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Theme : public
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Open Government? From 'need to know' to 'need to share'
from : charlieedwards
18th July 2007
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Nanodialogues
Depending who you ask, nanotechnology might be the Next Big Thing, the Next Asbestos or the Next GM. But before its impacts have been felt, nanotechnology has become a test case for a new sort of governance. It is an opportunity to reimagine the relationship between science and democracy.
from : markfuller
28th June 2007
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A new social contract for science?
In these final days of Tony Blair’s premiership, there is widespread speculation about the changes in policy that his successor will introduce. Science is one area being tipped for a shakeup, perhaps through the creation of a new ministry, or a merger with education and skills. Tinkering with the machinery of government is one way of signaling a fresh start, but will such changes be accompanied by any more fundamental reappraisal of the changing social and political context for science?...
from : jackstilgoe
14th May 2007
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Links in the chain
In this light, the debate over Home Office reform highlights a much broader set of questions about the future of the civil service. The government wants to raise the performance of its departments to increase their ability to deliver ministerial agendas. Its instinct is usually to split up functions and create tighter avenues of accountability to drive up standards. But the government also needs to increase the capacity of civil servants to work together across organisational barriers to tackle joined-up policy problems like security. It is not impossible to combine the two, but it requires a very different way of thinking about the way the centre does business.
from : charlieedwards
5th April 2007
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Pew Research Center Research Global Warming: A Divide on Causes and Solutions
Pew Research Center Research Global Warming: A Divide on Causes and Solutions
from : mollywebb
25th January 2007
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A new soft machine
As we gear up to tomorrow's Atlas of Ideas launch, focussing on science in China, India and Korea, I've been thinking about some new bits of world-class British science. I spent last week in a Nano-sand-pit, working with 20 of the countries leading nano-scientists on new ways of turning information into stuff (towards a sort of mini 3D printer). The Ideas Factory blog, which over the course of the week climbed into Wordpress's top-ten, attracting over 100 comments, has just announced one of...
from : jackstilgoe
16th January 2007
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NICE drugs, if you can get them
Lead story on the breakfast news this morning was the battle between Alzheimer's patients and NICE, the body set up to "rationalise" the provision of medicines. We talked about this case a year ago, when the guidance was being reviewed for the first time, in The Public Value of Science.We were particularly interested in the involvement of the upstreamly-engaged Alzheimer's Society in the debate, via their QRD network. But the example is perhaps more relevant to our forthcoming...
from : jackstilgoe
11th October 2006
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Radical or Restricted?
John Reid, supported by Tony Blair, has called for a radical step change in Britain’s security services. The review will look at the role of MI5, MI6, police counter-terrorist units and GCHQ. But how radical will this review be? One of the major criticisms of the current British response to the new security challenges we face has been the bureaucratic and organisational inertia, where policy has not been determined by the nature of the challenge, but by the nature of the policy tools available.
from : charlieedwards
29th September 2006
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The trust/efficiency dilemma
Does efficiency undermine the quality of the emotional experiences that create trust? Good paper from Peter Taylor-Gooby.
from : simonparker
29th June 2006
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Social Report
Treasure trove of data from NZ's mighty Ministry of Social Development.
from : simonparker
28th June 2006
