Prof James Wilsdon

Biography

I joined SPRU (Science & Technology Policy Research) in December 2011 as Professor of Science and Democracy. I'm also an Associate Fellow at NESTA and at the Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy. 

My research interests at SPRU include the role of evidence and expertise in policymaking; the politics of scientific advice; public engagement in research; and science and innovation policy in the UK, China and other emerging economies. I am also the Co-Convenor of our MSc programme in Science and Technology Policy.

From 2008 to 2011, I was the founding Director of the Science Policy Centre at the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, where I coordinated a series of influential studies on topics such as geoengineering, food security, science diplomacy, open science, and the prospects for science in the Islamic world. I also led the Royal Society's evidence gathering and advocacy for investment in research through the 2010 UK General Election and subsequent Spending Review.

Prior to this, I was Head of Science and Innovation (2004-2008) and Head of Strategy (2001-2004) at the think tank Demos, and Senior Policy Adviser (1997-2001) at the sustainability NGO Forum for the Future. At Demos, I was also director of The Atlas of Ideas, a two-year study of science in emerging economies, described by the Financial Times as ‘the most comprehensive analysis yet of science and innovation in China, India and South Korea.’ From 2006 to 2008, I was a part-time Senior Research Fellow at Lancaster University's Institute for Advanced Studies.

I've researched and written widely on science policy, emerging technologies and the globalization of research, and my main publications include The Scientific Century (Royal Society, 2010), New frontiers in science diplomacy (Royal Society, 2010), The Atlas of Ideas (Demos, 2007), China: the next science superpower? (Demos, 2007), The Public Value of Science (Demos, 2005), See-through Science (Demos, 2004) and Digital Futures (Earthscan, 2001).

In September 2012, I joined the Governing Board of CISTRAT (International Research and Training Centre for Science and Technology Strategy) in Beijing, a new centre established under the auspices of UNESCO and China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.

I took my first degree in philosophy and theology at Oxford University, followed by a master's degree in sustainable development and a doctorate in technology policy from Middlesex University.

I've written for the Financial Times, Times Higher Education, Nature, China Daily, Green Futures, OpenDemocracy, Renewal and SEED. I am also part of the blogging team on the Guardian's 'Political Science' blog, and you can find me on twitter @jameswilsdon 

My research interests include:

• Evidence, expertise and interdisciplinarity in policymaking
• The politics of scientific advice
• Public engagement in research
• The governance of new technologies
• UK science and innovation policy
• Science & innovation in China and other emerging economies

I am Co-Convenor of SPRU's MSc programme in Science and Technology Policy.