SPRU professor to lead social science campaign
Professor James Wilsdon, a University of Sussex expert in science policy, will lead a national campaign to promote the importance of social science to the government and the public.
Professor James Wilsdon
Professor Wilsdon, based at SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research, is to be the new chair of the Campaign for Social Science from 1 September 2013.
The campaigners believe that tackling issues such as climate change, an ageing population and new technologies will require natural and social scientists to work closely together.
Professor Wilsdon said: “In just two years since it was launched, the Campaign for Social Science has helped to reinvigorate public and political debate about the social sciences. I’m excited to be taking over as chair as the campaign looks towards the next general election.
“We have a fast-growing membership and a powerful set of messages about the public value of the social sciences, and their contribution to economic growth and evidence-informed policy.
“The natural sciences have many friends in Westminster, Whitehall and the media. We need to make sure voices from the social sciences are being heard equally loud and clear.
“And in a flat cash environment for research funding, we need to gather evidence and engage in intelligent advocacy to ensure that the UK continues to invest and retains its place as a world leader in social science.”
Professor Cary Cooper, Chair of the Academy of Social Sciences, which launched the campaign, said: “Science and social science have to work together – for instance, there’s no point in just collecting great scientific data on climate change and hoping this alone will get people to change their behaviour, because changing behaviour is a social science question. So the two worlds have to work together.
“Professor Wilsdon has the experience of policy making that will be invaluable for bridging the sciences and social sciences, and he has the background in communication to make the campaign’s work widely known.”
Professor Wilsdon joined Sussex in 2011 from the Royal Society, where he was the founding director of the Science Policy Centre.
He co-ordinated a series of influential studies on topics such as geo-engineering, food security, science diplomacy, open science and the prospects for science in the Islamic world. He also led the Society’s campaigning to protect the research budget through the 2010 general election and spending round.
Before joining the Royal Society, he was Head of Strategy, and later Head of Science and Innovation, at the think tank Demos, and was Senior Policy Adviser at the sustainability NGO, Forum for the Future. He was also a Senior Research Fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies at Lancaster University.