Reflections
Reflections from The Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor , Kaitohutohu Mātanga Pūtaiao Matua ki te Pirimia, Professor Juliet Gerrard, on the role, the work, and the ongoing projects of the office.
Mātauranga and Science
Kia ora koutou As a final reflection for 2019, it seems apt in this year of commemoration to ponder the interface of our two knowledge frameworks. Tahu and I were honoured to be asked to write a forward for a New Zealand Science Review Special Issue on Mātauranga...
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Rethinking Plastics in Aotearoa New Zealand
Kia ora koutou We are excited and delighted to launch our major report - Rethinking Plastics in Aotearoa New Zealand - today. Our panel set out with a bold and broad scope to find ways to reduce the size of the plastic shadow that is cast by modern life. While we...
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Why do we need another G anyway? Some accessible information on 5G
Kia ora koutou As 5G begins its roll out in Aotearoa New Zealand, lots of people are asking what exactly 5G is and what it will mean for our country, our health, and our way of living. There are many legitimate questions to ask around the safety of any new...
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Is Aotearoa losing its insects? We don’t have the data to say
Kia ora koutouThis week the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment put out an important report on the need for Aotearoa New Zealand to put more effort into gathering and monitoring data about our environment. You can read the report here, and an...
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Weeding through the evidence on cannabis
Kia ora koutou This month we are kicking off work to develop a short, accessible summary of the evidence base surrounding cannabis. Our expert panel has been charged with pulling together as much information as we can about the impacts of cannabis, and to present...
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Interesting ideas on inclusion from our interns
Kia ora koutou It has been a high profile week for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion issues in science and academia, so it seemed timely to update on some of our intern projects. We have three projects in this space, with interns David Pomeroy, Tara McAllister and...
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And haere rā to Kyle who is departing after three months of full immersion in artificial intelligence
Our second MacDiarmid intern left us last week, leaving us with lots of great resources on artificial intelligence which, unlike quantum computing, the subject of Wayne Crump’s recently finished internship with us, is technology that is very much upon is. As a...
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Plastics in the environment: the Royal Society Te Apārangi summarises the evidence
This week the Royal Society Te Apārangi has put out an accessible report on Plastics in the Environment: Te Ao Hurihuri – The Changing World. It is a great summary of the problems we face internationally dealing with the mountain of plastic waste that humans have...
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Haere rā to our first intern. Ever wondered about quantum computing? Read on…
Kia ora koutou In March we were excited to launch our intern programme, and have particularly enjoyed having our enthusiastic PhD graduates from the MacDiarmid Institute join us in the Office to have a first look at some of the projects that we are not resourced to...
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Mahi Tahi 1 – Our Annual Report is ready to download
Kia ora koutou Where did that year go? I’ve now been in the role for a whole year, and our first annual report, Mahi Tahi 1, is at the printers. If you would like a hard copy or a high resolution version – get in touch. Alternately, you can read it here. It has...
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How psychology researchers responded to the Christchurch mosque shootings – an exemplar in getting an evidence base to government at pace.
Reflections on the Summary of the NZJ Psych Rapid Response Issue Read More
The fable of Foulden Maar – a case study in the collision of scientific evidence and government policies?
This week I’ve been watching the story of Foulden Maar unfold in the media. It’s not something I’ve been asked to provide official advice on, but a few scientists have alerted me to the saga. It proves to be an interesting case study in how and when scientific evidence is, or isn’t, used to inform government processes (central and local). So what might we learn from this fable? Read More
Science and Standards – what happened after the meth report?
Kia ora koutouWhen I took on this role in July, my predecessor had recently put out the now famous “Meth report” – perhaps the best example of the value of this role that the public had seen. Sir Peter, supported by his very experienced researcher Anne...
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A quick update
Kia ora koutou, It has been a very busy month in our Office, with lots of activity on our various work streams, and some rapid reprioritisation to assist in collating an evidence base for those supporting recovery in Christchurch. The Chief Science Advisor Forum...
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Quiet Thoughts
Kia ora koutou Apart from acknowledging the terrible events of March 15th with a ‘Kia Kaha’, we have turned down the social media volume to zero this week in the Office. A mark of respect for the victims and their whanau, and a time to reflect. A week later,...
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Interns at the Science Policy Interface
Kia ora koutou Over the last few months, as I’ve spent time listening to researchers and policymakers, I have been constantly struck by how weak the interface is between these two groups. There are of course some marvellous exceptions. However, in general, I hear...
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Reflections on #rethinkplastic
This month we are kicking off our work on rethinking plastic. This happens to coincide with the release of the Colmar Brunton Better Futures 2018 report that cites 72% of New Zealanders have plastic as a top concern. With millions of plastic bags used *per minute*...
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Haere mai, Welcome Rachel
As the Office swings into action for 2019 we welcome the final member of our team – Dr Rachel Chiaroni-Clarke. Rachel was the successful applicant in our search for a Research Analyst and Writer. We had a huge amount of interest in this position and so Rachel...
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Forum of Chief Science Advisors – welcome Prof Tahu Kukutai and Dr Gill Jolly
Kia ora koutou In my first reflection in October, I foreshadowed a few changes to the Departmental Science Advisory network. After a lot of conversations in Wellington and within the group of advisors, we have decided the best way to enable a team approach to...
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Meet the Team – small but perfectly formed
As I’ve travelled around the country, lots of people have asked how many people work in my team and what they do, and been surprised that we are only a small group - much smaller than the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, for...
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100 days of listening – What have I heard?
Today, 8th of October 2018, marks the end of my first one hundred days in the role – a good time to post my first reflection. Read More
Contacts
Email: info@pmcsa.ac.nz
Mailing Address
Office of the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor
The University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Victoria Street West
Auckland 1142
New Zealand