The covid-19 pandemic is a clear example of the need to govern within uncertainty, because decisions cannot be delayed until more knowledge is available on the spread of the virus, its possible developments, long-term health sequels, re-emergence, or the development of a possible vaccine. Yet, the covid-19 is also shaping Read more…
I argue that innovation is a means through which science travels in policy and at the same time it is a means through which a very specific understanding of science is enacted
In the last seminars I attended, I heard more and more talks about the ethics of algorithms. At Jerome Ravetz’s 90th birthday celebration, Urmie Ray made the case for introducing ethics in the curriculum of mathematicians – a field traditionally alien to humanistic concerns such as ethics. Ray used the Read more…
Before I get to the subject matter, a little bit about my background. Since my PhD, I have been studying the use of quantitative evidence in the context of complexity, uncertainty and pluralism. My work has been greatly influenced by Post Normal Science, by the fossil joke and the realisation Read more…
In this post, I look at Eastern philosophy for inspiration on ways to think about complexity and governance. This post is inspired by conversations with Roger Strand, Mario Giampietro, Silvio Funtowicz and Martin O’Connor. A starting point often used to talk about complexity is to acknowledge that any representation of Read more…
Blog post IV of IV: Complexity as the need to mobilise differet types of knowledge
Blog post III of IV: Complexity as means to invoke humility and reflexivity in science advice to policy
Blog post II of IV: Complexity as a means to explain, name and label the policy process
Blog post I of IV: Complexity as a critical response to reductionism and the linear model
Many have flagged that the “nexus” has become a buzzword, and I have found myself working in two different projects that use the word “nexus”, but have quite different focuses, aims and scopes. The first project is a European project funded by the European Commission’s Horizon2020 programme, and is entitled Read more…