In the thirteenth episode of our series on Science, Policy & Pandemics, our host Dr Rob Doubleday and guest host Salma Shah speak with Dr Shaun Fitzgerald and Mats Persson about the science, policy and decision-making surrounding easing lockdown restrictions. Throughout this episode, we hear perspectives from an engineer, a policy advisor, and an economist on how their areas of work can help inform decision-making at this critical point in the covid-19 response. We will also explore how government can improve its use of science in this context. 

CSaP's Science and Policy Podcast is a production of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge. This series on science, policy and pandemics is produced in partnership with Cambridge Infectious Diseases and the Cambridge Immunology Network.

Our guests this week:

Salma Shah was Special Adviser to the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, from 2018-19. She was responsible for strategy and communication across the Department. She has served in Government since May 2014, in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG). Prior to this, Salma was a journalist at the BBC, producing the Today programme on Radio 4.

Dr Shaun Fitzgerald is a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University, Dr Fitzgerald is also the CEO of Breathing Buildings Ltd, a leading technology company pioneering hybrid ventilation systems. 

Mats Persson specializes in strategy, transactions, economics and trade. He has previously worked as a Special Advisor to former Prime Minister David Cameron, as a Special Advisor to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as Research Director at Open Europe, and as Head of International Trade (Brexit) for Ernst & Young.

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CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast is hosted by CSaP Executive Director Dr Rob Doubleday, and is edited and produced by CSaP Communications Coordinator Kate McNeil. If you have feedback about this episode, or questions you would like us to address in a future week, please email enquiries@csap.cam.ac.uk.