Aiming to improve policy-makers’ understanding of the imperfect nature of science, academics from the Universities of Cambridge and Melbourne have created a list of concepts that they believe should be part of the education of civil servants, politicians, policy advisers and journalists

As the deadline fast approaches for higher education institutions to submit the evidence on which the quality of their research will be assessed, Dr Toby Gardner asks how applied research can best deliver tangible contributions to achieving society’s goals.

Sir Mark Walport set out his priorities today at the Centre for Science and Policy’s annual conference

A unique partnership is marrying the latest public opinion with a spectrum of major research into national and global political issues.

A new Master’s Programme in Public Policy, launching today by the University of Cambridge, will equip policy makers of tomorrow with the tools to make informed and effective decisions.

As earthquake experts worldwide reflect on an Italian court’s ruling to convict scientists on manslaughter charges for failing to predict the L’Aquila earthquake of 2009, Dr Amy Donovan discusses the importance of a strong connection between scientists and policymakers in helping to communicate risk.

The University of Cambridge and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health will pioneer collaborative research in dementia, obesity, tobacco and alcohol, as well as disease progression and treatment.

It seems at once the simplest and most complex of health problems: by eating healthily, not smoking, being more active and cutting down on alcohol, we can live longer, healthier lives. Why, then, do so many of us ignore this advice?

From campus to community, the worlds of mental health research and medical practice are being brought together by a collaboration involving researchers, health and social care providers, and the patients themselves.

Research programmes at the Cambridge Institute of Public Health focus on common chronic disorders. Currently under the spotlight is dementia and a major new project that will underpin improved prevention, screening and patient care.