What will childhood look like in 2040?
Partnering with academics to explore what the future might hold.
The Government Office for Science (GOS) has been looking to help policymakers think through big questions:
- what will childhood look like in 2040?
- which trends are shaping health, education and social connections?
- what does research already tell us, and where do we need more insight?
To find out, GOS’s Foresight team has been running the Future of Childhood and Adolescence project. At the start, we knew we needed expert insight from outside government, so we ran a competitive process and worked with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) Expert Exchange Programme to recruit academics to an 8 to 12-month secondment. We targeted different disciplines, career stages and institutions to seek diverse perspectives.
Through this approach, we have recruited 3 academics who work with children and young people and specialise in health, crime and education:
- Professor Niina Kolehmainen, Newcastle University
- Associate Professor Keri Wong, University College London (UCL)
- Professor Arlene Holmes-Henderson MBE, Durham University
Each has brought new perspectives and networks to strengthen our project. Their work has responded to the rapidly changing nature of childhood, and the opportunities and risks that the change poses.
How we have worked together
Our 3 academic secondees have:
- helped shape the project questions and priorities
- led the drafting of evidence summaries to make sure they are accurate, fulfil the needs of the project and are consistent with the current literature
- gathered ideas from their wider research networks to validate findings and sense-check evidence
Collaboration has been important to the success of the secondments. We have co-developed approaches to the work, held weekly check-ins with opportunities for 2-way feedback, and run joint drafting sessions. This has helped to keep things moving, meet deadlines and share ownership. Arlene explained:
Having previously acted as an external adviser to government, the experience of being embedded in the Foresight team as a secondee has given me a much better understanding of how the Civil Service works. My expertise in humanities evidence has brought a valuable new dimension to the work of GOS.
What we have gained
Working with our secondees Niina, Keri and Arlene has improved how we frame the big questions and made clear which evidence matters most. They have identified gaps and helped set priorities for future research. Their work is already feeding into cross-government discussions on social media and children’s online lives. As a Foresight team official explained:
The engagement has improved the quality and direction of our work. The secondees’ expertise has directly informed the focus of our evidence summaries. Overall, their input has significantly enhanced the project by grounding the final report in robust, well-framed evidence.
Secondees have also highlighted benefits. They said they have valued seeing how evidence shapes decision-making in government and learning how the Civil Service works.
Thinking of trying it?
We would encourage civil servants and academics to consider secondments as a valuable way to share expertise. Here are a few practical tips from our experience:
- plan onboarding carefully – secondments fly by and it is important to get secondees embedded and working effectively in the team as quickly as possible
- combine academic independence with clear goals and support, and keep work rigorous and relevant – together, we mapped out timelines and expectations early
- consider how you will balance breadth and depth of expertise within the scope of the project
- keep an eye on workload, especially if secondments are part-time
- engage early and openly – different perspectives make the end product stronger
Explore many types of exchange schemes and find one that is right for you on the routes for academic engagement with government page.