Understanding science

Introduction: From laboratory bench to Front Bench

How science helps government to plan for the future

The rate of progress in science and technology in the past sixty years or so has been breathtaking. We have sent probes into outer space. We have launched satellites that orbit the earth and allow us to monitor the effects of climate change. We have computers of enormous power that can complete in fractions of a second calculations that only thirty years ago would have taken weeks.

We take for granted the fact that, in our own homes we can watch football matches as they are being played, whether in Brazil, Japan or Germany. We have a deep knowledge of the chemical basis of life and we have spawned the biotechnology industry that has the power to improve the living standards of all people. Wherever we look, science has changed, is changing and will continue to change the way we live.

It is impossible for society, and therefore for governments, to ignore these developments. Some of them will benefit society but some may cause harm and it is for governments to decide how to meet the future needs of their countries. But if governments are to make wise decisions, they need a secure base of scientific knowledge. And scientists have the responsibility of advising their governments about that knowledge base.

The Cambridge University Government Policy Programme is a series of seminars which aims to help politicians and senior civil servants understand the latest scientific thinking, both from Cambridge and from around the world, which will help them in their planning and decision making. The specific aims of the programme are:

To build understanding of how scientific and technological advances are made.
To emphasise that, at the boundaries of knowledge and research, there is uncertainty.
To discuss future developments so that the government can plan proactively.
To indicate the practical implications of scientific and technological advances.
To draw attention to the opportunities and challenges that these advances offer.
To consider the legal, economic and ethical implications of these advances.
To suggest solutions to problems, rather than just to pose more questions.

The programme covers a very wide range of topics and considers legal, ethical and social issues as well as scientific issues. These pages provide summaries of some of the presentations that have been made over the past eight years to government Ministers and senior civil servants.

The title of this document is: Understanding science: Introduction: From laboratory bench to Front Bench
URL: http://www.cam.ac.uk/about/scienceseminars/