Can public bodies cope with the biggest challenges of today? Yes they can, says Prof. Iain MacLeod of the Institution of Engineers in Scotland, if they put in place an ethos of critical thinking – constantly challenging and revising proposed solutions and approaches. He gives examples of organisational success, such as the Vaccine Task Force and the RNLI – and warnings from other areas where such approaches have not been applied.

“The success of an organisation is not strongly affected by whether or not it is a public or a private body. Success depends on factors such as competence, leadership and governance – and the techniques of critical thinking that are crucial for reducing risk in situations of complex uncertainty.”

You can watch this free event from here, through the YouTube link below, or if you’d like to join questions and discussion, you can also go to the Science Festival’s YouTube channel