Aims and Objectives
The Sciencewise Expert Resource Centre for Public Dialogue In Science and Innovation (ERC) is funded by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS). It aims to help policy makers commission and use public dialogue to inform policy decisions which involve science and technology.
It aims to provide a comprehensive online resource of information, advice and guidance together with a wide range of support services aimed at policy makers and all the different stakeholders involved in science and technology policy-making, including the public.
Aims and Objectives of the Sciencewise-ERC
Our aim is to create excellence in public dialogue to inspire and inform better policy in science and technology in the UK.
Our objectives are to:
Objective 1:
Support the current dialogue projects and stimulate new flagship public dialogue projects of different types, to inspire and inform better science and technology policy in Whitehall departments, devolved administrations (DAs) and government agencies.
This will involve:
- Proactively creating dialogues on key topical issues; responding to requests for dialogue, seeking ways to utilise different dialogue methods; and working with different stakeholders to commission, design and deliver those dialogues.
- Increasing the use of dialogue results by working closely with senior policy makers and politicians within government and with key stakeholders outside government before, during and after dialogue.
- Creating and promoting information resources on dialogue topics to encourage their use and to minimise duplication of dialogues on similar topics.
- Linking project work to activities listed under objectives 2 and 3.
Objective 2
Become an opinion leader and trusted source of information in the role of public dialogue (the process and outcomes) in evidence-based policy making involving science and technology.
Two related strands for this work:
Opinion leadership
- Convening space(s) for debate, reflective practice, knowledge exchange, institutional learning and coherence in relation to public engagement (dialogue, governance) across the key stakeholders in the academic, science, policy and practitioner communities.
- Placing opinion-forming articles and comment on dialogue and topical issues, eg evidence-based narrative on role of dialogue in policy making and why it is useful, or emerging topics linked to our dialogue projects.
- Commissioning analysis and dialogue in support of the above.
Trusted information source
- Demonstrating good governance and transparency in the operation of Sciencewise-ERC.
- Developing a comprehensive information bank on each issue on which Sciencewise-ERC has convened dialogue, including easy to access (hard to ignore) information on individual and collective results, insights and messages of dialogues.
- Awareness raising about dialogue and engagement/the Sciencewise-ERC offer, eg at a science festival or within a government department/DA.
Objective 3
Have started to embed appreciation of public dialogue in the day to day work of Whitehall departments, government initiatives, DAs and agencies through provision of a range of tailored guidance, tools and support.
This will involve:
- Building the case for different forms of dialogue and what they have and can deliver (in the UK and abroad), based on evidence, value for money, innovation and risk.
- Building strategic relationships with those parts of government, Agencies, organisations and institutions where dialogue is being used or promoted (eg DECC, Defra, EA, BIS, WAG, Treasury, RCUK) and design tailor made support, tools and processes based on an appreciation of their needs, drivers, processes, incentives.
- Capacity building for champions (link to thought leadership ‘space’ of objective 2), and for those commissioning and involved in dialogue (policy makers, scientists, public) or those influential in setting the frameworks and processes through which dialogue may be commissioned.