wednesday 17 July 2012. You can contact the CDE by email cde@dstl.gov.uk or 01235 438445.
9. New Chief Scientific Adviser joins MoD
On 31 May 2012, the MoD announced that Professor Vernon Gibson will be appointed as its new Chief Scientific Adviser, replacing Professor Mark Welland. As Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Gibson will oversee the MOD's science and technology programme.
Professor Gibson will join the Department on 2 July 2012 following a distinguished career as an academic researcher and a period in the commercial sector as one of BP's chief scientists. He said:
"I am tremendously honoured and privileged to be joining the Ministry of Defence as its Chief Scientific Adviser. I'm looking forward to addressing the science and technology challenges that will help shape the capability of our Armed Forces in the 21st century."
Professor Sir John Beddington, Government Chief Scientific Adviser, described Professor Gibson's appointment as 'excellent news for the Government and for the UK'. He added:
"As a former chief scientist at BP, [Professor Gibson's] distinguished academic career alongside extensive industry experience will be invaluable to the Ministry of Defence itself, as well as further strengthening the network of Chief Scientific Advisers across government. Expert scientific advice is critical to good policy-making and I am delighted to welcome someone with Vernon's expertise to the fold. I look forward to working with him."
10. The Oxford Martin School's recipe for intellectual innovation
Following a highly competitive process for funding held over the past year, the Oxford Martin School is awarding £6.4 million to six new interdisciplinary research teams working to address scientific challenges of the 21st century. Starting in October, the six new research programmes will investigate;
Viral infections: Exploiting the unprecedented power of modern genetics to understand the clearance of viral infections such as HIV and Hepatitis C from the body.
Resource stewardship: Radically rethinking global resource stewardship to consider the tensions within an increasingly crowded world, accountable to future generations.
Quantum technology: Learning directly from biological systems to develop quantum computing which will revolutionize current information processing capacity with impacts for climate predictions and drug discovery.
Vaccines: Transforming vaccines against globally important diseases such as influenza and developing innovative needle-free delivery technologies.
Human rights: Designing a new framework for human rights to deal with the unprecedented and unpredictable factors affecting the welfare of future generations.
Complexity: Improving the resilience of critical global systems– food webs, the internet, the global financial system – in the face of growing risk and uncertainty.
For further information or to speak to the academics involved, contact: alison.stibbe@oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk or julia.banfield@oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk
More information on the Oxford Martin School including research programme and events is available here: www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/
11. Royal Society Science Exhibition, London, 3 - 8 July 2012
The annual Royal Society Exhibition showcases some of the more exciting cutting-edge science and technology in the UK. There are exhibits and event, including football-playing robots, the science of art and laughter and the role of bubbles in medical treatment http://sse.royalsociety.org/2012/exhibits/
Visit the exhibition at Carlton House Terrace, London to speak to the scientists from a range of disciplines face-to-face about their research.
12. Exercise your brain at UCL – Olympic events
To mark the Olympics and Paralympics, UCL presents a programme of evening events that highlights some of the world-leading research it does that is relevant to the 2012 Olympics. For a full programme please visit www.ucl.ac.uk/london/olympics
Events with a science or engineering dimension include:
Tuesday 10 July
Optimising Performance: Success for our athletes, health and our nation
UCL’s Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health was set up through collaboration between UCL, UCH, the British Olympic Association and the English Institute of Sport. At this event, an expert panel - including Sir Clive Woodward (Director of Elite Performance, British Olympic Association) will illustrate the breadth of the institute’s remit.
Wednesday 18 July
Olympian minds: can we train our brain for success in sports and other fields?
It has long been understood that our brains have an element of plasticity; they can change as a result of inputs from the environment. But what role does training – in sports and other areas – have in regulating this ability to change?
Tuesday 11 September
Transport and the Olympic Legacy - Driving Innovation
Extra pressure on London's transport systems during the Olympics is forcing both the public and private sector to try innovative ways to spread demand and use the road and rail networks more efficiently, from new delivery patterns to greater use of the web and Twitter.
Thursday 13 September
The Long Legacy: London 2062
As we contemplate the repercussions of London 2012, what will London be like in 2062?
13. Make it in Great Britain
Make it in Great Britain is a campaign run by BIS that aims to transform outdated opinions of modern manufacturing and dispel the myth that Britain ‘doesn’t make anything anymore’.
Coinciding with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the campaign will culminate in the Make it in Great Britain exhibition at the Science Museum from 24th July to 9th September. The exhibition will also feature the ‘Make it in Great Britain Challenge’, a national competition to find the most innovative British pre-market products, processes and concepts.
The Make it in Great Britain team, based in the manufacturing advisory service, is seeking volunteers to help deliver a world-class exhibition showcasing the best of British manufacturing. Volunteers will work as part of a team that supports the growth of the manufacturing sector whilst developing their own skills.
Please encourage your colleagues and contacts to attend. If you can’t volunteer yourselves why not visit the exhibition at the Science Museum?
For further information, click here
14. Hallelujah, it’s raining STEM!
The recent monsoon conditions did nothing to stop a high turn-out at this year’s Times Cheltenham Science Festival. Among the 30,000 plus visitors were Vince Cable Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills and Science Minister David Willetts.
As rain and hail pounded the canvas, David Willetts praised the local scientists of Careering Around for promoting STEM careers to schools and sent a personal message in German on the Enigma machine at the GCHQ display stand. He stressed the opportunities and issues in a future “brave new world of open data” as part of a debate with Mark Henderson, author of the Geek Manifesto and Tom Whipple, science correspondent to the Times.
The following day, Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills popped in to meet the ten international finalists for the Fame Lab Grand Final which was held at the Festival. Famelab is a nationwide X-factor style competition searching for people who can convincingly convey the wonder and relevance of scientific topics to the public in just three minutes. Vince Cable was keen to stress the importance of mobility of scientific talent across national borders which this project illustrates. Congratulations to gallant winners Austria!
15. New Community of Practice on public engagement
Sciencewise-ERC is setting up a new Community of Practice (CoP) for Policy Makers involved in public dialogue. The CoP will provide a safe space for civil servants and dialogue practitioners to access information, collaborate and share experiences. It will feature an online platform – with forums, blogs and documents to access guidance and support – alongside face to face meetings, webinars and phone support. It will be officially launched in the autumn but Sciencewise will be working with a small group of dedicated dialogue champions to build the community in the next months. If you are interested in playing a part please get in touch!
Contact: Edward Andersson, Dialogue Manager Edward@involve.org.uk
Further details of this and other Sciencewise-ERC activities can be found in the latest Sciencewise-ERC newsletter
Government Science and Engineering
About the GSE e-Newsletter
The GSE e-Newsletter is produced by the Government Office for Science (GO-Science). It is circulated on a monthly basis and highlights areas of interest to the profession, including news updates, highlights of departmental activities, and details of events. The newsletter is for all civil servants with a science and/or engineering background or those with a strong interest in matters relating to the profession.
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