Press Release: Building Bridges Between Academia and Policy

5 May 2009: Dr Chris Tyler, Adviser to the Science and Technology Select Committee,
Appointed Executive Director of The Centre for Science and Policy at Cambridge

Issues such as climate change, energy security, food security and a range of public health concerns including obesity and ageing have pushed scientific advice high up the political agenda. More than ever, expert advice from the natural and social sciences and engineering will be central to efforts to tackle these global challenges.

The Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) at the University of Cambridge was set up in summer 2009 to build a network that would strengthen the relationship between policy makers and the extensive expertise in the sciences and engineering that exists in Cambridge and other universities. Based within the Cambridge Judge Business School, CSaP acts as a hub for bringing together policy makers and researchers to identify key policy areas and generate new thinking.

As part of its continuing commitment to bridging the gap between these ‘two cultures’, CSaP is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Chris Tyler as its Executive Director. Dr Tyler joins CSaP from the House of Commons, where he has been science adviser to the Science and Technology Select Committee for the past three years. During this time he guided Committee inquiries into scientific advice in government and science funding, and was the architect of the IUSS Committee’s major report on engineering. A keen advocate of evidence-based policy, Dr Tyler also pioneered the Science and Technology Committee’s ‘Evidence Check’ programme. 

With a broad range of expertise on the relationships between science and policy, and Dr Tyler’s advice has been sought internationally, most recently in New Zealand, where he spent April working with the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister on a project to improve the use of evidence of policy making. Before the House of Commons, Dr Tyler worked for Sense About Science where he managed and developed the charity’s extensive network of scientists and promoted science in public debates on issues as diverse as climate change, chemicals, alternative medicines and nuclear power. Dr Tyler has a degree in anthropology from the University of Durham and a PhD in biological anthropology from the University of Cambridge.

Dr Tyler takes up his post today, 5 May 2010. Welcoming the appointment, David Cleevely, CSaP’s Founding Director, commented: “Dr Tyler’s arrival is a key step in building the network between the scientists and engineers in Cambridge, and the policy makers in Whitehall and Westminster. His experience and his enthusiasm will both be critical in bringing the parties together, and in identifying the issues around which they will engage.” Dr Tyler added: “I am delighted to be joining the Centre for Science and Policy. It is no exaggeration to say that our future depends on the relationship between government and science; between policy makers and academics. The Centre will play a vital role in forging these relationships.”
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Media Enquiries

Aislinn Ryan
Communications Manager
Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge
Tel: +44(0)1223 339608 /mobile +44(0)7500 883 669
Email: a.ryan@jbs.cam.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

About The Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP)

The Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) in the University of Cambridge is a networking organisation dedicated to building relationships between policy makers and experts in the sciences and engineering. The Centre runs seminars, workshops and lectures, and arranges secondments and fellowships, providing opportunities for confidential, informal, high-level discussion between policy practitioners in government and industry and world class experts. The Centre's mission is to serve society through:

• Providing policy makers access to the best academic thinking in engineering, science, computing, mathematics, the social sciences, law and philosophy;
• Horizon scanning for topics of potential interest before they become major issues of policy;
• Growing a world class centre where those interested in the policy implications of the sciences and technology can discuss and develop fresh ideas.

The Centre builds on the success of the Cambridge University Government Policy Programme (CUGPOP), which ran from 1998-2006 and which promoted understanding of how scientific and technological advances are made, their implications and potential in terms of governmental planning and policy.

www.csap.cam.ac.uk