Imperial College Institute of Infection workshop report. February 2022 - navigating degrees of certainty - science communication to policymakers
Author(s)
Warrell, David
Type
Report
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic is not a typical case study of science advice. It is rare that science advisory systems are required to respond so urgently yet in such a sustained manner, working with so little conclusive information about societal impacts, despite the certain knowledge that these impacts will be both highly significant and highly diverse. This is a policy environment where new evidence accumulates daily, sometimes reducing uncertainty regarding which course of action to take, but sometimes increasing it. By generating an environment of extreme uncertainty and ambiguity on the one hand, and urgency and pressure on the other, the pandemic has proved a severe test of the UK’s science advisory systems. Early indications suggest some components of the system have performed better than others,1 though it will be necessary to analyse their performance before drawing robust conclusions. Such an analysis is not the aim of this report. Instead, we explore some lessons provided by the pandemic which may be of interest to the scientific community.
Imperial academics and the Royal Society amongst many others have played a significant part in the national and international response to the pandemic by advising governmental and other public health bodies. Owing to their interdisciplinary nature, the Institute of Infection and the Royal Society are well placed to act as a bridge between academics from many disciplines who have such experience.
This report compiles insights from a workshop organized by the Institute and the Royal Society on 21st February 2022 that brought together senior scientists, and a series of interviews with senior policy academics. Both the workshop and the interviews focused on two themes: communicating uncertainty, and science advice to Government before and during the pandemic. The purpose of this report is to present both experiential and systematic accounts of the science advisory process. It aims to introduce the subject to future science advisers. In particular, it gives guidance on navigating the relationship between the adviser and their counterparts in Government.
Imperial academics and the Royal Society amongst many others have played a significant part in the national and international response to the pandemic by advising governmental and other public health bodies. Owing to their interdisciplinary nature, the Institute of Infection and the Royal Society are well placed to act as a bridge between academics from many disciplines who have such experience.
This report compiles insights from a workshop organized by the Institute and the Royal Society on 21st February 2022 that brought together senior scientists, and a series of interviews with senior policy academics. Both the workshop and the interviews focused on two themes: communicating uncertainty, and science advice to Government before and during the pandemic. The purpose of this report is to present both experiential and systematic accounts of the science advisory process. It aims to introduce the subject to future science advisers. In particular, it gives guidance on navigating the relationship between the adviser and their counterparts in Government.
Date Issued
2022-08-05
Citation
Navigating degrees of certainty:
a guide to providing science advice, 2022
a guide to providing science advice, 2022
Journal / Book Title
Navigating degrees of certainty:
a guide to providing science advice
a guide to providing science advice
Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Author(s).