Role of The Institute
As the professional body representing biologists, the IoB was frequently consulted on biological issues by Government, Parliament, industry and other organisations. Due to its widespread members and affiliated societies, it prided itself on producing a balanced response that reflected the views of the biological profession as a whole. At its peak of policy activity in the late 1990s the Institute was each year responding to over 40 consultations and organising half a dozen policy events and workshops in addition to its usual committee meetings. Topics addressed were wide and varied, for example including relating to: agricultural research, AIDS, antibiotic resistance, alternative medicine regulation, bioethics, biodiversity, biotechnology, careers in biology (both for school leavers and at the research level), climate change, GMOs, public understanding of science, national park formation, renewable energy impact, research assessment, safety in biological fieldwork, safety in laboratories, xenotransplantation... among many others.
The Institute's house journal was Biologist that featured news and book reviews but mainly overview articles of biological topics. It also produced a specialist journal for biology teachers and university lecturers called the Journal of Biological Education. (The latter journal continues today with the Society of Biology but the former became a magazine -- with a changed subtitle -- in 2011.) In addition to journals it has produced symposium proceedings and a range of in-house publications. In the Institute's 50-year history its most popular in-house publication was "Careers with Biology" that ran to several editions and tens of thousands of copies. Other highly successful titles have included "Safety in Biological Fieldwork" (three editions) and "Biological Nomenclature" (four editions). From its second decade through to the end its fourth, the Institute was noted for its co-publishing ventures with commercial academic publishers. In particular its short book series 'Studies in Biology' with Edward Arnold beginning in 1960 ended up at the height of its popularity with 149 titles. This series is now with Cambridge University Press. Over the years literally hundreds of thousands of copies from this series have been sold. Other successful publishing ventures in the 1980s and 1990s included those with Unwin Hyman, Chapman & Hall, and Westlake Publishing. In the late 1990s through to 2003 its joint publishing ventures with Hobsons saw bioscience university course guides go each year to every secondary school in the UK.
The Institute regularly organised scientific symposia. These were organised by either its regional branches or by its scientific committees ('divisions') that related to biomedicine, education, agriculture and environment (these last two were merged in 2007). Prior to 2000, these provided the raw material for the aforementioned 'proceedings'. The regional branches also regularly organised other scientific as well as social events.
During 2003, the IoB joined the Biosciences Federation (BSF) re-inventing "a single authority within the life sciences that decision-makers are able to consult for opinion and information to assist the formulation of public policy". The IoB participated in the formation of policy responses and statements with the BSF. For example, the IoB "contributed specific (or specialist) advice" in the formation of the policy statement Climate Change: Looking forward, in which the BSF states its agreement "that climate change is 'the world's greatest environmental challenge'." Additionally, the IoB also communicated policy advice independently of the BSF. For example, in regards to ecosystem services, they promoted, "putting an explicit value on the services that ecosystems contribute to human welfare, including such diverse items as flood protection, pollination, soil formation and aesthetic enjoyment."
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