Monthly Archives: August 2016

Targets for climate change policy: a special case?

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Authors: Prof. Steve Yearley and Dr. Eugénia Rodrigues A recent report by the CCC (the Committee on Climate Change) made its low-key way to Parliament (‘The compatibility of UK onshore petroleum with meeting the UK’s carbon budgets’). In it a key message: shale gas exploitation, commonly known as ‘fracking’, if it is carried out on a significant   …Continue Reading


Rethinking Research Impact: How could knowledge about science and policy inform the UK’s research impact incentive structures?

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Academics working in the UK are being increasingly encouraged and incentivized to seek research impact beyond the academy and the consequences of these changes have caused alarm for some. In a new article in the Journal of Social Policy, we outline a range of concerns that have been raised in publications to date, across disciplines,   …Continue Reading


Target setting, Accountability and Defence Procurement

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Authors :  Hilary Cornish and Graham Spinardi The recent discussion in parliament, which passed the motion to replace Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent submarines, was a rare occasion where a defence procurement decision hit the headlines. The MoD’s current estimate for four new submarines is £31bn, with a planned contingency of £10bn, a figure that has   …Continue Reading