News & Views item - July 2010

 

 

Does the Sword of Damocles Hang Over British Science? (July 17, 2010)

Britain's newly elected coalition government committed to public funding cuts of up to 25% and set October to be the month of reckoning. It had requested submissions from among others the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE), the Royal Society and the British Academy.

 

On 8 July, the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) made public its response, in which it maintained that "research should be concentrated on activities from which a contribution to the economy, within the short or medium term, is foreseeable." and was explicit in stating that engineering, more than physics and mathematics, deserved to have its current funding continued.

 

Yesterday the Royal Society and the British Academy made public their views.

 

According to the RS: ... "evidence suggests that prioritising research areas that are expected to produce the greatest short-term benefit is neither possible nor desirable. Innovation is not predictable or linear and advances often occur serendipitously at the margins or intersections of disciplines. There is no evidence that governments are any better at picking winners now than in the past," while the British Academy notes that 25% funding cuts would: "… have a hugely damaging impact on both the UK's world -- leading research base and the higher education sector as a whole. At a time when the UK's global competitors are increasing their public investment in their research base, the UK must not fall behind by cutting one of its few world -- class assets -- the UK's internationally renowned research base. If it does, the UK will lose, and possibly never regain, the momentum that has developed as a result of sustained investment over the last 15 years."

 

The Academies' media releases and links to their submissions are given below.

 

Royal Academy of Engineering Royal Society British Academy

 

08 July 2010

Rebalancing the economy, starting with research

The Royal Academy of Engineering has set out its view that the central focus for government-funded science and engineering research in the UK must be the rebalancing of the economy towards a high-technology based manufacturing sector.

In a letter to Professor Adrian Smith, Director General Science and Research, Academy President Lord Browne of Madingley sets out the case for driving this process by concentrating engineering research in the country's best-performing universities.

The long term health of the UK economy is likely to depend in large measure on our ability to compete successfully with other technologically advanced (and advancing) nations. This argues strongly for retention of the UK's strong science and research base at currently funded levels. Engineering research is a crucial engine of delivery for the economy, enabling the commercialisation of innovation by creating systems that work in the real world and optimising process at scale, the Academy points out. However, engineering research often needs large scale physical equipment and space which means there are efficiencies to be gained from concentrating research in fewer universities than at present.

The Academy says that, in a financial climate where we cannot realistically support all the interesting areas of research that we would ideally like to, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills should question how research in a given area will give the UK a technology lead; create new or sustain existing industries; reduce the cost to government in providing care and health provision; reduce the UK's carbon footprint or support a re-balancing of the economy.

At a time when the state of the economy in the UK is overwhelmingly the predominant concern of Government and the nation, the available Science and Research budget should be targeted where it will have most impact in the foreseeable future, as far as possible without compromising unforeseen developments. Future potential will never be realised if the nation has not created the means to exploit it, the Academy points out.

To see the full copy of the letter and to read the Academy's response to the Director General, Science and Research, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills

 

Royal Society makes case for investment in science

Published Date: 16 July 2010

The Royal Society has written to the Government to make the case for investment rather than cuts to science funding in the next Comprehensive Spending Review.  The Submission was made at the request of Professor Adrian Smith FRS, Director General, Science and Research at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. 

The Society makes the case that in a period of financial adjustment, the UK must build on its strengths, and use these to revitalise and rebalance our economy.  The submission outlines three scenarios for cuts including the possibility of a 20% reduction in cash terms which would cause key parts of the research system to unravel, permanently damaging UK capabilities in key areas.

The debate is taking place at a time when other countries, facing similar economic dilemmas, are accelerating their investment in science and innovation.  France has announced a 35 billion Euro investment in its knowledge economy.  Germany has increased its federal budget for education and research by 12 billion Euros and the US last year announced a $21 billion boost for science.

The document was sent along with a joint letter from the British Academy and Royal Society.  The British Academy have also made a submission to Professor Smith.  

 

“GENERATIONS TO BUILD, ENDANGERED IN YEARS”

The impact of public expenditure cuts on the Humanities and Social Sciences could make "little difference in terms of cost saving", but fatally endanger the UK’s "exceptionally successful research base", the British Academy warns today.

In a submission to Government, composed in response to a request to "provide advice on the needs and contribution of UK research in the context of the Spending Review", the Academy stresses that the country’s research base is one of its "few world-class assets", which it will need to make full use of if it is to continue to compete on a global platform.

The document goes on to urge that the major challenges faced today such as economic recovery, climate change, ageing societies and obesity require analysis and research from a wide range of disciplines, with the caution that significant funding cuts to research could mean the UK will “lose and possibly never regain the momentum that has developed as a result of sustained development”.

To coincide with the response, the Presidents of the British Academy and the Royal Society have written a joint letter to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, setting out their concerns and advising the Government to maintain investment in science and research as a contribution to the UK’s “soft power”.

Sir Adam Roberts, President of the British Academy said:

"Academic work done by UK researchers has an extraordinarily high international reputation and a positive effect on people’s lives. What has been built up over generations could be endangered in years if cuts to this remarkably successful sector are applied rigidly.

"This is a major submission to the Government by the British Academy. It’s not only about the subjects we represent – the Humanities and Social Sciences - it’s also about the bigger picture. We look both at the economic impact of research, and also at the broader contribution that research makes to our civic, social and cultural lives.

"The Government has stated that it favours ‘protecting the most productive public investment expenditure’. Let us hope it will do so. The Academy’s submission shows that public investment is necessary to maintain our effective national research base, and that, so far, it has been money extraordinarily well spent. There’s a strong case here that the Government must take on board."

The Academy’s submission puts forward seven principles which it urges the Government to adopt regarding the future funding of research:

1. Focus on Excellence.  Only excellent research will ensure the UK maintains its place in the world.  Impact must always derive from a starting point of excellence.

2. Develop a long term framework for research. Such a framework must not only recognise the importance of research for economic recovery and growth; but the value of continued investment in the Higher Education research base in order to support the UK’s world-class universities.

3. Maintain diversity and breadth in funding. Science and technology that are blind to culture and society can never fully fathom, let alone solve, the challenges which face the world.

4. Maintain the current balance between QR and project funding. The current balance has facilitated the success of the UK research base. QR funding is vital for Humanities and Social Science disciplines and should not be reduced.

5. Adjust the distribution of non-QR (Quality Related) research funding. All disciplines must be appropriately supported, and attention needs to be paid to the underfunding of humanities and social science research in relation to its economic, social and cultural returns on this investment.

6. Encourage international networks and collaboration. UK researchers and their institutions must be able to engage with the best research overseas in order to advance their disciplines and to strengthen their capacity to address major national challenges.

7. Invest in the most talented researchers. It is essential that the UK remains an attractive place for the most talented researchers to work, and one which can nurture and retain the best researchers both from the UK and from elsewhere in the world.