Journal of the ...Volume 12 Issue 3 Reflections on ...
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Personal Reflection

Reflections on UK science–policy relationships in the light of Covid-19

orcid-imageSusan Michie*†email-imageSusan Michie*††

Susan Michie Professor of Health Psychology, Director of the Centre for Behaviour Change at University College London, and co-Director of Behavioural Research-UK. Her research focuses on human behaviour change in relation to health and the environment: how to understand it theoretically and apply theory and evidence to intervention and policy development, evaluation and implementation. She is chair of WHO’s Behavioural Sciences Advisory Group and participated in the UK Government’s Scientific Advisory Group in Emergencies during Covid-19.

orcid-imagehttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0063-6378

email-image s.michie@ucl.ac.uk

Abstract

This article discusses one of many reasons why the UK did so poorly in managing the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic despite having access to extensive and high-quality scientific evidence and advice: science–policy relationships. Drawing on the author’s participation in and experiences of the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE) and its behavioural sub-group, it discusses the following questions:
    1.
    Was the model (framework) for translating scientific advice to policy-makers as effective as it could have been?
    2.
    Could more have been done to communicate science and its implications for policy and practice to the public?
    3.
    Should scientists speak to policy-makers and the public about matters beyond their particular area of study, reflecting their multidisciplinary working and understanding?
    4.
    Do scientists have a social responsibility to discuss policy implications of scientific evidence and challenge politicians when their statements or behaviour go against prevailing evidence?
Future directions of inquiry should investigate the process by which research evidence is translated and used, applying social science and implementation science methods, evidence and theories. A question deserving attention across academe and society more generally is how scientists can best interact with, and contribute to, social good beyond their well-trodden paths of academic publications and conference presentations.

Keywords

Scientific advicepolicysocial sciencescience–policy relationshipCovid-19
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Published on: 13 August 2024
Volume: 12
Issue: Issue 3
Article ID: a27
Article view count: 102
Article download count: 0
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© The author(s) 2024. This is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License
Cite this article
Michie, S. (2024), ‘Reflections on UK science–policy relationships in the light of Covid-19’, Journal of the British Academy, 12(3): a27 https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/012.a27

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Personal reflection

Normal View Dyslexic View

Reflections on UK science–policy relationships in the light of Covid-19

orcid-imageSusan Michie*†email-imageSusan Michie*††

Susan Michie Professor of Health Psychology, Director of the Centre for Behaviour Change at University College London, and co-Director of Behavioural Research-UK. Her research focuses on human behaviour change in relation to health and the environment: how to understand it theoretically and apply theory and evidence to intervention and policy development, evaluation and implementation. She is chair of WHO’s Behavioural Sciences Advisory Group and participated in the UK Government’s Scientific Advisory Group in Emergencies during Covid-19.

orcid-imagehttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0063-6378

email-image s.michie@ucl.ac.uk