Informing UK Energy Policy


A workshop at the recent Energy and Society Conference at Exeter University was entitled “Beyond Academia”, and one of its themes was the problem of communication with policy makers.

Many of the participants were researchers, and there was a concern that research findings felt to be relevant to the shaping of policy were in practice ignored. Since the issue of policy was also a factor in the post of 11 Sept. on Ofgem’s consultation, some papers on policy will be referred to here.

The British Ecological Society (BES), offers three short papers on policy, available at
https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/policy/reports-publications/policy-briefing/

“An Introduction to Policy” (2017), BES, provides an overview of the UK political system, policies and their origins, primary and secondary legislation, and offers a case study.

 “How does science inform the UK Parliament?” (2017), BES, describes the structure of the UK parliament, and how science can inform its work. There are sections on Select Committees, the parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, All-Party Parliamentary Groups and the Libraries of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It refers to research literature, calls for evidence and briefing from individuals and organisations, unsolicited research and evidence submitted to MPs, and parliamentary questions.

“How does science inform the UK Government?” (2018), BES, describes the structure of UK government, the difference between government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies, the work of the Government Office for Science (GO-Science) and the role of Departmental Chief Scientific Advisers. It points to the importance of building informal networks with civil servants as a way of communicating research to policymakers, and refers to opportunities for internships and Policy Placement Fellowships at various government departments and agencies.

Paul Cairney is Professor of Politics and Public Policy in the Department of History and Politics at the University of Stirling and writes a blog on Politics & Public Policy. This contains a paper on UK energy policy, available at https://paulcairney.wordpress.com/2017/07/12/the-impact-of-multi-level-policymaking-on-the-uk-energy-system/

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