The Chief Scientists’ Group (CSG) is a sub‑committee of the Joint Committee, from which it draws its authority and to which it regularly reports.
The CSG brings together senior scientific leaders from across the UK’s Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies to strengthen the way science and evidence are generated, shared and used to support nature conservation and recovery. This includes both natural sciences and social or behavioural sciences.
What the CSG does
The group works collaboratively to:
- Share scientific expertise and knowledge across organisations.
- Agree common standards for biodiversity and geodiversity monitoring, data management, and reporting.
- Coordinate contributions to international environmental conventions.
- Develop joined‑up approaches that tackle climate change and biodiversity loss together.
- Identify opportunities linked to new technologies and external partnerships.
- Provide peer review and develop shared messages where appropriate.
- Create the right conditions for evidence to have maximum impact on policy and practice.
Members of the CSG as of January 2026
|
Name |
Role |
|
JNCC Chief Scientist and CSG Co‑Chair |
|
|
Joint Committee Independent Member and CSG Co‑Chair |
|
|
Dr Sara McGuckin |
Head of Natural Science, Northern Ireland Environment Agency |
|
Stuart MacQuarrie |
Director of Nature and Climate Change, NatureScot |
|
Dr Clive Mitchell |
Head of Terrestrial Science, NatureScot |
|
Professor Sallie Bailey |
Chief Scientist, Natural England |
|
Dr Ruth Waters |
Director of Evidence, Natural England |
|
Dr Michael Gerardo |
Head of Knowledge and Evidence, Natural Resources Wales |
|
Willow Outhwaite |
Strategic Science Lead, JNCC |
For more details about the CSG’s role, please see their terms of reference.
Published: .