James Wilsdon is Director of the Science Policy Centre (SPC) at the Royal Society, the UK's national academy of science. The Royal Society's mission is to expand the frontiers of knowledge through the development and use of science, engineering, medicine and mathematics for the benefit of humanity. As the Society prepares for its 350th anniversary in 2010, it is establishing the SPC to provide high-quality scientific advice to policymakers, and to map and analyse the latest developments in science policy around the world. James became Director of the Science Policy Centre in September 2008.
From 2004 to 2008, James was Head of Science and Innovation at Demos, and Director of the Atlas of Ideas project, which explored the new geography of science and innovation in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. He has researched and published widely on science and innovation policy, sustainable development, emerging technologies, and the globalisation of science, R&D and higher education.
Prior to 2004, James spent three years as Head of Strategy at Demos, and from 1997 to 2001, he was Senior Policy Adviser at the sustainability charity Forum for the Future. He is an experienced public speaker and his writing has featured in the Financial Times, Guardian, Times Higher Education, SEED, China Daily, OpenDemocracy, Renewal and Green Futures.
James has a first-class degree in philosophy and theology from Oxford University and a doctorate in technology policy from Middlesex University. He remains an Associate of Demos and Forum for the Future. He is also an Honorary Senior Research Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Lancaster University, a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts and a Trustee of People and Planet. Aged 35, he lives in Cumbria with his wife and two sons, and divides his time between London and the Lake District.
His publications include:
His articles include:
Guaranteeing the conditions for continuous 'network innovation' should be the top priority of the new regulator, Ofcom, if Britain is to stay at the forefront of the digital econmy.
The contributors attempt to understand the enduring appeal of the monarchy and a couple of them argue for outright abolition. Together they ask the question: 'What are kings and queens for?'
In this collection of essays leading thinkers and practitioners discuss the future of the public realm and the renewal of public goods.
While the US tries to dominate space, Europe can offer a vision of public space based on the values of openness and peace.
This pamphlet explores the ways in which we can expose to public scrutiny the assumptions, values and visions that drive science
As the number of connections grows by 50,000 every week, broadband internet is increasingly a social phenomenon and a political issue.
Ethical considerations and public engagement should become part of everyday scientific practice. By finding new ways of talking about and building ‘the public value of science’, we can help enrich conversations between scientists, policymakers and the wider public, and encourage them to be about more than just competing views.
From memory pills to designer babies, extended lifespans to GM athletes, enhancement technologies promise (or threaten) to radically change our society. Is ours a cyborg future or will we resist the drive to improve human performance? How should policy makers and the public respond?
Based on a two-year ESRC-funded project by Demos and Lancaster University, this report examines the technical and social implications of nanotechnologies.
We used to know where new ideas would come from: established universities and corporate research centres in highly developed countries. Think again.
We used to know where new ideas would come from: established universities and corporate research centres in highly developed countries. Think again.
A building services manager for a local council. A Cumbrian hill farmer. A high-end concierge service. And a Bath-based leadership coach. These are not the people who you would expect to be pioneering solutions to climate change. Yet each of them is responsible for innovations that could put us on the path to a lower-carbon society.
Nanotechnology - the science of small things - promises to be one of the defining technologies of the 21st Century. But what will it mean for society and the environment? And how can public engagement in deciding the direction of research be moved 'upstream'?
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The Atlas of Ideas was a three year programme at Demos, which explored changes in the global geography of science and innovation. Between 2005 and 2008, it published studies of China, India, South Korea and Brazil.
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Growing awareness of climate change has not yet been matched by serious cuts in the amount of carbon the UK emits. This NESTA-funded joint project will explore environmental innovation in the UK.
MoreOur event at IIM Bangalore last week has been written up in the Deccan Herald by Rajeev...
Last week, the Atlas of Ideas came full circle in India, when we presented the findings...
I've written a piece for the FT today on the prospects for innovation in the Islamic...
The latest issue of id21, published by our friends from the Institute of Development Studies...
I've recently returned from Beijing, where I spoke at the launch of the OECD's review...
I’m in Washington DC, at a World Bank meeting on science and innovation for development...
The PM today delivered a big speech on science in Oxford, his first substantial contribution...
Few people outside Westminster will be aware of the Parliamentary Office of Science and...
This is a first - for me at least - I'm posting this from 35,000 feet above Afghanistan...
For the third time in the past few months, Martin Jacques (one of Demos' founders) chose...