香港六合彩中特网

This interview originally appeared in the 香港六合彩中特网 Policy Lab magazine.听

Hetan Shah has spent the last two years insisting to anyone who will listen that academics can make a major contribution to the world鈥檚 recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Through commentaries in prestigious journals like Nature, to one-to-one briefings with leading politicians and civil servants, Shah has become one of the world鈥檚 leading advocates for the transformative power of research in the humanities and social sciences.

But even he is under no illusions about how difficult it can be to bridge the gap between academia and public policy.

鈥淭he UK is blessed with a lot of thoughtful experts at universities,鈥� he says, but 鈥渨e have lost some impetus in recent years about bringing research to the table about the big social issues.鈥� There is 鈥渄eep expertise鈥� and 鈥渁 lot of thinking,鈥� but making the fruits of that work available to people at large has rarely been a political priority. Although colleagues in the natural sciences have been rightly celebrated for their huge strides in vaccine technologies, for example, the benefits of social science have been less widely acknowledged. 鈥淧erhaps one of the questions for the future is how we make evidence available in a way that latches onto political priorities and interests,鈥� he suggests.

Shah does, however, see signs of hope. 鈥淵ounger researchers coming through the system now think of public engagement and policy engagement much earlier, in a way that wasn鈥檛 traditional in the past.鈥� And this is precisely where an initiative like the 香港六合彩中特网 Policy Lab can come in. 鈥淚nstitutions that are brokers are critical,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about having stellar academic credentials, wonderful though that is. It鈥檚 about having these institutions creating spaces that bring policymakers and researchers together on the issues of the day. They must build relationships which can then be maintained on an ongoing basis.鈥�

He is convinced that the kinds of conversations that take place when these relationships are brokered will be transformative. 鈥淭he levelling up agenda has often thought about place,鈥� he explains. But through debate and discussion, you see that it can also be about 鈥済roups and individuals.鈥� He goes on to say that 鈥減overty in London is probably as high as anywhere else in the country, so how do we make sure that we level up not just in terms of geography? Even within areas traditionally perceived as richer, we can ensure everybody has the best possible start in life.鈥� These are the questions that can emerge when researchers and the community come together.

It is this spirit of collaboration that gives Shah the most profound hope for the future. A way forward has been demonstrated by 鈥渢he powerful role that civil society played during the pandemic,鈥� Shah says. 鈥淲e can and are building upon that. The fact that it wasn鈥檛 just the government that helped people through the pandemic 鈥� we were all supporting each other, whether that was through community groups or charities 鈥� shows the way forward for our society and for public policy as well.鈥�

Hetan Chah is Chief Executive of the British Academy and a member of the 香港六合彩中特网 Policy Lab Advisory Council