POLICY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS •
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Biofocus: resilience and innovation
As great as it was to say goodbye to 2020, it is safe to say 2021 will not be without challenges. We still do not know when (or if!) life will return to what it was before the pandemic, and it seems goalposts are constantly shifting as we learn more about COVID-19. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Hundreds of thousands are now being vaccinated each day, and I can only express my sincere gratitude to the bioscientists, healthcare workers and volunteers who are working around the clock to make this happen. The efforts of the biosciences community throughout the pandemic cannot be understated – the community has demonstrated immense determination, resilience, innovation and perseverance across all sectors, not just those working directly on the virus or vaccine. It is therefore more important than ever to ensure the community is as welcoming and accessible as possible. In November, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM launched its new inquiry into Equity in the UK STEM workforce. 65% of the STEM workforce are white men, and the STEM workforce still has a lower share of female workers (27% vs. 52%) and disabled people (11% vs. 14%) than other sectors, according to data published by the APPG.
There is still so much untapped talent that can only strengthen and improve the work we do. We responded to the consultation in January, with input from our Diversity and Inclusion working group and from members. We hope our contribution aids in working towards achieving inclusivity. This work is just the tip of the iceberg of all of the consultation work our science and education policy teams have done. In 2020 we submitted 17 responses covering a broad range of areas including the impacts of the pandemic on education and examinations, open access, T Levels on gov.uk, science funding, food policy and more. We also launched our Policy Resource Library, which now hosts more than 700 resources, which are free to access, and this number will continue to grow. We hope SfAM members who are interested in bioscience policy will use the Library and find it incredibly useful, as well as allow us to showcase your own contributions where possible. I’m proud to say the RSB events team has adapted extraordinarily well to moving our events and meetings online.
Mark Downs CSci FRSB Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Biology
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microbiologist
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March 2021
www.sfam.org.uk
