Science meets Policymakers

Presented by Science & Technology Australia
in partnership with the HC Coombs Policy Forum, ANU
and supported by the Australian Academy of Science
and the Australian Government Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

Friday 24 February 2012   8.30am – 5.00pm    

**VENUE CHANGE** Gandel Hall National Gallery of Australia,
Parkes Place, Parkes, Canberra, ACT

Registration is FREE - Please note numbers are limited.
Please register online by
Friday 10 February 2012 at
http://sciencemeetspolicymakers.eventbrite.com

Enquiries - Cathy Bryson
Science & Technology Australia
T  02 6257 2891  E  cathy.bryson@sta.org.au  W  www.sta.org.au 

Context
Science meets Policymakers will, for the first time, bring together researchers from a range of disciplines and policymakers from various government departments to take a closer look at the intersection between the evidence base and policy development.

The aim of the Science meets Policymakers forum is to shape a forward agenda between the research community and government that will allow us to move beyond identifying the need to improve evidence-based policy development and focus on what we need to do to achieve it. This event will inform and enable policymakers and scientists, as well as improve science communication. 

Participants of this event include policymakers, academics, practicing scientists, representatives from scientific societies and from industries employing scientists, parliamentarians, and science communicators.

To deliver this event, Science & Technology Australia is proud to partner with the HC Coombs Policy Forum at The Australian National University (ANU).

Presenting partners

Science & Technology Australia is Australia’s peak body for science and technology. Since 1985 it has grown to become a respected voice for scientists among politicians, business leaders and the wider community, representing more than 68,000 scientists and technologists working across all scientific disciplines and employed in a range of industries. Science & Technology Australia seeks to: encourage scientific dialogue between government, the science and technology community, and industry; promote public understanding of science, and; foster close relationships between scientific societies.

The HC Coombs Policy Forum is the ‘think-tank’ arm of the Australian National Institute of Public Policy (ANIPP) - a strategic collaboration between the Australian Government and the ANU.The HC Coombs Policy Forum employs a range of mechanisms to strengthen constructive relationships between the research community and government, translating a wide variety of relevant research in practical ways to contribute to the crafting of innovative policy solutions.

Program

8.30  Registration and arrival tea and coffee

9am  Welcome - Professor Michael Holland,
          President, Science & Technology Australia

9.10  Austrlian Government Address - Ms Gai Brodtmann MP

9.30  Keynote Address - Dr Nina Fedoroff,
          President, American Association for the Advancement of Science

10.40Morning Tea

11am Leadership from Government and the Research Sector
          Moderator: Dr Mark Matthews,
          Executive Director, Strategy, Australian National Institute of Public Policy

          PANELISTS
          Ms Patricia Kelly,
          Deputy Secretary, Department of Innovation, Industry, Science & Research
          and Chair, Steering Committee of the APS 200 Project ‘Place of Science in
          Policy Development in the Public Service’

          Professor Ian Young, Vice-Chancellor, ANU

          Dr Mike Whelan, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, CSIRO

1pm   Networking Lunch

2pm  When Science meets Policy: success, failures, limitations & enablers.
          What role should scientists have in policy development?
          What forms of knowledge are required?
          What are the opportunities and limitations of evidence-based policy?
          Moderator: Wilson Da Silva, Editor-in-Chief, COSMOS Magazine

          PANELISTS
          Mr Gary Banks AO, Chairman, Productivity Commission

          Professor Bruce Chapman,
          Director - Policy Impact, Crawford School of Eco. & Government, ANU

          Professor Linda Botterill, 
          Professor in Australian Public Policy, Canberra University

          Professor Tom Kompas
          Director, Crawford School of Economics and Government, ANU

          Ms Alison Verhoeven
          Senior Executive, Governance and Communications Group, AIHW

4pm   Afternoon Tea

4.30  Agreement on three to five actions at the interface between the
         research community and Government that can be progressed to
         improve evidence-based policy.

          Facilitator: Professor Michael Holland, President, STA

5pm  Conclusion of Forum