Open science communication: The first year of the UK's Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies

Martin McKee; Danny Altmann; Anthony Costello; Karl Friston; Zubaida Haque; Kamlesh Khunti; Susan Michie; Tolullah Oni; Christina Pagel; Deenan Pillay; Steve Reicher; Helen Salisbury; Gabriel Scally; Kit Yates; Linda Bauld; Laura Bear; John Drury; Melissa Parker; Ann Phoenix; Elizabeth Stokoe; Robert West

doi:10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.01.006

Open science communication: The first year of the UK's Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies

Martin McKee
, Danny Altmann
, Anthony Costello
, Karl Friston
, Zubaida Haque
, Kamlesh Khunti
, Susan Michie
, Tolullah Oni
, Christina Pagel
, Deenan Pillay
, Steve Reicher
, Helen Salisbury
, Gabriel Scally
, Kit Yates
, Linda Bauld
, Laura Bear
, John Drury
, Melissa Parker
, Ann Phoenix
, Elizabeth Stokoe

Robert West

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Imperial College London
University College London
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
Runnymede Trust
University of Leicester
University of Cambridge
University of St Andrews
University of Oxford
Royal Society of Medicine, London
Edinburgh Napier University
London School of Economics
University of Sussex
Loughborough University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

27 Citations (SciVal)

124 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the complex relationship between science and policy. Policymakers have had to make decisions at speed in conditions of uncertainty, implementing policies that have had profound consequences for people's lives. Yet this process has sometimes been characterised by fragmentation, opacity and a disconnect between evidence and policy. In the United Kingdom, concerns about the secrecy that initially surrounded this process led to the creation of Independent SAGE, an unofficial group of scientists from different disciplines that came together to ask policy-relevant questions, review the evolving evidence, and make evidence-based recommendations. The group took a public health approach with a population perspective, worked in a holistic transdisciplinary way, and were committed to public engagement. In this paper, we review the lessons learned during its first year. These include the importance of learning from local expertise, the value of learning from other countries, the role of civil society as a critical friend to government, finding appropriate relationships between science and policy, and recognising the necessity of viewing issues through an equity lens.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	234-244
Number of pages	11
Journal	Health Policy
Volume	126
Issue number	3
Early online date	15 Jan 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.01.006
Publication status	Published - 31 Mar 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Independent SAGE is grateful to The Citizens, and Carole Cadwalladr in particular, for the crucial role they have played, including provision of many forms of support throughout its existence. We also thank Professor Kanlesh Khunti, University of Leicester, for his invaluable contributions to our work as a former member.

Funding

Independent SAGE is grateful to The Citizens, and Carole Cadwalladr in particular, for the crucial role they have played, including provision of many forms of support throughout its existence. We also thank Professor Kanlesh Khunti, University of Leicester, for his invaluable contributions to our work as a former member.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

COVID-19
Public engagement
Science communication
Science policy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Health Policy

Access to Document

10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.01.006

IndieSAGE Health Policy paper resubmission clean.PDFAccepted author manuscript, 574 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

McKee, M., Altmann, D., Costello, A., Friston, K., Haque, Z., Khunti, K., Michie, S., Oni, T., Pagel, C., Pillay, D., Reicher, S., Salisbury, H., Scally, G., Yates, K., Bauld, L., Bear, L., Drury, J., Parker, M., Phoenix, A., ... West, R. (2022). Open science communication: The first year of the UK's Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies. Health Policy, 126(3), 234-244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.01.006

McKee, M, Altmann, D, Costello, A, Friston, K, Haque, Z, Khunti, K, Michie, S, Oni, T, Pagel, C, Pillay, D, Reicher, S, Salisbury, H, Scally, G, Yates, K, Bauld, L, Bear, L, Drury, J, Parker, M, Phoenix, A, Stokoe, E & West, R 2022, 'Open science communication: The first year of the UK's Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies', Health Policy, vol. 126, no. 3, pp. 234-244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.01.006

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abstract = "The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the complex relationship between science and policy. Policymakers have had to make decisions at speed in conditions of uncertainty, implementing policies that have had profound consequences for people's lives. Yet this process has sometimes been characterised by fragmentation, opacity and a disconnect between evidence and policy. In the United Kingdom, concerns about the secrecy that initially surrounded this process led to the creation of Independent SAGE, an unofficial group of scientists from different disciplines that came together to ask policy-relevant questions, review the evolving evidence, and make evidence-based recommendations. The group took a public health approach with a population perspective, worked in a holistic transdisciplinary way, and were committed to public engagement. In this paper, we review the lessons learned during its first year. These include the importance of learning from local expertise, the value of learning from other countries, the role of civil society as a critical friend to government, finding appropriate relationships between science and policy, and recognising the necessity of viewing issues through an equity lens.",

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AU - Oni, Tolullah

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Open science communication: The first year of the UK's Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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Cite this