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Science Reviews are carried out by dedicated staff in the Government Office for Science with external expertise as appropriate, and overseen by an independent Steering Panel composed of senior academics and other external experts and senior officials from government departments. Membership of the Steering Panel includes external expertise in the areas in which the department-under-review has responsibility.
Each Science Review takes approximately ten months from the formal launch to publication of the Final Report.
At the beginning of a review the Science Review team discusses with the department-under-review the area(s) in which the review might focus in order to be of maximum benefit to the department. In doing so the review team takes account of other internal or external reviews which might have a bearing on the science reviews e.g. the Cabinet Office’s capability reviews, so that work is not duplicated. The Scope, content and focus of a Science Review will be monitored by the Steering Panel.
The Review team conducts analysis of documentary evidence and interviews with key parties involved in the management and use of departmental science (including Non Departmental Public Bodies - NDPBs). The Science Review team will also consult with the appropriate scientific community and other stakeholders outside the department-under-review.
The Steering Panels meet up to four times during each review to discuss emerging findings and issues, and to check the accuracy and validity of the findings.
Reviews are conducted in two stages to enable Departments to benefit from the findings as soon as possible. At the end of the first stage (five months after the start) the Department is provided with an interim report (endorsed by the Steering Panel) with preliminary conclusions and recommendations. Further work, varying in scope, is undertaken in the second stage to yield further evidence as needed to strengthen the Science Review and confirm and add to the recommendations and identification of good practice.
A draft Final Report, agreed by the Steering Panel, will then be forwarded to the Permanent Secretary of the department-under-review for comment. The Steering Panel will consider the Department's response and the report will be amended where appropriate.
The Final Report, endorsed by the Steering Panel, will be published on the Government Office for Science pages of the DIUS website. Departments are expected to respond formally to the Report (within three months) including a plan of action on how the Report's recommendations are to be taken forward (or justifying their reasons for not doing so). The Department's response is published on the DIUS website. Government Office for Science follows-up on the Department's progress in implementing the Review's recommendations within about 12 months of the Department's published response.
