policy work

we inform and collaborate with a range of organisations and groups to best support our members to champion microbiology, and policy-makers to access the best microbiological evidence and expertise. contact [email protected] for further information.

campaign for science and engineering (case)

the society supports the work of case, the leading independent advocate for science and engineering in the uk.

learned society partnership on antimicrobial resistance (lespar)

the society is a member of lespar, a partnership of seven learned societies representing 75,000 scientists, which proactively engages in activities to tackle the global health security threat of antimicrobial resistance.

you can learn more about lespar and our partnership on this page. 

parliamentary and scientific committee

the society supports the parliamentary and scientific committee, which aims to be a major focus for scientific and technological issues, providing a liaison between parliamentarians and scientific bodies, science-based industry and the academic world. the society regularly attends the committee’s meetings and its magazine science in parliament can be accessed here.

policy lunchbox

the society co-organises this series of free lunchtime discussion seminars on science and education policy with the biochemical society, the british ecological society, the royal society of biology, society of experimental biology and society of applied microbiology. view our policy events page for details about future events.

royal society of chemistry (rsc) – devolved nations science policy events and groups

the royal society of chemistry helps promote links between the scientific community and elected representatives in the devolved parliaments and assemblies through organising annual events, and providing the secretariats (jointly with the royal society of edinburgh in scotland) to all-party/cross-party science and technology groups.

  • northern ireland assembly: the society supports the annual science and stormont event, organised by the royal society of chemistry, and is represented at meetings of the northern ireland learned societies and professional bodies forum, and all party group on stem by member dr john mcgrath.
  • scottish parliament: the society supports the annual science and the parliament event, organised by the royal society of chemistry, and is represented at meetings of the cross-party group on science and technology by member dr maria mcphillips.
  • national assembly for wales: the society supports the annual science and assembly event, organised by the royal society of chemistry, and is represented at meetings of the cross party group on stem by member dr geertje van keulen.

society for applied microbiology (sfam)

the society holds regular meetings with sfam to coordinate policy responses and activities relevant to microbiology. collaborative activities have included science policy workshops and joint consultation responses.

royal society of biology

the society is a member organisation of the royal society of biology (rsb) and informs and supports various rsb policy consultation responses, events and groups:

  • animal science group (asg)
    an rsb special interest group that represents uk organisations involved in supporting, formulating policy, or that are directly involved in research involving animals. member professor peter andrews represents the society.
  • member organisation education policy advisory group
    the society informs the education policy work of the rsb, with a focus on higher education, through this group.
  • parliamentary events
    the society supports events organised by the rsb in the uk parliament including parliamentary links day.
  • uk plant sciences federation (ukpsf)
    an rsb special interest group that brings together the plant science community in the uk to create a coordinated approach to research, industry, funding, education and outreach. member dr dawn arnold represents the society.

british pharmacological society

the society supports the british pharmacological society’s curriculum for the use of animal research. more information can be found here.

uk government advisory groups

members represent the society on several uk government groups including:

department of health antimicrobial resistance health stakeholder group

member professor maggie smith represents the society on the chief medical officer’s health amr stakeholder group, which advises the government on public health aspects of amr.

uk standards for microbiological investigations

the society is represented on the standards for microbiology investigations steering committee by member professor jodi a. lindsay. the steering committee, which is administered by public health england, oversees the development of standards for microbiological investigations (smis) – recommended algorithms and procedures for clinical microbiology – and thus plays a vital role in assuring effective and accurate diagnosis of infectious disease. details of current smis under consultation can be found on the gov.uk website. further information about how members can use and inform uk smis can be found here.

public health england external advisory group (eag) for sexual health, reproductive health & hiv

the eag provides independent advice, expertise and challenge on public health england’s strategic direction, approach and products within the topic area of sexual health, reproductive health and hiv. the society is represented on the eag by emeritus professor catherine ison, who previously worked at public health england and imperial college london. professor ison was also a member of the expert panel for the society’s policy report on sexually transmitted infections.

microbiology in schools advisory committee (misac)

member dr tansy hammarton represents the society on misac, which promotes the teaching of microbiology in schools and colleges.

 

  • learned society partnership on antimicrobial resistance

    a partnership of learned societies representing 75,000 scientists has come together to lead the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

  • get involved

    we provide members and research stakeholders with opportunities to engage in our science policy work.

  • policy mailing list

    if you are a member or have an online account with the society you can update your details to opt-in to receiving emails about our science policy work and opportunities to get involved. if you are a non-member, please fill in the form to receive emails about the society’s policy activities, events and publications.

 

contact us

if you have any queries about this information, or are interested in collaborating with the society on science policy issues, please contact our policy officer.