The Government Office for Science
Climate change, security, energy, food, water, health and migration pose unprecedented and inter-connected challenges. How we manage these, nationally and internationally, will determine our success as a nation and define the UK’s place in the 21st century.
Science and engineering are central to identifying, understanding and addressing these challenges. The role of the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA), supported by the Government Office for Science (GO-Science), is to ensure that the UK Government has access to, and uses the best science and engineering research and advice available for policy development and delivery.
Working with national and international experts GO-Science supports the GCSA in:
- advising the Prime Minister and Cabinet directly on issues of global impact such as pandemic flu or those which affect many or all government departments such as energy generation and supply; and
- putting in place frameworks to encourage departments to make effective use of science and engineering to design and deliver successful policy.
The work of GO-Science also includes:
- bringing together departmental CSAs to build capacity, share good practice and address crosscutting issues where science and engineering can add value, for example in counter terrorism;
- working with departments to assess their performance in managing and using science, and to support them in introducing improvements;
- creating and maintaining guidance and best practice for departments;
- undertaking Foresight projects which bring together leading edge science and engineering with futures techniques to address cross-cutting issues such as Global Environmental Migration;
- providing a centre of excellence in government on Horizon Scanning;
- working with other Civil Service professions and the Cabinet Office to build the effectiveness of the science and engineering profession in government;
- supporting the independent Council for Science and Technology to provide high level advice to the Prime Minister and Cabinet; and engaging internationally on science and engineering issues in support of UK objectives.
