A Short Guide to the UK Biofilm Policy Landscape

There is a diverse range of stakeholder types across the various sectors. Engagement must be strategic, focusing on the bodies that directly affect a sector’s research, regulation, and commercialisation pathways. Think for example of the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), or the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Furthermore, organisations like the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) provide analysis of science and technology issues directly to Parliament.  

Regulatory and standardisation bodies, like the British Standards Institution (BSI), the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Food Standards Agency (FSA), Food Standards Scotland (FSS), National Physical Laboratory (NPL), or the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and various trade associations are typically of special interest for industry stakeholders. These organisations shape the rules and standards that dictate how biofilm-related products or technologies (such as new water treatment solutions or consumer products) are approved and implemented. 

Academic partners may find specialised networks beneficial, such as the Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN), which has mapped an overview of the whole academic-policy ecosystem in the UK. 

It is important to understand that each sector will have different priorities, policies and strategies attached to it. Of special interest will be the current UK Industrial Strategy, which identifies 8 sectors with greatest growth potential (Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries and Defence would be of special relevance).   

Any successful policy engagement strategy in the UK must also account for devolution. Devolution refers to the process by which certain powers, responsibilities, and authority are transferred from the central UK government in Westminster to administrations in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and, to a lesser extent, regional governments in England. Public votes on devolution were held in 1997 in Scotland and Wales, and on both sides of the Northern Irish/Irish border in 1998. These led to the creation of three elected institutions: the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales (now called the Senedd), and the Northern Ireland Assembly.

However, devolved administrations hold different powers in different policy areas. For example, the water sectors in Northern Ireland and Scotland are nationalised, while they are privatised in England and Wales. Similarly, the Food Standards Agency is responsible for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, whereas Food Standards Scotland is the responsible body in Scotland. This variation means you may need to engage with UK-wide stakeholders or more local ones, depending on the specific sector and policy target. Visit the GOV.UK website or The UK Constitution Society website to learn more about devolution.

Below are some examples. Please note – this is a non-exhaustive list and we’d be keen to hear from you about your experiences engaging with these and others.  

Government, Parliament & Bodies

• Office for Life Sciences 

• Marine Management Organisation 

• Industrial Strategy Advisory Council 

• House of Commons Library 

• House of Lords Library 

• UK Ministry of Justice 

• Northern Ireland Assembly 

• Welsh Government 

• UK Parliament 

• UK Government 

• The Scottish Parliament 

• Welsh Government Education 

• Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) 

• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) 

• UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) 

• Defence and Security Accelerator 

• Health and Safety Executive 

• Government of Catalonia 

• State of Missouri Department of Natural Resources 

• Queensland Department of Environment and Science 

• Ministry of Defence MOD, UK 

• Department for International Trade (now: Department for Business & Trade – DBT) 

• The Scottish Government 

• Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) 

• Food Standards Agency 

• Food Standards Scotland 

• Environment Agency 

• Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FDCO) 

• Scottish Policy Group 

• Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee 

• Science and Technology Cross-party group 

• All-Party Parliamentary Group on Antimicrobial Resistance 

• All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change 

• All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate, Nature and Security 

• All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture 

• Scottish Science Advisory Council (SSAC) 

• Scotland’s Futures Forum 

• Science and Technology Committee (House of Lords) 

• Science, Innovation and Technology Committee 

• Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) 

• Future Policy Network 

Trade Associations

• Water UK 

• Food and Drink Federation 

• BioIndustry Association 

• Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association Ltd. (CTPA) 

• British Chemical Association (BCA) 

• Chilled Food Association 

Learned Societies and Academies

• Royal Microscopical Society 

• Science Council 

• Royal Society of Chemistry 

• Royal Academy of Engineering 

• The Royal Society of Edinburgh 

• Institute of Physics (IOP) 

• Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) 

• British Ecological Society 

• British Society for Oral and Dental Research (BSODR) 

• The Academy of Medical Sciences 

• Society for Applied Microbiology SFAM 

• Microbiology Society 

• Royal Society 

Charities and Special Interest Groups

• British Skin Foundation 

• Cystic Fibrosis Trust 

• Consumer Council for Water 

Academic and Research

• Moredun Research Institute 

• European Bioinformatics Institute 

• Scottish Association for Marine Science 

• Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation 

• National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) 

Knowledge Exchange

• PolicyWISE 

• Capabilities in Academic Policy Engagement (CAPE) 

• Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN) 

• Scottish Policy and Research Exchange (SPRE) 

• Knowledge Exchange Unit (KEU) 

• Scottish Parliament Academia Network (SPAN) 

• Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) 

• Research and Information Service (RaISe) 

• Senedd Research 

Standards and Regulatory 

• Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Healthcare 

• The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 

• Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) 

• Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) 

• European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET) 

• Radioactive Waste Management (Nuclear Decommissioning Authority) 

Ideas on how to start  

• Think about your science and in which sectors it finds applications (e.g. water, marine, agriculture, food, health etc) 

• Map your specific sector in terms of  

• (Arms-length) Governmental and regulatory bodies,  

• Public Advisory Bodies,  

• Learned Societies and Academies,  

• (Academic) Research Organisations, 

• Charities, NGOs and Special Interest Groups, 

• Professional and Trade Associations 

Visit our Biofilm Standards and Regulations page for more information or contact our NBIC Biofilms Standards & Regulatory Programme Manager, Dr Paulina Rakowska at paulinar@biofilms.ac.uk.

If you have any questions, please contact our NBIC Policy Engagement Officer, Ines Foidl at ines.foidl@ed.ac.uk