18 April 2013

A New Book on Science Advice

Good news: A new book is out today on science advice for government.
Even better news: The book is rich with content.
It gets even more better: It is free!

The book has been put together by Robert Doubleday of Cambridge University and James Wilsdon of the University of Sussex on the occasion of Mark Walport taking over as the UK government's chief scientific adviser. The book has a UK focus but covers issues of much broader relevance.

Here is the table of contents:
  1. The science and art of effective advice - John Beddington
  2. Experts and experimental government - Geoff Mulgan
  3. A better formula: will Civil Service reform improve Whitehall’s use of expert advice? - Jill Rutter
  4. Making the most of scientists and engineers in government - Miles Parker
  5. Civil Service identity, evidence and policy - Dave O’Brien
  6. The science of science advice - Sheila Jasanoff
  7. The case for a Chief Social Scientist - Cary Cooper and Stephen Anderson
  8. Engineering policy: evidence, advice and execution - Brian Collins
  9. The benefits of hindsight: how history can contribute to science policy - Rebekah Higgitt and James Wilsdon Networks, nodes and nonlinearity: how scientific advice gets into policy - David Cleevely
  10. Windows or doors? Experts, publics and open policy - Jack Stilgoe and Simon Burall
  11. The power of ‘you’: expertise below the line - Alice Bell
  12. The politics of posterity: expertise and long-range decision making - Natalie Day
  13. Scientific advice in Parliament - Chris Tyler
  14. Letter from America: a memo to Sir Mark Walport - Roger Pielke Jr.
  15. The crowded chasm: science in the Australian government - Paul Harris
  16. Lessons from the IPCC: do scientific assessments need to be consensual to be authoritative? - Mike Hulme
  17. Science advice at the global scale - Bob Watson
Here are several blog posts distilled from the chapters and which have appeared on the Guardian's Political Science blog over the past few weeks:
Enjoy!!