The RSB has launched a free, innovative new library of policy resources for the biosciences, providing easy search and access to more than 800 published documents.  

The RSB Policy Resource Library provides free, unrestricted access to bioscience policy statements, briefings, comments, consultation responses reviews and more, published by the RSB and Member Organisations.

The Library is intended to be a first port of call for anyone wishing to research bioscience and education policy work published by specialist and learned societies, and is the result of a multi-year design and development project run in-house by the policy team at the RSB. 

The library can be accessed online through the RSB's mySociety portal and is available to members and non-members.

The Library allows users to freely search the resources using 145 different keywords, with each resource having its own web link, keywords and publication date, to allow easy retrieval and citing.

Dr Laura Bellingan FRSB, director of policy and public affairs, said that she hopes the Library becomes a much valued tool: “We hope that the library becomes a familiar and well-used one-stop shop for anyone looking to find bioscience policy positions and outputs, and to stay up to date with emerging trends and priorities.

“The platform successfully showcases the volume and breadth of work invested in policy development, and we hope it becomes an invaluable resource for anyone researching bioscience and education policy.”

Users can access the Library via MySociety

In the past decade, the RSB has provided guidance or comment on a wide range of policy issues including food security, science education, plant health, biodiversity, animal research, antimicrobial resistance, diversity in STEM, the effect of Brexit on science and scientists, and many more.

The library will be continually updated as and when new policy resources are released in the future by RSB or RSB Member Organisations.

For those Member Organisations of the RSB who would like to add additional policy resources to the library, email the science policy team.