fst journal

The Journal of the Foundation for Science and Technology (formerly Technology Innovation and Society)

Volume 18, Number 2, December 2003

Special report The Lambert Review Horizon scanning Sir David King: Scientific roots Dr Geoff Mulgan: Techniques Dr William C Harris: Foresight predicates commitment Science & creativity The Lord Puttnam: An amalgam of cultures Julian Anderson: Innovation in music David Hughes: From innovation to production Dr Robert Hawley: Creativity in teamwork Science curriculum Dr Ken Boston: The vocational divide Professor John Holman: Science for everyone Sue Flanagan: A teacher’s perspective Creating Eden Tim Smit: Realising a dream

THE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND fst TECHNOLOGY THE FOUNDATION The Foundation for Science and FOR SCIENCE AND Technology TECHNOLOGY 10 Carlton House Terrace fst London SW1Y 5AH Telephone THE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 020 7321 2220 Registered Charity No: 274727. A Company Limited by Guarantee No: 1327814 Fax 020 7321 2221 VICE PRESIDENTS The Earl of Shannon e-mail The Lord Flowers FRS [email protected] Dr Richard J Haas CBE LLD Hon ScD The Earl of Selborne KBE FRS Sir Brian Jenkins GBE Editor Viscount Runciman of Doxford CBE PBA Sir John Maddox FRS Sub-editors COUNCIL Charles Wenz, Trish Dent CHAIRMAN The Rt Hon the Lord Jenkin of Roding Production & Layout James McQuat The President of the Royal Society The Lord May of Oxford OM AC PRS FMedSci The President, The Royal Academy of Engineering Sir Alec Broers FRS FREng The President, The Academy of Medical Sciences Sir Keith Peters FRS PMedSci The President, The Science Council Sir Gareth Roberts FRS www.foundation.org.uk Chairman, The Arts and Humanities Research Board Professor Sir Brian Follett FRS Chairman, The Engineering and Technology Board Sir Peter Williams CBE FREng FRS Chairman, The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Dr Peter Ringrose Chairman, The Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils Professor Sir Graeme Davies FRSE FREng Chairman, The Economic and Social Research Council Ms Frances Cairncross FRSE Chairman, The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Professor Julia Higgins DBE FRS FREng Chairman, The Medical Research Council Sir Anthony Cleaver Chairman, The Natural Environment Research Council Mr Rob Margetts CBE FREng Chairman, The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council Mr Peter Warry

Dr Robert Hawley CBE DSc FRSE FREng (Deputy Chairman) Mr Patrick McHugh (Honorary Secretary) Mr Tony Quigley (Honorary Treasurer)

Professor Polina Bayvel FREng The Lord Browne of Madingley FREng Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield KCB Professor Michael Dexter, FRS FMedSci The Lord Haskel Dr Geraldine Kenney-Wallace FRSC Sir John Krebs FRS Sir Hugh Laddie The Lord Oxburgh KBE FRS Dr Michael Sanderson The Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior FMedSci Professor Sir William Stewart FRS FRSE The Lord Sutherland of Houndwood KT FBA PRSE Professor Mark Walport FMedSci The Baroness Wilcox

DIRECTOR Dr Dougal Goodman

Neither the Foundation nor the Editor is responsible for the opinions of contributors to FST JOURNAL. © 2003 The Foundation for Science and Technology. ISSN 1475-1704 fst journal Volume 18, Number 2 December 2003 contents

THE COUNCIL OF THE FOUNDATION . . . . . inside front cover fst journal UPDATE

The Journal of the Foundation for Science and Technology (formerly Technology Innovation and Society) Population predictions, badgers, cloning, GM maize, Volume 18, Number 2, December 2003 Kyoto Protocol ...... 2 Special report The Lambert Review Horizon scanning Sir David King: Scientific roots SPECIAL REPORT Dr Geoff Mulgan: Techniques Dr William C Harris: Foresight predicates commitment Science & creativity The Lambert Review and DTI Innovation Review ...... 3 The Lord Puttnam: An amalgam of cultures Julian Anderson: Innovation in music David Hughes: From innovation to production Dr Robert Hawley: Creativity in teamwork Science curriculum KILGERRAN LECTURE Dr Ken Boston: The vocational divide Professor John Holman: Science for everyone Sue Flanagan: A teacher’s perspective Re-creating the Garden of Eden ...... 6 Creating Eden Tim Smit: Realising a dream Tim Smit

THE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND fst TECHNOLOGY HORIZON SCANNING Horizon scanning rooted in science ...... 8 Sir David King The techniques of horizon scanning ...... 9 Dr GeoffMulgan Foresight predicates commitment...... 11 Dr William C Harris SCIENCE & CREATIVITY An amalgam of two cultures? ...... 13 The Lord Puttnam Innovation in musical composition ...... 14 Julian Anderson Through innovation to productivity...... 15 David Hughes Creativity in teamwork ...... 17 Dr Robert Hawley SCIENCE CURRICULUM Bridging the vocational divide...... 19 Dr Ken Boston A science curriculum for everyone ...... 20 Professor John Holman The view from the classroom ...... 22 Sue Flanagan CLINICAL RESEARCH AND THE NHS A visit to Addenbrooke’s Hospital...... 24 Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield EVENTS ...... 24

FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) update

Population growth: slow, slow or quick? have effectively destroyed the possibility of action on the impor- Two recent headlines based on the same source are informative, tant area on which we are all agreed — a ban on reproductive “UN warns of population surge”,said BBC News Online. “UN cloning.” ❐ predicts much slower growth in population”,said the Washington Post.Both are respected news sources and both are right, as the Badgers’ reprieve report that they were writing about has plenty of material for Ben Bradshaw, Britain’s minister for nature, conservation and such divergent sounding stories. fisheries, announced on 4 November that the “reactive culling” The report, World Population in 2300,produced for the of badgers will no longer be used in the trials comparing the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) of the effects of reactive culling with no culling and “proactive culling”. United Nations, was published on 9 December. The UN pro- This follows from the results of a study1 that raises doubts of the duces these long-reaching projections as a resource for environ- benefit of reactive culling of badgers, thought to be carriers of mental scientists, policymakers and others who need to assess bovine tuberculosis (TB), on British farms. the long-term implications of demographic trends. With proactive culling, badger numbers are reduced over an The latest results extend the time horizon to 2300 (previous entire area regardless of the incidence of TB. The initial results long-range projections were to 2150) and they now include show that the number of infected herds in reactive-culling areas country forecasts (previously, long-range projections were avail- is 27 per cent higher than in regions without culls. More than able by continent only). 20,000 badgers have been killed since the mid 1970s in areas According to the medium scenario of these projections (in where there are infected herds in an attempt to control bovine which world fertility levels will eventually stabilise at around two TB. This policy was put on hold in 1998 so that a study could children per woman), world population will rise from the cur- assess the effectiveness of the method. It is still not known why rent 6.3 billion to around 9 billion persons in 2300. But even reactive culling has done more harm than good in the fight small variations in fertility levels will have enormous impacts in against bovine TB. ❐ the long term. As little as one-quarter of a child (sic) under the 1. Donnelly, C. A. et al. Nature doi:10.1038/nature02192 (2003). two-child norm, or one-quarter of a child above the norm, results in the world population ranging from a possible low vari- Bureaucratic maize ant of 2.3 billion to a possible high of 36.4 billion in 2300. Earlier this month British representatives voted in Brussels to The report included another scenario undertaken for the sake back the Europe-wide sale of a variety of GM sweetcorn pro- of illustration. On the “constant scenario” if fertility levels remain duced by the Anglo-Swiss firm Syngenta. The vote reflects unchanged at today’s levels, world population would rise to 244 British anxiety for the EU to avert a trade war with the United billion persons in 2150 and 134 trillion in 2300, clearly indicating States over the issue. The product, known as Bt11 maize, would that current levels of high fertility cannot continue indefinitely. have been the first GM foodstuff to have been approved since The report is available on the web site DESA’s Population 1998, when an EU-wide moratorium was imposed because of Division: www.un.org./esa/population/publications/ public unease about the technology. longrange2/Long_range_report.pdf ❐ Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland voted to support Britain but France, Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg, UN fails to reach agreement on human cloning Austria and Portugal objected, while Germany, Italy and Belgium On Tuesday 9 December the UN General Assembly postponed a abstained. Another vote on the issue — at ministerial rather than decision on the increasingly acrimonious debate about human expert level — will be held early in 2004. The UK will continue cloning for a year. All 191 members of United Nations agree on a to vote in the same way. “We go for a science-based approach treaty to prohibit cloning human beings, but they are divided and we agree with the European Commission that this food is as over whether to extend the ban to stem-cell research. safe as normal food,” said a spokesperson. The decision follows a battle between two competing UN res- Syngenta wants to import the sweetcorn and sell it frozen, in olutions. One backed by more than 60 countries including the cans, or as corn on the cob; it is already on sale in the US, United States, proposed a blanket ban on both reproductive Canada, Australia and Switzerland. EU scientists concluded it is cloning and therapeutic cloning of human embryos for medical “as safe for human food use as its conventional counterpart”. ❐ research. The other, supported by more than 20 countries, called for a ban on only reproductive cloning, leaving the door open to Japanese thaw Russia’s frozen Kyoto shoulder? therapeutic cloning. As we go to press, we hear that Japan is still hopeful that The UN legal committee instead narrowly passed a compro- Russia will ratify the Kyoto Protocol to curb global warming. mise resolution proposed by Iran to defer the decision — 80 The Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov is due to visit countries voted in favour, 79 voted against and 15 abstained. In Tokyo from 15 December where it is expected that he will the absence of UN guidelines, countries can continue to regu- meet with his Japanese counterpart Junichiro Koizumi. An late human cloning as they choose. The United Kingdom, for official at the ministry’s global environment bureau, Hiroshi example, already bans reproductive cloning but allows thera- Sagawa, said Russia had not informed Japan through diplo- peutic cloning. In the United States, there are no laws against matic channels of any decision not to ratify the protocol. either practice. “The protocol won’t come into effect unless Russia ratifies it. Following the vote on the compromise, the United States del- We will continue to urge Russia to do so”, he said. Japan may egation revived its continued lobby for a total ban, working with use the opportunity of Kasyanov’s visit to press Russia to rati- Costa Rica, but no vote was taken on the resolution. The matter fy the protocol. has been rescheduled for next year. A spokesman for the United For the treaty to come into effect it must be signed by coun- States UN ambassador said that they will continue to work for a tries whose emissions together total 55 per cent of the global total ban. total. To date, the 113 countries that have ratified the treaty com- Britain’s deputy ambassador, Adam Thomson, told the UN prise 44 per cent of the global total; Russia’s 17 per cent would Assembly, “It is clear there is no consensus in respect to therapeu- tip the balance towards ratification. Meanwhile, the United tic cloning research, but by ignoring this fact and pressing for States remains defiant, defending its 37 per cent of world emis- action to ban all cloning, supporters of the Costa Rican resolution sions by refusing to sign. ❐

2 FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) knowledge transfer

On 2 December 2003, FST arranged a discussion meeting on university–business relationships in research, specifically to discuss reports by Richard Lambert (on technology transfer) and David Hughes (on innovation). Academic research and business

he Lambert Review on the relationship of how both partners have benefited from between British university research and collaboration. Many faces of innovation TBritish industry and commerce, pub- Nevertheless, it seems that the industrial David Hughes emphasised that innova- lished on 4 December 2003, is a backhanded sector has been largely responsible for the tion was more than invention, but the compliment to British universities, which recent relative decline of the percentage of successful exploitation of new ideas in are throughout represented as an untapped GDP spent on R&D. In 1981, Britain is said new business practices, personnel poli- resource of intelligence, expertise and skill to have spent a larger proportion of GDP cies, products or services. for British industry and commerce. on R&D than any other member of the G7 Innovation was crucial for economic The report is also a minor victory for group of countries (except Germany); now success. Britain could no longer compete the universities of Oxford and the proportion has fallen behind that in on a low-cost basis; technological and sci- Cambridge, whose management arrange- Germany, the United States, France and entific understanding was increasing ments are not as severely criticised as in Japan and is just level with that in Canada. quickly; global communications meant an interim report last summer. It proba- (The seventh country is Italy.) that consumers knew about, and wanted, bly also marks the consolidation of the Between 1987 and 1999, British business the latest and best; and the product life- influence of the British Treasury (which spending on R&D declined from 1.5 per cycle had dropped from 3–5 years to one. commissioned the study) over academic cent to 1.18 per cent of GDP (but has UK business must therefore compete by research. picked up since 1999). In other words, in adding greater value than competitors. The report is named after its author, just over a decade, business R&D reduced Government spending in support of Richard Lambert, editor of The Financial its proportional contribution to GDP by innovation was already considerable — Times until 2002. His study was meant to more than 21 per cent. DTI programmes, tax credits, technology suggest ways of promoting closer collabo- Lambert accepts that business R&D transfer programmes, Department for ration on research between universities and influences national economic performance. Education and Skills (DfES) spending, business. The formal terms of reference are “There is a well-established link between the Regional Development Agencies even-handed between “universities” and R&D, innovations and productivity, and … (RDAs), the science budget and, perhaps “business”,except that Mr Lambert was ample evidence that the weakness of the most important, government procure- asked to seek the views of business on the United Kingdom’s R&D spending over the ment. But strategy and priorities needed “governance, management and leadership past 20 years has played a measurable part better definition. arrangements” of universities, but not aca- in the country’s productivity performance.” Collaboration and networking by demic opinions of company governance Indeed, British R&D seems to be con- businesses and universities was crucial. and management. centrated in pharmaceuticals (including New technologies needed to be applied to biotechnology) and defence, with compara- a variety of products and services. A suc- Changed environment tively little attention paid to electronics, cessful innovation strategy would build Lambert says this is a good time for an electrical and chemical engineering, soft- on: existing and new skills; cooperation assessment of collaboration between aca- ware and IT services. The report notes that within regions; informed public procure- demic institutions and business. British uni- the pattern is much less skewed in countries ment; wise regulation and exploitation of versities, which are said already to collabo- such as France and Germany. Britain also national assets. rate more widely than their European coun- continues to skimp on R&D in the services David Hughes FREng, is director gener- terparts, regard the deepening of these activ- sector, in contrast with Scandinavian coun- al of the Innovation Group at the ities as a potential source of extra funding. tries, Spain and France. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Companies, on the other hand, are cut- One fear expressed in the report is and is an engineer by background. ting back on in-house R&D, not only to that industrial research already located in reduce overheads but, more importantly, to Britain may migrate elsewhere. Lambert have access to a wider range of ideas than says that there is a tendency for multina- markets, especially those with a strong in-house laboratories can sustain. The tional companies based in Britain to research tradition (as does the United States). report is replete with real-life illustrations relocate their research in their principal The tendency for British companies to grow by acquisitions rather than organically may further erode the British research effort. Background R&D benefits The accompanying text breaks with the recent pattern of articles in FST Journal. Lambert nevertheless offered some hope. Because Robert Lambert’s Review was published two days after the FST discus- Economic stability should encourage man- sion meeting, readers’ interests may be served by this extended account of his agers to invest in research, public spending on research has been increased, greater pro- report. The contributions of other speakers are taken from a summary by Sir portions of business managers have been to Geoffrey Chipperfield. The full publication can be found at university and so may know what universi- www.lambertreview.org.uk. The Hughes Report on innovation may be found at ty researchers have to offer and, above all, www.dti.gov.uk/innovationreport/ “there has been a marked change of culture … in many universities”.

FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) 3 knowledge transfer

The benefits to business of collaboration unambiguously identify cause and effect. are varied, ranging from the use of academ- Juggling priorities ics as listening posts for developments in Boosting R&D Robert May said that the knowledge science internationally; access to a wider Starkly, Lambert says that “most UK com- economy had three legs: research, range of disciplines than could possibly be panies” have no experience of working with researchers and cashing in on the results. accommodated in-house (Procter and universities and of the benefits that could The first two were the job of universi- Gamble aims to increase its out-sourcing of follow. He asks that: ties, the third that of industry and busi- product innovations from 10 to 50 per cent • British business set up “a high-level ness. There were two sets of costs in within five years); “leveraging the research forum” to promote increased collabora- basic research: the direct cost of projects dollar”,meaning either that costs are shared tion and, implicitly, more effective lobby- and the indirect cost of creating the nec- or that academic research is cheaper; talent- ing of government; essary infrastructure. spotting (especially of the young); and • the Government should direct more of The Research Assessment Exercises did access to specialised consultancy. its support for industrial R&D towards not adequately recognise cross-institu- The report includes data purporting to smaller companies (which already have a tional or crossdisciplinary work, while show that companies with existing universi- creditable record on research spending); the 5–10-year gap between creating infra- ty collaborations are more successful than • the Regional Development Agencies structure and the completion of projects others in the market-place, but Lambert (RDAs) should become prime movers in could not be financed by smaller institu- would probably agree that these do not setting up collaborations (even to the tions. Moreover, the system did not extent of telling companies that they recognise collaboration with industry, The passion of research should find an academic partner). Some and tended to devalue teaching. Colin Lucas acknowledged that innova- readers of the report may nevertheless But Britain’s achievements should not tion was the driver of economic success. say that not all RDAs are equipped for be undervalued — we did well in inter- Universities, as the creators and trans- this task; national comparisons of high-technology mitters of knowledge, must be at the • Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, previ- exports while university/business collabo- heart of it. It was commonplace that ously “Teaching Company Schemes”, rations and patent filings were increasing. universities must seek to transfer knowl- under which graduate-students are The research gap between the United edge to the wider economy and have assigned to industrial research partner- States and Europe lay in the private sec- structures suitable for doing so. ships largely financed by business, should tor, not universities. It was business that Collaboration between business and be better marketed. had the problem, not universities. universities was essential. By all means, change the risk-averse But the difficulties should not be Lambert is on safe ground so far. Few will culture of universities, encourage underestimated. Both parties found it dif- complain that his proposed re-arrangement researchers to go into business, but do not ficult to find partners. When found, part- of the deck-chairs is unreasonable. On the erode the fundamental academic values of ners were discovered to have divergent other hand, while the report frequently the search for knowledge. Governments cultures. Finding appropriate research refers to the need that business should have must not think that they can achieve their projects was complicated by differences better information, it is surprising that it economic aims by persuading researchers in needs, aims and skills and by universi- does not suggest a “one-stop shop” for busi- to do work which is not the centre of ties’ need to align research with resources ness seeking academic help — and the rela- their passionate involvement (or, more and to balance it against their other tively small sums of public money on offer. colloquially, which they find fun). objectives — producing the trained and It does, however, commend an organisation Lord May of Oxford has been president skilled people that all sectors of the econ- called Knowledge House, which since 1995 of the Royal Society since 2000, was previ- omy needed. has provided such a service in the northeast ously chief scientific adviser to the British Richard Lambert had been right to of England. Government and before that was an aca- emphasise both the importance of teach- demic researcher at the University of ing and the primary function of knowl- What universities must do Oxford and Princeton University. edge transfer being “the public good”.But Consultancy by academics for industrial it would be mistaken to try to prescribe partners appears to be growing: the report innovative outputs. People do best at estimates that its total value is about £100 fer trade) as well as for initial funding of what they want to do; the best results million a year. Lambert asks that British spin-out companies. Lambert argues that come from letting people get on with universities should regularise academics’ the former use is a better investment of their passions, not in attempting to man- work as consultants by means of explicit public funds than the latter. ufacture specific outcomes. policies on the time individuals may Among the impediments to collabora- Effective supporting structures in uni- spend each year. tion, the most difficult is the need for uni- versities were vital for technical transfer: Since 1999, the British Government has versities to agree in advance with potential there must be staff with expertise to col- been providing relatively small sums of business partners on the value of the intel- laborate with business (not academics); money (now about £90 million a year) to lectual property contributed from the aca- investment in realistic valuation of intel- university schemes meant to foster “knowl- demic side. Lambert acknowledges that aca- lectual property; adequate sources of seed edge transfer”.The report notes academic demics tend to overestimate the value of corn finance. Ever present was the danger complaints that the award of grants under their inventions, even to the extent that that commercial pressures could affect the scheme is cumbersome, slow and some potential collaboration has been research programmes by requiring short- uncertain, but Lambert asks that what is abandoned as a consequence. term results, or diverting research from known as “third stream” funding (a supple- The remedies suggested are that the fundamental work. Oxford was well run; ment to “dual support”) should be made research and higher-education funding it had had suitable structures and permanent and increased to £150 million a councils, together with appropriate business resources. year for England alone. organisations (for example, the Sir Colin Lucas is vice chancellor of the Some of these funds are used for investi- Confederation of British Industry) should University of Oxford. gating the feasibility of bright ideas (called draw up a protocol to guide negotiations. A “proof of concept” in the technology-trans- practicable suggestion is that the third-

4 FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) knowledge transfer

be advertised publicly and a majority of its Attracting talent. In the discussion, there discussion members should be independent (as should was concern that the problems and opportu- be the chairman). The council should for- nities afforded by the intense international competition for high-quality researchers mally review its own performance every three years or so. had not been fully understood. Britain had great advantage in being able to attract The case of Oxbridge is dealt with by and retain good researchers who wished to exploit innovation, because of the the recommendation that the two vice- English language and the sound legal and commercial systems. But rewards were chancellors should, three years from now, low compared with the United States and facilities were nowhere near as well review the “progress of reform” and agree with “the Government” what further steps funded so that a drain westwards must be expected. need to be taken. The only threat in the Why should the British taxpayer fund the education of researchers who left the document (which is meant as an objective comment) is that, in the absence of reform, country? Was it right to seek to attract able researchers from less developed the two universities will not be able to pay economies? The answer must lie in the motivation of researchers. If it were right their academics competitive salaries. that their primary motivation was passion for their research, then they would go To sweeten the pill for universities, where there were the best opportunities. Lambert asks that the funding councils should not be required to administer ear- So Britain must maintain universities of the highest quality, with outstanding marked funds (often taken from their facilities, if it is to keep attracting and retaining research leaders. European general budgets) on behalf of government and that government departments should opportunities should not be neglected and there was room for collaboration on be less zealous in micro-managing what transnational research. universities spend. On balance, the Lambert Report is a con- If such people were to be kept in Britain, the need for collaboration between busi- tinuation by other means of the Dearing nesses and universities would need to be strengthened. Networks would have to Report of 1995. But its distinctive feature is come into being where they could meet and discover each other’s potentials. that the text is supplemented by a wealth of illuminating case studies of good practice (printed in blue boxes). They splendidly ful- stream funding should be to support with the attainment of performance targets. fil Lambert’s aim of putting new and inter- regional offices managing the intellectual Vacancies on the governing council should esting ideas into circulation. ❐ property rights of universities in their areas.

University governance Lambert acknowledges that it is natural Adding value. Was the concept of “adding discussion that there should be differences of manage- greater value” simply a cry to create more ment style between older universities and advanced products, or had it a wider meaning? Could it be seen as promoting those created in 1992 and afterwards. The linkage between design, social issues, such as ecology or CO reduction, and heads of the latter (many of them former 2 polytechnics) function as if they were chief purely technological advance? But perhaps the largest area where “greater value” executives, whereas the former retain traces could be found was in development, rather than in research. of the origin of universities as “communi- ties of scholars”,requiring consensus on Businesses did not appreciate that universities could help all the way through the many issues. innovation process, while universities did not realise what the opportunities were. Oxford and Cambridge are extra-special Because universities had not organised themselves to be effective in assisting in that the separate colleges can impede development, one major company suggested that development work could not decisions on matters of benefit to the uni- versity as a whole and that some issues can be effectively placed in British universities. be decided by the votes of all members of the university (Convocation at Oxford, It was agreed that technology transfer should be for the public good, not to Regent House at Cambridge). increase university revenues. But the better doctrine was that the public purse The report records several examples of paid for the creation of knowledge, not its commercial exploitation: “public good” how individual universities have recently was a motivation for universities, not another means of taxing the public. been moving in the right direction, vesting powers of decision in individuals, academ- But there were tensions between public support and commercial interests. Some ics or administrators. But it complains that government organisations compete directly with businesses and, in particular, the governing bodies of the older universi- where government procurement programmes demand publicly-funded research, it ties are still too large (and that the sup- posed benefits to the universities of being should be clear that such research does not benefit only the eventual supplier. able to tap a wide range of experience are Trust, it was agreed, was crucial. Trust meant long-term stable arrangements, illusory — attendance records are poor). Lambert argues that British universities which could inhibit flexibility; it also meant secure funding programmes and busi- should produce a model code of practice ness arrangements which would give people the confidence that they could take for academic institutions and has even pro- risks, without sudden shocks from changes in government policy. Changing cul- duced a draft of this which, among other tures was not without risk. It was the task of government, in implementing the things, specifies that the head of a universi- ty should function as a chief executive with two reports, to find the right path. responsibilities reviewed annually, together

FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) 5 kilgerran lecture Re-creating the Garden of Eden

From the moment it opened in May 2000, the Eden Project has attracted both tourist and professional like bees to a honey pot. Tim Smit CBE, chief executive of the Eden Project in Cornwall, explained how the project came about in the Foundation’s 2003 Lord Lloyd of Kilgerran Award Lecture, given at the Royal Society on 7 October 2003.

he Eden Project is not the first ach lining and then went on to the poisons then, suddenly, there it was in my mind, Cornish tourist attraction that I that make your tongue go big, black and the Eden Project. Thave been involved with. Some years furry, choking you to death slowly. At that One of the lessons I learnt at Heligan ago I was interested in breeding rare pigs point the teachers were getting alarmed was that many of the brick walls against and met someone who had just inherited but the children were fascinated. I went on the future are to do with your own fear of a Cornish estate. I saw a field on the to make it more academic by talking about it, the barriers are to do with the fact that estate that would have been a great place the poisons that the Aztecs used to stop you do not want to be disappointed or to for rare pigs. The owner said that I could people screaming when they were having leave yourself open to ridicule. I decided to not have that field but to take a look at their still-pumping hearts removed from “go for it” with Eden in exactly the same some derelict land next door, which had their chest cavities. This is the Datura, way that we had done with Heligan. been a garden. I walked into the garden, which you may grow in your own garden I made my first presentation on the which was 15 feet high in brambles, and and is extremely potent, possessing the subject to the Economic Development fell in love with it. Within in an hour I capacity to paralyse the central nervous Committee of Restormel Borough decided I was going to give up music (I system without affecting the respiratory Council. I kept it simple. I said “I have was a producer of rock music) and system. this great idea; we are going to take a clay restore the garden. After stories like that, even the humble pit and build these fantastic conservato- Now known as “The Lost Gardens of potato takes on a new and previously ries and it is going to be a new scientific Heligan”,these Victorian gardens over- unsuspected lure; then we go on to stories foundation. I haven’t any drawings, I looking the fishing village of Mevagissey of the plants that have changed the world. haven’t got a business plan but I want you taught me a lot about the English, the My third lesson from the Heligan expe- to give me loads of dosh to do it”.A media and how to interest the public in rience strikes a cautionary note. As an out- stunned silence followed but Restormel scientific matters. sider perhaps I can comment on the gave me £25,000 and the Eden Project was The first lesson was the power of the incredible faith the British have in the past underway. media. Gardening expert Dr Stefan and in our “heritage”.That we tend to want With local support we were able to Buczacki made a documentary for the to conserve and preserve everything can be build up a fighting fund. I went to the BBC. It was a very good documentary a terrible cancer; we want to preserve any- Millennium Commission to tell them: “We except that, at the end of it, he forgot to thing more than 60 years old forever. have this great idea to build a lost civilisa- mention that we were not open to the Now the story of Eden. I had this idea tion in a clay pit.” The civil servants looked public. The next day people began to turn to build a greenhouse in one of the conser- at me and said, “It’s a terrific idea, but you up and insisted on being shown round. vatories at Heligan that would tell the story don’t seriously expect us to believe that The day after three or four coaches turned of plants that changed the world and the anybody in Cornwall is capable of building up. We had become a tourist attraction productive plants of the world. I talked it, do you?” overnight and in our first year of opening with Philip Macmillan Brown, my horti- We needed someone of international we had 40,000 visitors. cultural director, about the plants that we stature. We went to Nicholas Grimshaw, The public enjoyed seeing a place that would have. After about half an hour we who built Waterloo International rail ter- was being developed and worked on. They had come up with a list of plants that minal, and said, “the good news is that we also liked the fact that we did not put Latin would have taken up the whole of Heligan, would like you to build the eighth wonder plant names on our labels and posters. We never mind one greenhouse, so the idea of the world; the bad news is that we can’t told anecdotal stories and many people was put on the back burner. pay you”.The following day we got a call who arrived thinking they disliked gardens Then heritage secretary Peter Brooke from Nick saying that he had talked to his left with a feeling of real enjoyment. announced the launch of the Millennium team and they wanted to do it. Not only The second lesson I learnt, and there Lottery Fund. But the only project that that, but they had persuaded all the people were many, was that adults are not as anyone was talking about was the ferris who had worked on Waterloo amusing to children as they think they are. wheel on the Thames. The London Eye is International to work on it as well. The numerous school groups that visited great, but it seemed to be rather disap- For the next 18 months this world-class were not amused by my attempts at enter- pointing as a statement as to where we in team worked for absolutely nothing. Then tainment. Fortunately, I had been reading Britain might be at the dawn of the new we had to find people to build it. We even- to my children various books by the Millennium. Thinking about this while tually ended up with the two McAlpines, author Roald Dahl and one day I decided driving into Cornwall on the A30, I looked Alfred and Sir Robert. Having chosen to get my own back. at Goon Barrow and suddenly thought of them, I was very nervous. I asked them and I began by telling a group of kids about Arthur Conan Doyle and the Lost World. the design team an unusual question: “if the poisons that burnt through the stom- Lost civilisations, engineering projects and you were me, talking to you, what question

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would you ask to make you build it on time and on budget?” About five hours later we came up with a revolutionary construction con- tract. They said “We have to get one thing straight: are we allowed to make a profit?” and I said “Of course” and they said “that’s fine”. We did everything on an open book basis, on a no-blame culture, and we built it on time, on budget, without one single major argument of any kind, no litigation between us. When we started to develop the next phase of the project the same team all volunteered to work again for nothing. The lessons we learnt were very humbling as well as incredibly exciting. When you work hard in the narrow con- fines of your business, you very rarely get the opportunity to celebrate and enjoy the sheer talent of your fellow human beings. Most of us do not take the time to relax and think “wow, that is fantastic”. A biome nearing completion as the last of the foils are put into place. The biomes were construct- On 15 May 1997, we were awarded half of the total £75 million, but we could only ed around the biggest free-standing scaffold structures ever built. have each pound when we laid down the Picture: Apex www.apexnewspix.com matching pound. The civil servants that I The Eden Project web site is www.edenproject.com dealt with at the Millennium Commission were fabulous, bending their own rules to make things possible. For example, when called ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) afraid of offending, or appearing to be our pit was going to be bought by a landfill foil. This is bascially cling film with attitude. “dumbing down” in front of their peer company and we still had not raised the The structure was built using very thin group than they are excited by enthusing matching money they worked out a way to steel and the weight of the superstructure the general public with what they are buy the pit. I applaud them wholeheartedly above the foundations is almost the same doing, in a way that can be understood. for that. as the weight of the air contained inside it. There are at least three million people On 17 October 1998 we bought the pit It is so tough you can have a rugby team in this country interested in the environ- and by dusk that day we had a giant hole dance on top of it without going through. ment, so they will want to come to see full of dumper trucks and bulldozers. The Even if we had not opened to the pub- Eden anyway. How do we get the other 54 following morning, we started to scrape lic, the money we spent on Eden would million excited, because none of us is away where the foundations were going to have been worth every penny because we going to get a constituency of support for be and it started to rain. It rained for 134 had to pioneer earth technology. We made massive change, the sorts of changes that days. Forty-five million gallons of water fell 90,000 tons of our own soil, using china we are all going to face within our lifetime, in the first 10 days of January 1999 and we clay wastes, domestic compost, mushroom if people do not understand the issues? had to stop work completely. But our con- compost, bark compost; no-one has ever Addressing issues of public awareness of struction team was marvelous, taking it in done it to that scale before and it is a tech- science is a very tricky thing; I think that their stride. nology that can be adapted to any derelict you have to catch people unawares. We opened the doors on 15 May 2000 land in the world. We are hoping to work To understand the Eden Project you and had 1.8 million visitors that year and with other people to help them with their have to visit it. It is not about plants. The the next. Inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s derelict land. My horticultural team not reason we have plants, and our mission geodesic designs, the conservatories are only had to create this place, but also grow statement is about human dependence on broadly geodesic on hexagons with a cou- the plants in a medium that no-one had plants, is because plants are what I call a ple of pentagons thrown in for good meas- ever grown in before. canvas against which you can tell human ure. We have two major conservatories, the We are going for the next phase of stories. Eden is about ideas, about how humid tropics biome and the warm tem- Eden because the first design can only you bring fantastic people together, about perate biome. The humid tropics is rain- cope with 750,000 visitors. With nearly how you dare not to be so vain that you forest and Oceania. Warm temperate is two million visitors a year there is a lot of want to own those ideas yourself and it is Mediterranean climates. pressure. The next phase includes one about sharing. The brief we gave Nick Grimshaw was a more biome, the dry tropics, to tell the We now have about 600 staff at Eden. tough one; we wanted a conservatory that story of water. When we have done that We have put £160 million into the Cornish was fit for functions, great for plants, could we will not want to build any more; we economy. We are what is called a “social compete in terms of performance with an are not a typical botanical garden, we do enterprise”.Eden is a fantastic model for ordinary commercial greenhouse and was not want to collect multitudes of plants. governments to look at in terms of under- on a big scale. You cannot use plate glass Part of the pleasure of the experience at standing how the returns on state invest- because that is thick and heavy and needs Heligan was the discovery of how to get ment should be measured, as opposed to big steel. If you have big steel you have big people interested. We are unashamed the straight return from the money invest- shade. Also plate glass cuts out a lot of the about embracing popular language. Many ed. Look at the wider community and the light spectrum. We ended up choosing a foil people in the scientific profession are more results that come from that. ❐

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The British government regards horizon scanning, or foresight, as an essential tool of policy-making, as made clear at an FST meeting on 20 June 2003 at the Royal Society, preceded by a workshop on the subject at the Irish Embassy led by Dr William C. Harris, who argued that Ireland’s success in computer science and biotechnology stems from its government’s commitment to education. Horizon scanning rooted in science David King wo key elements of the of cutting-edge science where the poten- Government’s horizon scanning tial applications and technologies have yet Tactivity take place in the Office of to be considered and articulated. Science and Technology (OST) and the No more than four projects run at any Strategy Unit in the Cabinet Office. time in a rolling programme, with each In OST, we use the Foresight programme project taking around 12-18 months to to look at the many possible futures and reach completion. Each project is tightly try to determine whether actions now, or defined and a key feature of the new-style in the short term, can influence what will projects is that each has a stakeholder Sir David King KB ScD FRS is chief actually happen. For OST, the key element government department, or departments, scientific adviser to the UK is science; in the Strategy Unit the view- closely involved in the process. This Government and head of the Office of point is somewhat different, although the means that, once OST has finished its Science and Technology. Professor objectives are similar — to help the UK to report, we hand it over to that depart- King was a lecturer in chemical be as proactive as possible in our plan- ment for action. physics at the University of East Anglia ning and policymaking. The four projects in this first period of and at Liverpool. In 1993 he became I speak with feeling on the subject, the new Foresight are: head of the Department of Chemistry having personal experience of an example • flood and coastal defence, concentrat- at Cambridge. of the OST acting in a reactive fashion ing on the long-term impacts of and without the advantage of foresight, the responses to climate change; 2001 epidemic of foot and mouth disease • cognitive systems, linking brain science (FMD). It is worth asking whether it and computing, looking for opportuni- might have been possible to predict that ties in possible wealth creation spinouts; an FMD epidemic of that magnitude • cyber trust and crime prevention, might hit the United Kingdom and what focusing on the risks and rewards of made the 1967 outbreak so much smaller. the next generation of information It is certainly possible to argue that we technology; might have predicted the outbreak using • exploiting the electromagnetic spec- foresight. Farming practices changed trum will take a novel, broad view of qualitatively between the two outbreaks. the spectrum and its potential future There was a relatively small amount of exploitation. animal movement in 1967 but a vast amount in 2001. From that knowledge, I would like to expand on the work that we might have predicted that an epidemic has taken place in the flood and coastal occurring in 2001 would have massive defence project. In Britain today, more repercussions. So it is better to be pro- than £200 billion worth of assets are at active. This is what foresight is about. risk from flooding and there are 1.7 mil- Virtually all the subject matter for lion homes in flood plains. The project horizon scanning lies in the scientific team has taken the broadest approach to arena, but if the process is to be effective the problem and involved many of the it must cover natural and social sciences UK’s leading experts. and include political and economic con- The stakeholder department is the siderations. So the Government’s Department of Environment, Food and Foresight programme, launched in 1994, Rural Affairs (Defra) and the project also aimed to create a “national capacity to involves other key stakeholders both in think ahead” beginning from the current government and outside, which reflects state of science and technology and con- the wide range of important issues to be sidering how this might change and influ- covered in this project. ence society in the future. Initially, we thought that climate and Until 2002, Foresight was a broad, sea-level change would have the biggest panel-based process covering all research impact, however the analysis indicates sectors, linked to research agendas. Since that the socio-economic changes ahead 2002, it has been project-based, with 25 are equally important. It is anticipated staff in OST and wide expert external that storm surges will be of increased support. The starting point for a project ferocity, posing increased threat to the area is either a key issue where science coast as well as river flooding and sewer holds the promise of solutions or an area flooding inland.

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One of my favourite examples of good foresight happens to be in this area. The Thames Barrier was built in 1980 at a 30 Tidal cost, in today’s money, of £1.4 billion. It 25 Fluvial and was first used in 1982-3 and, in its first "in-combination" five years, was not much used. But 20 between January and May this year (see right), the barrier was operated 20 times. 15 It is estimated that, had one of those 20 potential floods occurred, the flood dam- 10 age would have cost about £20 billion. In other words, an expensive construc- 5 tion has actually saved a lot of money. Indeed, the usage of the barrier is a vivid 0 measure of the change of flooding and storm surges over more than two decades. The question naturally arises of whether 82/83 84/85 86/87 88/89 90/91 92/93 94/95 96/97 98/99 00/01 02/03 this is directly related to climate change. I personally believe that there is sufficient Thames Barrier closures – tidal, fluvial and "in-combination" evidence to indicate that this is a continu- ing trend and that climate change is the work and explore its promise for the trum. Here, the DTI, Innovation Group, is big driver of that trend. future. the key stakeholder. Our aim is to identify Another example of current Foresight What we are trying to do is to under- opportunities across the spectrum from work is the cognitive systems project. stand what the scientists actively engaged recent developments in basic science, rang- Here the stakeholder government depart- in these problems are doing, so as to see ing from the use of synthetic metamateri- ment is the Department of Trade and what future themes may emerge. There is als with unusual properties to the direct Industry (DTI). An interesting aspect of great excitement around the project. Some imaging of objects on a molecular scale the process is that, when we first brought of the very interesting themes emerging In conclusion, I offer some reassurance together the two groups of scientists, life from the initial phases of this project for those who may be concerned about scientists studying the brain with modern include “a theory of forgetting”,“reasoning the demise of the old Foresight pro- physical techniques and the IT communi- with uncertainty”,“planning processes” gramme. In effect, we are using the ty, there was very little communication and “building an artificial animal”. Foresight “brand” in a different context. between them. Briefly, the third and fourth projects of Horizon scanning is an ongoing process To overcome this, we produced state- the Foresight programme are cyber-trust in all departments. It is essential that of-the-art reviews of the science relevant and crime prevention. A Home Office min- knowledge of horizon scanning is shared to the topics defined. These reviews then ister chairs the Stakeholder Group for this between departments, not least because it had to be translated by a science writer project which will study the potential is so difficult to test the results of hori- into a language that both of the scientific opportunities and threats from the next zon-scanning programmes. communities involved and non-scientists generation of information technology as far The current Foresight programmes could understand. We then brought the as issues of trust and crime are concerned and previous Foresight rounds can be groups together again to review their Exploiting the electromagnetic spec- found at www.foresight.gov.uk. ❐ The techniques of horizon scanning Geoff Mulgan

he work of the Strategy Unit involves a comes from Pandolfo Petrucci, Lord of mix of fairly detailed day-to-day poli- Sienna, in a letter to Machiavelli, when he Tcy design and attempts to map a wrote, “wishing to make as few mistakes as broader picture of the likely future in cer- possible, I conduct my government day-by- tain fields, ranging from local government day and arrange my affairs hour-by-hour to fish and from prisons to drugs. Here is a because the times are more powerful than brief account of some of the methods we our brains”.That is not far from the view Dr Geoff Mulgan is head of policy in use to get a picture of the future. taken by many of today’s leading politicians the Prime Minister’s office and direc- There are very few reliable methods for and business executives, who believe that tor of the Strategy Unit in the predicting the future, particularly where the best that can be hoped for is speed of Cabinet Office. He was previously human beings are involved. There are sim- reaction to unpredictable events and that the Prime Minister’s adviser on social ply too many variables. Moreover, as any all else is doomed to failure. policy and was the founder and knowledge of the future can also influence There are reasons why some govern- director of the “think-tank” Demos. the future, the challenge of mapping likely ments might take this view. Governments futures is inherently more complex in are not naturally long-termist: if you have a His most recent book is Connexity. social systems than in relation to physical very small parliamentary majority or very systems. So there is a valid point of view high inflation, it is difficult to plan ahead. that says it is pointless doing any futures Many ministers have relatively short work.The best articulation of that view tenures in their jobs and do not see huge

FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) 9 horizon scanning advantages in make making life easier for their successors; there are also the day-to- Scientist shortage. On the shortages of discussion day pressures of the media and Parliament. Generally, governments are more at home people choosing to study science, it was with processes — making announcements, pointed out that the market normally solves scarcity problems by increasing publishing white papers, passing laws — price (in this case the remuneration of scientists). The choice of the right indi- than with outcomes, which again engenders vidual to head research organisations was vital. Private universities in the a bias against looking at the future. However, we are now in an unusually United States do pay to get star performers. But perhaps the huge influx of propitious position for more serious long- “cheap” scientists into the US had distorted the system. The OST were plan- term planning. Compared to the recent ning to examine this issue. past, the United Kingdom now has higher public capital spending, longer-term spend- ing allocations, relatively higher spending work.Some of these methods are quite looking forward to 2050 (see Table 1). The on prevention in health and crime, real simple — trends analysis, for example. US population is predicted to rise sharply rises in science spending and pays serious Thus in our work on ethnic minorities, we in the next 50 years, while the European attention to very long-term environmental have found, that, based on ethnic education Union population falls slightly and the considerations, above all climate change. patterns, pay rates and so on, the pay rates Chinese population rises sharply. But more Crucially, too, we have a series of arrange- of Indians have now caught up with those striking are the data on share of world ments to insulate some key decisions from of whites and that on the basis of school GDP: for the United States, this falls slight- excessively short-term considerations, such and university results, they are almost cer- ly, the EU’s share virtually halves, while in as the Monetary Policy Committee for tain to overtake whites; other groups, such China it goes up fivefold. Those are, of interest rates and the Food Standards as Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, on the other course, forecasts based on demographic Agency for food. These developments have hand, are falling behind. Information like and economic trends so they may not be all helped to shift the focus of government this can be used to inform decisions in edu- that accurate, but they give us a lot to think towards the longer-term questions. cation and social policy. about when considering strategic options. Nevertheless, when we look around the We use a lot of benchmarking methods Foresight exercises, which go well world, it is clear that Britain, like most to see which countries we can learn from beyond forecasting to map a range of possi- other big countries, is worse at this than and which might be indicators of our ble futures, are also becoming more widely many small countries. The best practice in future. Comparisons cover indicators on used. A recent Foresight exercise in the foresight tends to be found in smaller things such as GDP, life satisfaction and health field looked at the likely impact of countries such as Singapore, the economic growth. More specific bench- patient expectations, medical advances, Netherlands, Finland and Switzerland. Not marking can focus on performance in spe- demography, epidemiology and so on. wholly coincidentally, these countries also cific areas, for example police detection. Perhaps the most striking finding was that rate highly in rankings of competitiveness It is often very easy to be deceived by we are probably still 15 years away from the and technological intensity, and they seem facts looked at in isolation. For instance 20 full impact on the public of widespread to be better at getting a wide community of to 25 years ago, many thought that inflation genetic screening, gene therapy and prod- decision makers across science, business in Britain was an insoluble aspect of late ucts of stem-cell technology. and government, thinking in a much more industrial society. Again, 15 years ago many Another set of tools is simulations to sophisticated way about future challenges thought the same of long-term unemploy- assess the dynamics of systems: obvious and opportunities. ment. Both have turned out to be tractable examples include contingency exercises In the United Kingdom, we have put in and if, at the time, we had looked at other for chemical, biological, radiological and place new machinery to make us more like countries using benchmarking methods, we nuclear weapon attacks. An interesting the best small countries. The Civil could have learned that sooner. study was concerned with the National Contingencies Secretariat, along with a Other analytic methods include the Health Service (NHS) at the time the domestic horizon-scanning group, exists to assessment of market dynamics in different internal market was being introduced in ensure that, when we face the prospect of fields, systematic reviews of evidence and the early 1990s. A big three-day simula- something like the SARS crisis, government formal modelling. tion exercise was carried out, with many has rigorously assessed, anticipated and, These can at the very least stimulate participants acting out the likely behav- where possible prevented or mitigated the thought. The US Department of Energy, for iours that would happen in the internal potential problems. example, has issued a forecast of population market. After the second day, the whole sys- The secretariat also makes resilience and GDP for individual countries as a share tem crashed. Ministers did not want to hear assessments to see how communications of the world’s totals, starting from 2003 and that lesson and so it was ignored, though and information technology systems would cope if there were, for example, a shock such as a terrorist attack. We have further Table 1 Forecasting as stimulus strategy development capacity in units across Whitehall and in the Foresight team in the DTI. There are also long-term USA EU China processes for allocating resources, setting Population (millions) targets and so on, through spending 2003 278 389 1275 reviews which have helped to embed a 2050 411 370 1700 more rigorous approach to preparation, the use of evidence and planning. Some of the analytical methods we use GDP (world percentage) to get a richer understanding of the future 2003 29.1 29.3 3.7 also contribute to a more sophisticated 2050 27.8 16.5 15.9 understanding of how present systems

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much that subsequently happened to the NHS internal market was pre-figured in Priorities. University research should be discussion that simulation exercise. informed by industrial priorities but not be Foresight and scenario exercises can aimed at solving short-term problems. Its first product should be “stars of sci- have a big impact on decisions. The ence”, and only then should spinouts and industrially useful products be used Wanless Report, Securing our future health: to gauge success. taking a long-term view (2002), was billed by the Department of Health as the first ever evidence-based assessment of the long-term resource requirements of the economy was stagnant, not about to ment or a university. These techniques are NHS. Derek Wanless concluded that, to embark on a long boom and that Japan was not foolproof; but they do bring to the fore meet people’s expectations over the next 20 a model economy, not starting a 12 year implicit assumptions, they attune decision years, Britain would need to devote more slump. The word ‘internet’ was unknown. makers to uncertain processes of change resources to healthcare and that this would Partly to counter the influence of con- and they help to clarify choices. have to be matched by reform to ensure ventional opinion it is important in hori- However, on their own these methods that these resources were used effectively. zon scanning to keep an eye on the mar- can only take you so far. As in Pandolfo The report was a key factor in convincing gins: everyday phenomena such as comple- Petrucci’s day, often speed of response is the government to commit large sums of mentary medicine, the internet, gun cul- most important key to survival, because you money to a steadily rising health budget. ture, text messaging or Big Brother were will never be able to map or track the near An important lesson for those involved not well understood by mainstream institu- infinity of possible events. For organisations in systematic horizon scanning is that it is tions. Changes of this kind are not usually it will be just as important to have a capaci- vital to challenge conventional opinion. detected by the radar of establishment ty which can respond very quickly to events What people expect to happen in the future institutions, which is why some govern- of low probability and high impact, as it is is likely to be systematically wrong. Even ments and companies try hard to go to attempt to plan for every contingency. the best-informed people would not have beyond their normal sources, to look at There are no easy ways of doing horizon expected ex-communists now to be leading open source methods, at leading indicators scanning, no shortcuts and no guaranteed most East European countries, for example. rather than just backward-looking statistics results. Instead what Charles Darwin In 1990 nobody expected a European civil and gossip. remarked of his achievements in science is war with 200,000 dead; genome mapping Horizon scanning and futures methods apposite here too: “whatever I have done was expected to take a lot longer than it should be part of the mainstream toolkit of has solely been by long pondering, patience did; most people then thought that the US any large institution, be it a firm, a govern- and industry”. ❐ Foresight predicates commitment William C Harris

ver the past 30 or 40 years, Ireland high-quality universities, but there are has been transformed from prima- weaknesses in the primary and secondary Orily an agricultural economy to a education systems throughout Western country with a major manufacturing democracies. Finland, where there has presence in many areas, particularly in been continued emphasis on these sec- information and communications tech- tors, is one of the few exceptions. Our nology and biotechnology. Ireland now children choose not to study science, exports more software than any other engineering and mathematics and we Dr William C Harris is director gen- country1;9 of the top 10 biopharmaceuti- should be asking why, but instead we are eral of Science Foundation Ireland cal companies operate in Ireland2.This sitting back passively accepting the situa- (www.sfi.ie). Previously he was vice has been achieved largely through major tion, hoping the problem will go away. president for research at the investment and commitment to educa- The problem has been solved in the University of South Carolina and was tion. It is doubtful, however, that horizon United States, largely by importing founding president and executive scanning of the Irish economic prospects incredible talent for the past 25 or 30 director of Columbia University’s in 1985 would have predicted that this years, but that cannot go on. Systemic Biosphere 2 Centre in Arizona. Dr would be the case in 2003. issues such as this education problem Harris served at the US National The moral is that foresight exercises have become an important aspect of the Science Foundation from 1977 to are important, but you also have to be role of government. In studying the agen- 1996, including as the director of the able to respond to opportunity. The thesis da for the future and defining the mathematical and physical sciences that I am going to present here is that the Government’s role in the future of society best way to prepare for the future, in terms of helping to manage and guide division (1991-1996), responsible for absolutely the best way, is through educa- the economy, horizon scanning provides a a federal grants appropriation of tion. If you want to build an economy or framework, a template, as it provides the $750 million per year. industry, you do it through individuals roadmap for the economy. and ideas, and the source of these is the A complication here is the tendency for educational system. governments to be composed of people In many ways, though, the educational richly talented in finance and the law but system is at risk. True, there are many lacking that level of expertise in science. In

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the United Kingdom there is an attempt underway to put the science adviser con- Civil foresight. The early UK Foresight discussion cept into every department. It is obvious exercise had been more important for the that scientific expertise is an advantage in dealing with health systems and agricul- interaction of the people than for its product. There was now a problem in con- ture, but it is also important to apply sci- vincing people in big companies that they were not already all-knowing about ence in many other areas. Ireland does issues likely to affect their businesses, while smaller companies often did not not yet have a science adviser and does have the scientific capacity or manpower to take the process on board. It was not have the talent in science that the UK Government is putting in place, but I important that the English regions became more involved in Foresight. think it is important. In the US, science Devolution had led to progress in Scotland and Wales. Traditionally, horizon throughout the government is considered scanning had been more used for defence and overseas policy purposes than essential; almost every agency has talented by civil departments, but it was now recognised that there were equivalent scientists. It is also important to recognise that, challenges on the civil side of government. One was the demographic changes as you think about predicting the future, facing many Western countries. New Foresight projects could be selected by the structure of government departments panels, within government, or by allowing groups of visionaries to brainstorm. needs to be capable of responding to the challenge and ministers need to be com- mitted to the project. There is some urgency. Speed is while our universities competed against international stars of science, and to important if the nations of Western each other for funding and for links with ensure predictable and sustained invest- Europe are to compete effectively with European universities. We are trying now ment in university research. It is costly to countries such as China and India. Right to find a better balance where the univer- bring in a significant senior investigator now, each of these two economies has sities are working together. and it takes between €300,000 and about 300 million middle-class, well-edu- In Ireland most of our universities are €600,000 to set up a laboratory. cated people; a huge base to compete small and, rather than picking one or two Being a small country makes it easier with. This development is a good thing and saying, “You are going to be the next for us to experiment in this field. We have for the world as a whole and this type of Cambridge or Harvard”,we are trying to a quality control mechanism, we control competition and cooperation is generally build a system where the talent in the the review and aim to identify the people good for economies. university system can serve all the people we need and negotiate with them. During Ireland’s transition from an of Ireland. My message is to encourage the invest- agricultural economy in the late 1980s to We have committed over €200 million ments that are being made and to recog- a manufacturing economy, governments to approximately 80 projects and we have nise that speed is important. We are in a realised that there had to be major trans- started three new centres for science, competitive world economy, there are a formations throughout its society. These engineering and technology: the National lot of scientists out there and the success- transformations occurred rapidly and Centre for Human Proteomics (based at ful economies will be those that make the Ireland’s population adapted. The popu- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland), the correct decisions about which areas of lation rose from almost 2 million in 1960 Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (at science to invest in and identify and to almost 4 million today. Instead of los- University College, Cork) and the Digital recruit the right people to do the work. ing young well-educated people, who Enterprise Research Centre (at the Finally, you have to make choices. No often went abroad to find opportunities, National University of Ireland, Galway). nation, certainly no small nation, can be many are now staying and incomers are These are clusters of industrial and aca- good at everything. But if you make the moving to Ireland. demic researchers, interdisciplinary, inter- investment in university research and Let me summarise what is happening nationally competitive and working on have talented people going back and forth in Ireland. First, there was the Foresight large-scale problems. It is never easy to between universities and industry, it is Technology process, borrowed basically get the universities and industries to work possible to catch up very quickly in any from the early work in the United together, but that is our aim. given field. ❐ Kingdom. In Ireland we put this process For these centres to thrive we have to 1. OECD Information Technology Outlook Survey 2000. together in 1998 and by the year 2000 it create mechanisms that will enable the 2. Standard and Poor’ Healthcare: Pharmaceuticals Survey, was clear that we needed to invest in its Irish universities to recruit and retain 23 June 2003. future. The decision was made to invest primarily in two areas, the information and communications sector along with the science and engineering underpinning Scepticism. There was scepticism about discussion both that and the biotechnology sector. forecasting, because of people’s inability to We had the advantage of having a strong industrial base in both areas. The ques- foresee disruptive technologies. For example, no scientist would forecast that tion was whether they could either go his discipline would disappear. People would miss spotting future trends that beyond that or sustain that for the future. were against their interests and might emphasise possibilities that led to more Importantly, there was political com- research funds (global warming might fall into this category). One way of deal- mitment to the project and, to make this ing with these problems was to use scenarios, which could at least help identify all happen, the government has commit- ted to invest €646 million in starting the what gaps needed addressing. Evaluating the success of Foresight exercises Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Before was difficult, but could sometimes be achieved, as with the Thames Barrier. the SFI, much Irish funding came from European Union research programmes,

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Creativity, science, engineering and technology. How do science, technology and the arts interact in our modern world, and should this interaction be more creative? This was the topic of an FST discussion meeting at the Royal Society on 14 May 2003. An amalgam of two cultures? David Puttnam

he relationship between science and economy — the exploitation of research, the arts has often been, as C.P. Snow commercialising ideas, the transfer of learn- Tobserved, one of two cultures, “and ing — has its own needs and makes its own never the twain shall meet”.Keats, you will new demands. This was explicitly recognised remember, accused Newton of “unweaving by the chancellor, Gordon Brown, when he the rainbow”.In contrast, Nobel-prize-win- said in his spending review last July (2002) ning physicist Paul Dirac once said that: “in that, “invention and innovation are the key The Lord Puttnam CBE is chairman science you want to say something nobody to long-term national competitiveness”. of the National Endowment for knew before, in words which everyone can If you visit the Science Museum in Science, Technology and the Arts. He understand. In poetry you are bound to say London, you will see that about half of the has produced many films, including something that everybody knows already in world’s “firsts” in invention since the words that nobody can understand.” industrial revolution were created in the Bugsy Malone, Midnight Express, I am a passionate believer in the impor- United Kingdom. Yet we have been incred- Chariots of Fire and The Killing tance of cross-fertilisation between science ibly complacent about taking original ideas Fields,for which he has won many and the arts. The development of just about and turning them into products that are prizes. He is chair of Enigma every art form, from new forms of oil-based marketable. Time and again, other com- Productions and has been a director paint in the 19th century to new media art petitors have enjoyed the success generated of Anglia Television, Columbia in the past few years, has at some time or by our inventiveness. Pictures and many other film com- another been liberated, even enabled, by sci- The way in which we should overcome panies and charitable bodies. He has entific innovation. this barrier is clear. We need to invest served as a vice president of the There are several issues on which I much more in people and teams, we need Royal Geographical Society. would like to focus: first, the degree to to stimulate and promote our extraordi- which science and engineering are a “cre- nary pool of creative talent. We have to ative” process; second, the ability of science generate productive activity by pursuing to learn from the arts; and third, the creativity and innovation through to pro- National Endowment for Science, duction and into the global marketplace. Technology and the Arts (NESTA). We need scientists and engineers who Cinema is a perfect example of how sci- can be adaptable, apply their knowledge ence changes the way we see and imagine and skills in different and challenging con- the world: it is an art form that is a unique texts and bring genuinely creative blend of commerce and culture. approaches to problem solving. To achieve Throughout the history of cinema, techno- this, we need cross-cutting government logical and creative innovations have gone policies which put real meat on the bones of hand in hand: “talking pictures”,the emer- the chancellor’s commitment. gence of colour, the creation of special We need: effects and the use of digital technology are • A policy framework across all govern- just a few of these developments. ment departments, with adequately Equally, many of the most significant funded programmes and a streamlined scientific “breakthroughs” have come about regulatory structure; as a result of some creative vision or insight, • An education system that nurtures cre- which has overturned prevailing beliefs and ativity and interdisciplinary thinking; assumptions, or found solutions in areas • Increased investment in R&D; we cur- where nobody had previously thought to rently trail well behind countries such as even look. Japan, the United States, Germany and Architecture is a fine example of where France; the arts directly influence engineering. • Funders and investors from both public Leading practitioners, such as Frank and private sectors; Gehry, Norman Foster, Daniel Libeskind • An improved system of intellectual and Richard Rogers repeatedly challenge property rights that stimulates innova- engineers to realise imaginative concepts tion and investment by protecting the which they have only sketched out in commercial interests of the rights- their heads. holders while not preventing others How should the arts and sciences be from accessing and using information meeting and combining, and why is this so and carrying out research. important? Today’s increasingly “knowledge-based” A little of all of this is coming together at

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NESTA. Established in 1998, NESTA was the first “national endowment”.That Education. A principal theme of the dis- discussion endowment now stands at £250 million, cussion was the role of education in pro- built on two subventions from Lottery moting creativity and innovation. The problems started in schools themselves, funds. NESTA’s remit is to support the where too great an emphasis on fact-finding inhibited the development of prob- development of talented individuals and to lem-solving skills. But you had to build on children’s competitive desires and promote creativity and innovation across create incentives using techniques which enable them to see results (which, of science, technology and the arts. course, should be better than those of their competitors) quickly. Lego had We have three principal programmes. some ideas. Our Fellowship Programme helps creative individuals who have demonstrated out- standing talent and originality, but who have not had the opportunity to develop stream educational practice. video of the aurora borealis,or Northern their talent or to explore new creative terri- We also ran Science Year (now Planet Lights, creating a large-scale projected art tory.The Dream Time awards are designed Science) for the Department for Education installation in which the viewer is immersed to enable remarkable individuals to take and Skills (DfES), which helped to raise within this awe-inspiring phenomenon. time out and pursue hunches, things they interest and participation in science, partic- NESTA is developing new approaches to could not do in the context of their current ularly among children. Again in partner- creative risk-taking by supporting projects work. Our Invention and Innovation ship with the DfES, NESTA Futurelab which others have balked at. Over the next Programme helps turn ground-breaking researches and develops innovative ways of few years we will improve our support, in ideas into innovative products, services or encouraging learning through the use of particular enabling some of the best art and techniques, with commercial or social emerging information and communication design graduates to set up businesses. We potential. Through this, early-stage invest- technologies. also intend to promote a whole new world ments are made to assist projects to get off NESTA is also working as a catalyst for of best practice. the ground, and to prepare those making creative and innovative work across science If the United Kingdom is to be a world good progress to find further investment and the arts, with the intention of creating leader in creativity, it must identify, reward from elsewhere. intellectual property that can be of real and and nurture those who are going to get us Our Education Programme helps to sustainable value to the economy. there. NESTA intends to play a significant pilot innovative methods of creative learn- These approaches have enabled us to part in this, by seeking out excellence and ing and ways of fostering individual talent support projects such as Steve Grand’s potential, empowering creators and innova- to improve people’s understanding of, and robot child, complete with a mind of its tors and taking informed risks on the engagement in, science, technology and the own. His current development, Lucy II, will unknown. arts. Often working in collaboration with have a more powerful brain, better eyesight Unless we develop our capacity to inno- the private sector, this programme aims to and hearing and stronger muscles than his vate and take risks, our competitive advan- develop and test approaches that have the earlier experiments. tages, our wealth of creativity, our imagina- capacity for wider application that may go Brian McClave and George Millward are tion and inventiveness, all of these will on to inform and even transform main- working on Aurora 2, a three-dimensional come to nothing. ❐ Innovation in musical composition Julian Anderson

y title is intended to illustrate the compose for a symphony orchestra, at the relationship between tradition and moment the City of Birmingham Mnew technology in music. Symphony Orchestra. That means I have Composers today wish to create some- to write a piece of music that can func- thing new, but we do not wish to alienate tion with 88 or, sometimes, up to 100 dif- the audience. How do we achieve that? ferent musicians, playing music together. I It is great to discover new forms of cannot talk to those musicians so they music and to discover new forms of beau- have to understand from the way I create Julian Anderson is composer in resi- ty that can be socially useful and, I hope, and notate what it is I am trying to do dence at the City of Birmingham stimulating. There are three main areas and to make the sounds that I hear in my Symphony Orchestra and head of we consider: acoustic situations and facts, head in such a way that the audience can composition, Royal College of Music. the world around us and the sound of the sense what I am trying to convey. He started composing when he was world around us. The latter could include Note that the composer must take eleven and studied at the Royal the sound that musicians make, the account of the social situations in which College of Music. His compositions sounds of the natural world or machines the music will be performed. There are include Tiramisù. Khorovod and or whatever, as well as the actual sounds. group activities, of which an orchestra is Imagin’d.He is also active as a By analysing these sounds using electron- one, and individual situations, such as a broadcaster and writer. ic technology, we can discover what they soloist, or chamber music — smaller scale are made of and re-create them through work. music. My understanding of the creative When I write a piece, I am writing for process is that there is an initial concep- people. For example, I have been asked to tion that must be constrained by three

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different sets of considerations: extra- musical factors, traditions and habits Music. Music came up frequently in the discussion within music and the means available to discussion; many members being fascinat- produce the sound — the technology, the instruments and the players. All of that is ed by Julian Anderson’s analysis of sounds. But, alas, no member had sugges- put together to create the work you hear. tions for developing musical creativity. The importance of understanding sound Now, the work that you hear has one as a component of design and marketing was noted and the effect of music in visual form, a score — if it is notated in helping people understand emotional and mental states was observed. the Western tradition — consisting of musical notes on paper. That score is a set of instructions for performers and at the end of the chain is the public reaction. All these aspects feed off each other. That is to say, when I am writing my next work, I resulting in a chaotic wave around the important to the end-product. I cannot ask myself whether the sound the piece original melody. It is a very complicated write music without believing that there made was the sound I had imagined, what sound produced by a real social celebra- is somebody out there who will react to it; was the public reaction to that it, how tion. It is not possible to analyse it entire- and that is also important in influencing that related to what I had imagined, and ly by ear so I had to use technology to what I do next. The result is a constant so on. I cannot communicate with myself; pull it apart to see what it was made of. and flexible feedback process between the I need to have a public to respond to. I was writing a large orchestral piece technology, my instinct, the social situa- Imagine the sound of some sea. This for the London Promenade Concerts, a tion I find myself in and am inspired by can be analysed by means of technology piece about the change of the seasons and the audience itself. to produce what we call a sonogram. You and collective celebration. I chose to take I should say that none of this marvel- can take fragments of the sound, selecting this extract and use the information lous technology is British. The sonogram the most prominent ones or slowing about what frequencies were where, program was developed in Paris, the down the sound. I can take a tuning fork where things swirled, where they were sound program is American. These tech- and discover exactly what the frequencies less thick, where they were more thick nologies have already proved very useful are. We can sculpt the sound and use it to and so on. I applied that information, for commercial purposes, both for record- create harmonies and melodies. sculpted it as it were, onto my own har- ing and, in the case of the sonogram, also I have used frequency analysis soft- mony and melody. This music is not for film music. There are many applica- ware to analyse not a neutral, natural meant deliberately to imitate the won- tions for this technology beyond the sound but a real social situation from a derful ceremonial, rather it is music that realm of art music. This technology is the ritual service of Ethiopian Jews, the is inspired by it. Technology has been product of collaboration between com- Falasha community, which was recorded used to see inside the structure to convey posers and scientists. That meeting point in the mid 1980s in Jerusalem. A leader to the audience the feeling that I got is crucial to the future of music in this sings a simple tune and the congregation from that original ritual. country. The objective is not to dehuman- of about 20 people all sing the same tune In conclusion, I should emphasise that ise music but, on the contrary, to make it after him, but each slightly differently, the feedback of the audience is very more human. ❐ Through innovation to productivity David Hughes

he DTI is reviewing innovation and Scoreboard, based on the value added is, in particular, investigating what that companies are achieving. Very sim- Tdrives innovation and what effect ply, “value added”, is employee cost + innovation can have on productivity as operating profit + depreciation + amor- measured by the rate of change of GDP. tisation. We have tabulated this for 800 Although our review is only half com- British and 600 continental European plete, I will give you some clues to what is companies and have reached some inter- emerging from the findings of the many esting conclusions. David Hughes FREng is director gen- exercises and consultations we have been Value added is a measure of wealth eral, Innovation Group at the conducting. creation and does not differentiate Department of Trade and Industry Our starting point, or hypothesis per- between manufacturing businesses and (DTI). Previously he worked as spe- haps, is that businesses in the United those providing services. While we have a cial project director at BAE Systems. Kingdom will find it increasingly difficult high employment level, the UK currently He has also worked for Ford, Lucas to compete in low-cost labour-intensive has more low value-added businesses and GEC-Marconi. He serves on the goods and services against competition than our major European competitors. In CBI technology and innovation com- from Eastern Europe and the Far East. other words, in terms of value added, we mittee and the EPSRC Council. Therefore, businesses will have to look to need seriously to think about how we can increase the value-add of their products improve our game. Businesses need to and services. gather knowledge, to think creatively We have published The Value Added about the applications, to develop and to

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of IPR is not as great as that of the inven- Academia and business. Doubts were discussion tors. We certainly have to act in that respect. We place a lot of emphasis on expressed about the view that relations spinouts, but what about working to between academia and business were as difficult as had been suggested. The encourage the licensing of the IPR in uni- CBI statistics, on which such a view was based, were open to challenge and the versities to established companies? What position had got much better in recent years. But it was clear that better liaison can we do to forge links with established companies? was needed, particularly with SMEs. The Lambert Review (see page 3) should Importantly, we have found that, give some helpful ideas. Certainly, one problem was whether the universities’ although we have all sorts of schemes position on IPRs was beneficial to innovation. A major difficulty was that universi- (particularly in the DTI) to support vari- ties sometimes put a much higher value on their product than did the commer- ous programmes of R&D, we lack tech- nology strategy. Our competitors, who are cial world. The academic tended to see the world-beating potential of his dis- ahead of us, have very clear top-down covery, while the company looked at what would be the sales in the short term. technology strategies that appear to drive The Government’s attitudes did not help. On the one hand they said all the right the exploitation of their science base. things about academia making a priority of knowledge transfer, on the other In the United States in the early 1990s investment was heavily focused on com- hand Margaret Hewitt was praising universities for being hard about keeping IPR. munications, telecoms, computers and IT. That investment paid off dramatically. America is continuing to focus on advanced technology, including, interest- commercialise their enterprise and to take best way to develop and grow. There are ingly, technologies for service industries. it to market. numerous areas we could discuss, but I They are encouraging collaboration Innovation can occur at any point in am going to concentrate on three: tech- between industry and universities in that value chain. Innovation is not just nology, finance and design. selected perceived critical technologies. about science and technology and not just Generating and sourcing new knowledge Much the same is happening in other about products, but can involve processes, underpins modern economic systems. The developed countries. new business models, clever ways of going British science base is very strong, but there is If we can foster collaboration between to market and so on. There are many ways ample evidence that this strength is not being universities and industry, we shall be able to we can improve our value added. pulled through into applications. Although work more closely with the research coun- Once we have decided where we want government investment is increasing, indus- cils, but first we must decide what tech- to get to, we have to determine whether trial R&D as a proportion of our GDP is well nologies to work with; we shall also need a our workforce has the right skills and below that of the Organisation for body of scientific industrialists who can capabilities. What many small companies Economic Cooperation and Development interpret and work with the science base. find is that to bring their wonderful idea (OECD) average. When it comes to univer- We have already put together such a pro- to the marketplace they may need skills sity/ business collaboration, we are often gramme in one field — nanotechnology. We other than they have and they need to told that business people and academics do have created a programme of collaboration establish how they can collaborate. not speak the same language. My colleague between much of the academic base around In our work, we have also discovered Richard Lambert is conducting a study of the country, Regional Development that Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are small to medium employers (SME)/univer- Agencies (RDAs), regional groupings and a important to innovation in the business sity links, which are known to be patchy number of large industrial companies. This environment. In a fast-moving business and difficult to forge. network is largely funded by the RDAs, such as games software, patents may be There is also concern about IPR. while industry has put in its IPR and some less relevant; you will be on the third gen- University inventors have a high opinion money. This is a good start and may be a eration before you have the patent, so a of what this IPR is worth and I can think model for future projects. Increasing value trademark or branding is important. IPR of several examples where significant add will often require development of new covers patents, trademarks, copyright — industrial companies have walked away products and services, but often companies there are areas here where we could prob- from collaboration with universities sim- (as well as people) find financing difficult. ably communicate more helpful informa- ply because their perception of the value Venture capitalists, concerned by the tion to businesses. Regulation is critical. At present, there is a lot of prescriptive European legisla- tion. We want to make that outcome- Finance. The difficulties companies found discussion based, encouraging creative innovation. in financing innovative developments were Public procurement is a very large part acknowledged by a number of speakers. Venture capitalists were not interest- of GDP and government procurement, in turn, is a large part of that. Can we take ed in taking risks; the NESTA schemes might help. But there was strong criti- the same kind of idea forward? Can we cism of the numerous small DTI schemes: they were too complex, too small make our specifications output-driven, and of little use to SMEs. The 1970 scheme was better: fewer, bigger, sim- encouraging industry to find novel ways pler schemes were needed if they were to be of any use. It was important that to achieve specified outcomes? The whole delivery system to business- EU funds from Framework 6 went more to industry (as with our competitors) es is central to success. We need to coordi- than to universities. The DTI must take care, if a national technology strategy nate and focus all the regional agencies, were developed, to tread the narrow path between choosing priorities and between departments, the Department for attempting to pick winners. Education and Skills (DfES), DTI and so on so they can help businesses find the

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tant. A new product does not necessarily Specialisation. The problem of the nar- discussion incorporate novel technology. Each time rowing study for A levels was discussed. Sony put a new Walkman on the market, there is not necessarily new technology, Was there a need for a foundation year at university where budding engineers but there is creative design that makes it a and scientists could study with, say, architects to widen their horizon? It was fashion icon. Design delivers innovation, it pointed out that such a year would be equally valuable — indeed possibly connects the technology to the market more so — for arts and humanity students. Alternatively, such a year could place and it adds value. For example, Aqualisa, well known in the shower busi- come between graduation and starting professional work These suggestions ness, created a clever and elegant shower, met with the serious objection that the whole of education, and government specifically designed to be installed quickly policy towards it, was determined by utilitarian objectives: gaining core skills and easily. The product exceeded all sales which would enable the student to make a focused contribution to the econo- targets. We need to persuade people and companies of the benefits of good design. my through employment as a lawyer, accountant, scientist or engineer. DTI is now running courses such as “Living Innovation” which has three themes: inspire your workforce, help them bursting of the dotcom bubble in the late could be small business investment com- to create designs and “connect them to the 1990s, are moving to later stage investments. panies for which the chancellor, Gordon market place”.A very simple concept: We have seen a gap emerging at the £0.5–2 Brown, announced a consultation in the inspire, create, connect. million funding level. Budget earlier this year. The Government Government can assist in all these I shall concentrate on finance affecting could help in a number of ways: R&D tax areas, but we also have to address man- small companies which (particularly if credits are already providing powerful agement skills. Do we have the capability they are start-ups) face market failure in incentives for SMEs by actually providing to lift our game to a new level and to con- raising capital. We need to find incentives cash back for R&D activity. We have some tinue lifting it, because this is not a one- for both individuals and companies to more ideas for enhancing the R&D tax off change? We expect to report more invest more widely and actively in R&D at credits. fully later this year with recommendations this level. An interesting source of funding Lastly, design is tremendously impor- for Government action. ❐ Creativity in teamwork Robert Hawley

ome 45 per cent of the United failed to put engineers alongside film Kingdom’s growth is derived from makers, publishers, fashion designers and Sapplications of technology, and engi- the like. That is outrageous; engineers neers play a pivotal part. As David create real things. To quote Geoffrey Puttnam has said, the Government’s role Crossick, chief executive of the Arts and in creativity is to ensure an effective sci- Humanities Research Board: “the issue ence base and the right environment to now is not so much building bridges enable well-run companies to innovate. between the creative arts and technology Dr Robert Hawley CBE DSc FRSE Today’s engineers are either leaders or as it is recognising that much of the cre- FREng is an advisory director of members of a team and their work is ative arts are rooted in technology which HSBC Bank plc. Beginning as an often not overtly evident. It is often makes possible new concepts of the cre- apprentice for BICC he rose to impossible to tell the difference between ative process.” become managing director, in 1976, engineers and scientists. So where do Designs arise from a creative response of NEI and in 1992 chief executive of innovation and creativity come into such to a need and that requires the ability to the Rolls-Royce Industrial Power a combined team approach? think laterally, to anticipate and to appre- Group. Dr Hawley was chief execu- I begin with some simple definitions: ciate the aesthetics of problem solving as tive of Nuclear Electric until 1995 creative, having the quality of creating; well as material aspects. In today’s high and of British Energy until 1997. He innovative, to change into something technology world, engineers need to be is past president of the IEE and past new; design, the preliminary concept of creative. chairman of the Engineering Council an idea that is to be carried into effect by My own experience in the world of and the Particle Physics and action. The transformation of basic sci- heavy engineering, in the power and the Astronomy Research Council. ence into a wealth-creating product is a construction industries, includes projects process carried out by teams whose mem- such as the building of Sizewell B power bers cover many disciplines. Creativity station in England, the Rihand power sta- drives the whole process. Designers have tion in India and the Greenwich to work within costs and have to keep Millennium Village project adjacent to manufacturing processes in mind. the dome. That is not to say that the design of a These are good examples of everyday bridge is not creative but that creativity engineering that are hidden from the PR needs to be redefined in the team sense. view. Creativity is needed via teamwork James Dyson is quoted as being bothered within the project team itself but also that a recent list of creative professions between that team, its suppliers and its

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discs approximately a metre in diameter. Culture. Creativity was a matter of cul- discussion One day, I was alerted to the fact that ture; a belief that it was worth taking risks these pipes had arrived at the site with rust inside; on examination, I found that and that one could learn from other people in apparently unrelated works of the wooden end covers were missing. life. The Bloomberg offices, which encouraged open communication, network- Backtracking down the road, I found at ing, sharing and “fun” were described as being conducive to creativity. But the rail yard there were a number of would the UK personnel like working in such conditions? If we were serious wooden houses built from round 1-metre wooden discs! about creativity, efforts would have to be made to encourage a culture of Greenwich Millennium Village is an much more open and interactive working. excellent example of creative teamwork, involving engineers and architects in part- nership with suppliers. To implement the contractors. This creativity constantly labour-intensive methods and the futuristic design of this village, advanced needs to be applied by engineers in devel- employment of 9,000 labourers; mainly solutions in the use of materials, energy- oping and managing a major project. female migrants from district regions, saving methods and construction meth- As a group, engineers are taciturn, who lived in the most primitive condi- ods were developed by the project team. hardheaded and uncompromising about tions on site. Throughout the entire con- Central to the sustainable plan was the standards. They are at ease only with tan- struction period, only one tower crane bringing together of economic, social and gibles. Contentment comes with that was used (compared to12 at Sizewell). environmental innovation. These innova- which can be measured, quantified, objec- Creativity was much needed as a prob- tions are typified by an increasing empha- tively evaluated and monitored. Even so, lem-solving tool. sis on energy and water saving, prefabri- creativity and innovation are needed at all The project also involved coordinating cated construction to reduce waste and stages of a major project. the work of 38 main sub-contractors who, the use of information technology, both Sizewell B nuclear power station is an in turn, dealt with over 2,600 individual during construction and occupation. outstanding example of the professional, suppliers. The overall project necessitated Combined heat and power, improved creative project management that requires the supply of over 1 million engineering building insulation and better heating total obedience to design and safety drawings, 4,000 design submissions, 3,500 methods achieved a 65 per cent reduction codes. First conceived in 1980, it necessi- manufacturing field quality plans and in primary energy consumption. A 20 per tated one of Britain’s longest public over 75 tons of correspondence. More cent reduction in water consumption was inquiries which lasted 340 days before than 2 million shipping movements were achieved by using better devices in the consent was given. Construction started monitored; over 1 million tons of con- homes and also grey-water recycling, that in 1988 and the station began supplying crete were poured on site. is, taking bathwater and recycling it for electricity to the national grid in 1995. Three examples of creativity, two by use in toilets and so on. One of the biggest civil projects in engineers on the site and one by the local Science is the search for understand- Britain, it was completed on time and on Indians. One day, work stopped because of ing, engineering the search for compro- budget. It involved a multidisciplinary a shortage of steel scaffolding; in response, mise, the arts and humanities the search team of thousands of men and women, the site manager took a truck, cut down for expression. The common thread working for Nuclear Electric, 32 main lengths of bamboo locally and work con- between engineering and creative arts is contractors on site, 21 sub-contractors tinued. When the first shipment of distri- thinking and making. Engineering courses and over 3,000 suppliers of equipment bution transformers arrived on site, it was are too overloaded to allow scientists and and materials. found that they had been drained of insu- engineers time to study arts and humani- The building of the Rihand power sta- lating oil during the train journey — the tarian subjects. Whilst being creative, tion in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, Indians used it as cooking oil. For the next engineers must obey design rules and 750 kilometres southeast of New Delhi, shipment, the problem was overcome in a have the experience to interpret them. We threw up completely different challenges. creative way by putting labels on the trans- need to change our education system to At the start of the project, there were no formers that read “contents radioactive”. ensure that young engineers rapidly gain infrastructures, services or facilities of any Large diameter pipework was shipped the experience they need so they can kind. Problems relating to the remoteness to India with the inside protected from apply themselves to the creative aspects of of the site were compounded by the cli- corrosion by sealing the ends with wooden engineering design. ❐ mate. The weather pattern is of two extremes: for most of the year it is very hot and dry but, between July and September, the torrential rains and result- Foundation year. Was there a need for a discussion ing floods frequently cut off road and rail foundation year at university where bud- links and turned the construction site into a sea of mud. The surface temperature of ding engineers and scientists could study with, say, architects to widen their the lake supplying the cooling water to horizons? It was pointed out that such a year would be equally valuable for arts the station varies from 16ºC to 40ºC. and humanity students. Another suggestion was that such a year should come There was no telephone connection for between graduation and starting professional work. But all such suggestions the first five years of construction. Any messages had to be carried by car to the met with the serious objection that the whole of education, and government pol- local office for onward transmission and icy towards it, was determined by utilitarian objectives — gaining core skills the journey could take between 5 and 12 which would enable the student to make a focused contribution to the economy hours. through employment as a lawyer, accountant, scientist or engineer. The shortage of modern construction equipment meant the use of traditional

18 FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) science curriculum

Can the science curriculum in secondary schools prepare young people both to be citizens in a technical world and technical specialists? In a discussion on 20 May 2003 at the Royal Society, organised jointly by the Foundation and the Association for Science Education (ASE), most attention was given to a curriculum being designed for 14-16 year-olds at the University of York. Bridging the vocational divide Ken Boston

Life, the Universe and Everything is the which is better than in English (75 per title of a book by the late Douglas Adams, cent) and in mathematics (73 per cent). who was described as thinking like a sci- International comparisons show that stu- entist, but being much funnier. The title dents in England at age 15 are near the epitomises what those of us in the cur- top of the league in scientific literacy. riculum and qualifications business feel On qualifications, 90 per cent of 16+ when faced with the several conflicting students take two or more GCSE (General Dr Ken Boston AO is chief executive challenges of science and technology. But Certificate of Secondary Education) of the Qualifications and the title is also a reminder that we need to examinations in science and most attain Curriculum Authority (QCA). He convey to young people that science and good grades. We are also broadening the was previously managing director of technology can be fun. range of subjects students can study and Technical and Further Education, My subject, however, is serious. Our win a qualification. Last September, for goal at the Qualifications and Curriculum example, teaching began of a new GCSE and director-general of Education Authority (QCA) is to ensure that society in applied science. There have also been and Training, in New South Wales, gets the curriculum and qualifications it encouraging reports from schools’ inspec- Australia. His previous positions needs. The sheer success of science and tors of the impact of innovative teaching. include director-general of educa- technology has sharpened the challenges The experience of vocational A levels, tion in South Australia. In 2001 we face, which are: introduced in 2000, has been positive; we Dr Boston was made an Officer in • How can scientists and technologists, will be making changes to their structure the Order of Australia. He is a Fellow aided or hindered by journalists, com- so that standards can be more easily relat- of the Royal Geographical Society. municate effectively to non-technical ed to other A-level qualifications. people, as well as to journalists and In both these developments, there is broadcasters, information about complex evidence that teachers recognise the value issues on which democratic societies of applied approaches to the subject for require decisions? the more as well as the less able students. • Are there pathways within the curricu- The QCA, similarly, is encouraging the lum that cater for potential specialists updating of science AS and A2 qualifica- in their fields of study, for those enter- tions. Some recent arrivals include an up- ing occupations drawing on the same to-date physics course from the Institute body of scientific knowledge and for of Physics and Salters-Nuffield advanced the rest of us, who need basic scientific biology from the Nuffield Foundation, literacy to be able to understand the while we are expecting proposals from the ethical and political issues thrown up Institute of Materials that we shall consid- by scientific advances? er for accreditation. • How can we ensure that there are suffi- So I return to the central problem. cient scientists and technologists to meet Despite the achievements of recent years, growing demands for their services? the problem remains of enthusing and inspiring sufficient numbers of young On the last point, we have a long way to people to continue studying science and go. Sir Gareth Roberts’ report last year, technology. It is a major challenge not SET for success,made that clear. But we only for the QCA but for all who teach, have also come a long way, with the write, publish and broadcast support national curriculum and with the qualifi- materials. There is no easy solution. What cations framework, which help to meet I have to say is more speculative than some of these challenges. The national definitive. curriculum gives an entitlement to all Young people themselves are put off learners in schools. It enables them to fol- science for several reasons, weighted low a balanced science course up to age according to ability, age, gender and so 16, which has removed the pre-existing on. Some students may find that what is gender bias when girls chose to study taught is not relevant to them, but rele- biology and boys the physical sciences. vance is a highly subjective notion. Not In the national tests in science for 11- everything that is exciting in science is year-olds, 87 per cent reached the level immediately applicable, but just tacking expected in both the past two years, onto the curriculum things that might be

FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) 19 science curriculum

useful or relevant does not guarantee that strategy to improve teachers’ subject and knowing how scientific data are inter- a young person’s interest will thereby be pedagogical knowledge in science: the preted and studying the impact of sci- captured. programme was launched last year. It ence on the world in which we live. Thus The difficulty stems in part from the requires science departments to carry out the curriculum includes the requirement nature of science. The truth is that the an audit of their strengths and training that, “all students should be taught, for results of scientific research and technolog- needs, for schools to decide their priori- example, that radiations, including ionis- ical innovation are hard won; nature does ties for training. Training is then offered ing radiations, can transfer energy”. Such not yield its secrets easily. A further com- across all Local Education Authorities by statements are, of course, amplified to plication, as Lewis Wolpert has reminded consultants. Evaluation of the first year show the standard of learning expected us, is that much of science is far from suggests that teachers have been invigor- in the core. being common sense. Indubitably, becom- ated and science laboratories have become Students can complement the com- ing a scientist or a technologist requires a more interesting places in which to learn. mon core with extra science. Such flexibil- long and demanding apprenticeship in the On the curriculum, three years ago ity should provide alternative progression broadest sense. Teachers must, therefore, the QCA launched the project 21st routes beyond 16. Our proposals are out bring the excitement and fun of science to Century Science by commissioning for consultation; the course can be found the fore in their teaching. research from curriculum developers and on our website1. Another difficulty is dealt with in the assessment agencies on how the science One of our objectives has been to end Roberts Report, which argued the need curriculum can involve all students. The the division between academic and voca- for more subject-specific support for sci- objective has been to devise a common tional qualifications.We have produced a ence teachers, many of whom are required core of science for all while offering ways common framework for all qualifications to teach outside their subject-specialism. of engaging the interests and future so that standards can be compared. I con- There is, for example, an acute shortage of needs of different groups of students. clude with the observation that the expec- physicists in schools. At Key Stage 4 (14- The main outcome of that work is a suite tations of science place considerable bur- 16), two-thirds of those teaching physics of three GCSE science qualifications that dens on science education. The system do not have a degree in a related subject will be piloted in 80 centres from this must educate potential scientists to a high and nearly half of them do not have a September. Work on this was commis- standard, provide a range of technical edu- physics A level. At Key Stage 3 (11-14), sioned by the QCA from the University cation and give everyone basic scientific the situation is worse, contributing to of York; Professor Holman will have literacy. The QCA is but one of many part- limited progress reported by Ofsted. more to say about it. ners in this endeavour. We recognise that What are we doing about it? We are The proposed common requirement an enormous amount remains to be done, working with the Government and with for all students aged 14-16 is expressed but we relish the prospect of working with others on several fronts. in broad terms. Central to it is the our partners to add to the stock of Britain’s Thus, with the Department for understanding of what it means to be human capital. ❐ Education and Skills (DfES), we have a scientific, which includes practical skills, 1. www.qca.org.uk A science curriculum for everyone John Holman

begin with a warning and a reflection. The went before which, for science, was designed warning is that we have had a national for future subject-specialists. So the interests Icurriculum in this country only since of those who would study science for A level 1988. Britain is not alone in having a nation- and at university have been the dominant al curriculum but we have a particularly vig- influence on the curriculum. orous form of it: not only does it define the Who should decide what goes into the curriculum, but the accompanying assess- science curriculum? It should not just be ment arrangements. When you combine scientists, science education specialists or Professor John Holman is professor that with league tables of school perform- teachers alone. Not even the general pub- of Chemical Education at the ance and school inspections that hang on lic nor even the students themselves University of York. After studying assessment results, it becomes a very power- should be the deciders; none of these natural sciences he became a teacher ful — one might even say a virulent — form groups on its own should call the shots. of chemistry before working as a of national curriculum. There are, of course, That should fall to all of them in concert, writer and science education advantages: things can be made to happen. for are we not all now consumers of sci- specialist. In 1994 he became Head of But the circumstances prompt questions ence education? Watford Grammar School for Boys, about the use of these levers of power, and In my project, we have consulted widely where he continued to teach chem- by whom. among all the constituencies listed and istry. In September 2000 he moved to My reflection is that the universal science many others. They will be represented on st York,where he is also director of the education that we have is very new. It is not the advisory committee for 21 Century Science Curriculum Centre. like mathematics or English, which have Science, which Sir John Krebs will chair, been taught as part of compulsory schooling together with science communicators, pro- for many years. So naturally we are still ask- fessional science writers, specialists in the ing “What should be in the curriculum?” public awareness of science, representatives and, “Who should decide?” The result is that of NGOs and of the National Federation the curriculum has been based on what of Women’s Institutes. (The last has a

20 FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) science curriculum tremendous interest in science education for the general public and is an excellent Practicalities. The broad approach of the discussion source of informative views.) York curriculum was generally welcomed, The reason we must consult so widely is that science education has to perform differ- but there were many concerns about its implementation. Could the factual con- ent functions for different kinds of young- tent of the courses be so reduced that there would be time for the discussion sters. The problem is acute at Key Stage 4, and problem solving rightly advocated? Could testing capture these aspects of when 14-16-year -olds preparing for GCSE students’ learning? Schools were skilled at helping their students get good begin to decide on careers. A differentiated science curriculum is then essential. marks in tests, but could testing be adapted to the new kinds of learning that Until I left three years ago, I taught sci- will be required? ence at the Watford Grammar School for More broadly, might there be a danger that teachers would study the tests and Boys which, despite its name, is an all-abili- ignore the new curriculum’s aim of cultivating a wider interest in science and tech- ty school. The students were, indeed, all different, especially in their career aspira- nology? Could a general parity of esteem between those following academic and tions. But they, like 80 per cent of young- applied courses ever be achieved? How would ethical considerations, central to sters in this country, were all following the many adolescents’ interests, be brought into the teaching? Where was creativity? double GCSE-award combined science These doubts and fears were vigorously challenged by others in the audience. course, spread across physics, chemistry and biology. They were all looking for dif- Assessment was indeed crucial to the new agenda, but there was no reason to fear ferent things from their science, but they that tests could not be devised to assess students’ thinking about wider issues were all studying the same course. other than knowledge of the facts. GM foods, for example, could not be discussed st That is one of the things that 21 without raising questions of civil disobedience and the needs of the developing Century Science seeks to remedy. The sci- countries. In vivo biology inevitably brought up the issue of animal experiments. ence curriculum now has a dual mandate: to provide basic scientific literacy for The problem for the teacher was to direct discussion objectively, for the everyone and to give youngsters a prelimi- examiner to assess the way students related facts to values without regurgitat- nary training in science, whether specialist ing strongly-held (and possibly mistaken) opinions. or vocational. And we must remember that In reply to a question about the place of psychology in the new curriculum, a the first group is a minority. 21st Century Science has its origins in a platform speaker said it would feature in modules on the brain and mind, but widely acclaimed report called Beyond also in curriculum material on the scientific method — how to use data and not 2000, commissioned by the Nuffield deceive oneself. In the same vein, the emphasis on problem-solving would be the 1 Foundation ,which proved to be an influ- fulcrum of creativity. ential definition of what the science cur- riculum could and should be doing. In October 2000, the QCA asked us at the University of York to suggest possible measurements were carried out, whether topic includes more chemistry and physics models for Key Stage 4. The outcome is the samples examined were sufficiently rep- than biology, while core science is weighted the course that is being piloted in 82 resentative, whether the absence of pesti- towards biology. That reflects the kinds of schools from September 2003. cide residues in food is the acid test of topics people encounter as citizens. The dual mandate explains how 21st organic farming’s benefits and so on. I If youngsters want to prepare for some- Century Science is constructed. The ele- would like my students to be reading news- thing more work related, they can choose ment common for all students, core science papers critically, picking out the kind of three modules from the applied group which (the equivalent of a single GCSE certifi- comments that I have been making. include lifecare, which is about first aid and cate), is a course in scientific literacy that By science explanations, we mean the big elementary medical procedures, plant prod- everyone will take. But we expect most ideas of science. We have singled out 16 of ucts, scientific detections, the chemical youngsters to take an additional science, them: the idea of a chemical reaction, the industry, communications and materials and perhaps because they want to go on to do A gene model of inheritance and so on. Equally performance. levels or because they want to prepare for a important in core science is the way scientists All this work is underway. We are specific vocation. We are providing the work:how they use data (and whether and preparing books and computer materials, options that the youngsters from my school when they can rely on them), correlation and QCA is working closely with the awarding needed but did not have. cause, the role of theories, the way the scien- body, Oxford Cambridge and RSA The flavour of the core science course tific community works, the way society Examinations, so that schools can be confi- needs further description. One of its aims is makes decisions using science. Those are the dent their work will lead to a properly to lay the foundations of scientific knowl- foundations of our core science. accredited qualification. This work is funded edge and an awareness of the way science For the trials in 2003, there are nine by the Nuffield Foundation, the Salters works, so that people become critical citi- modules in core science that the youngsters Institute and the Wellcome Trust. zens. Here is an illustration. When you walk will study. Through them, they will learn Finally, I am very glad that QCA has into a supermarket these days, you see a lot about the 16 science explanations and the decided that this must be carefully piloted of information about organic foods, and ideas about science. They span some of the and evaluated before we impose it on the then you see a newspaper headline pro- major areas of science and technology that world at large. And when Science for the 21st claiming that organic food is a waste of impact on people’s lives. Century is available, I want to be quite sure money because measurements do not show Young people interested in continuing that schools can take it or leave it. detectable differences between pesticide with science would follow the Additional Curriculum development is, after all, a con- residues in organic and non-organic food. Science General topic, again made up of tinuing process. ❐ The contrast spells confusion, but also rais- nine modules, which are spread across 1. Osborne, J. & Millar, R. (eds) Beyond 2000 — science and education es fascinating questions about how the chemistry, physics and biology. Indeed, this for the future Kings College, London (1998).

FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) 21 science curriculum The view from the classroom Sue Flanagan

o fulfil my brief to provide a perspec- and develop a good understanding of the tive from the classroom, I have con- issues. Science education has also, for a Tsulted my students and colleagues at long time, been looking at ethical and school, in the Association of Science moral issues, which crop up across the Education (ASE) and elsewhere. We all science curriculum. In that spirit, it is agree that science education in a changing good to see the value of education for world needs a curriculum that connects. public understanding of science being Science is important because our society recognised at Key Stage 4. Sue Flanagan, deputy head-teacher, requires sophisticated choices. School sci- What we really need are manageable Forest Gate Community School, ence is crucial for success. schemes appropriate for our students. It is Newham and chair of the Association Can there be one answer? We have a a shame that many engaging practically- of Science Education (ASE), has wide variety of students with individual based courses have been displaced by the taught science in East London com- interests, needs, backgrounds and aspira- national curriculum. Not every child is prehensive schools since 1982. She tions. We seek to provide a relevant cur- aiming for an A* grade, but virtually every has been a teacher, Head of Science, a riculum for all, which calls for flexibility. child can have his or her interest devel- Science Advisory Teacher and Key The curriculum should help to shape atti- oped when given interesting material, Stage 3 manager in various schools tudes and values and we want these to be time for discussion and developing ideas, and LEAs. At Forest Gate she teaches positive and useful. practical work and well-chosen investiga- GCSE science and astronomy. I reiterate Professor Holman’s point tions. In trying to include everything that we have a lot to celebrate. We have within the curriculum, we have some- science for all to 16; we are now looking at times forgotten the students for whom children engaged in science in primary differentiation or simplification of the schools and even in reception classes. I do existing GCSE is insufficient. But it is not believe there is another country in the pleasing to see the range of models pro- world where that is done. But we must be posed for Key Stage 4. careful that we do not lose what we have We ought to prepare students better for won. Before the national curriculum, GCSE as well as for the AS/A2 that follow there were commonly restraints requiring it. In 2002 the Science Museum surveyed young people to drop important subjects 16-19-year-old visitors, seeking views on that they later would have found useful. science education. Seventy per cent of One of the comments I most often get them believed practical and experimental from people is that science needs to be work helped them to understand science more fun, more exciting. Part of the trou- topics, 47 per cent felt that there should be ble is that we do not have the time to fit more emphasis on understanding why everything in. Instead of charging through things work rather than how. More than the curriculum towards the test, most of half felt that GCSE science tested memory us would like to cut back on content to more than understanding. These com- allow time to present science in a more ments from young people who had been engaging way, spending more time on the through Key Stage 4 are surely important exciting bits, developing themes and when considering a future curriculum. encouraging a better understanding of the Not everyone who studies science at issues, with more discussion and dialogue. school wishes to study science at universi- We do not always have the scope, time or ty, so that it is good that the AS/A2 sci- money to do what we want to do. ences are recognised as valuable even to The content of what is written in the young people not intent on a scientific curriculum may be plain, but there are lots career. We have heard how AS/A2 has of things that can be taught through sci- been broadened by means of different syl- ence, which is a gateway to engagement labuses. My plea is that non-specialists and further learning. We can reinforce pos- should be as engaged, enthused and chal- itive attitudes to science and technology lenged by them as are the specialists.

Infrastructure. There was much concern discussion that the new curriculum would strain the infrastructure of schools. There was already a shortage of technical assistants (who had a special skill), while the state of many school laboratories was deplorable. Already, schools were skimping on practical teaching. Where were the funds to rectify this situation?

22 FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) science curriculum

If young people are to see the point of science, there must also be some kind of Inspiration. Several speakers recalled that discussion connection between school science and they had been drawn to scientific work by the real world. When young people meet real scientists, they are often taken aback inspired high-quality teaching. How to get such highly qualified and inspired by their normalcy — in contrast with teachers into classrooms? What science graduate, faced with student debt and images often seen on TV and in the press. the prospect of less demanding work and higher salaries in industry and com- Work experience has a part to play merce, would want to teach? What school leaver interested in science would fol- here. We need to provide opportunities for young people to work in a scientific low in higher education a course leading to employment in a poorly rewarded setting outside school. Geography can be occupation? a hindrance, so can be considerations of There was only one answer: teaching must be made rewarding not only finan- safety for 15-year-olds, while the standard cially, but intellectually and emotionally. Too narrow a curriculum hindered good 2-week work-experience period may be too short. teaching. Many speakers held that the new curriculum would improve the situation. Children love to engage with prob- lems, but such activity is often limited to science clubs. That is another argument behind the issues. Yet it can be hard to fly we really be deciding on courses before for making the curriculum less demand- with such topics in a way that truly devel- the pilot has started? ing of time. Many of us feel that the ops the science beneath for lack of time. Is there any other profession the size of bureaucracy of assessment limits the time The influence of assessment on teach- the teaching profession that has so suc- available to carry out valuable and inter- ing styles cannot be denied. Nevertheless, cessfully implemented change over the esting work. Creativity needs to be back teachers are willing to engage in curricu- last few years? But nobody in school on the agenda. lum development, especially when it sup- resists the principle of accountability. We Again, in that survey at the Science ports the learning and the future life are accountable by what parents want for Museum I referred to, a majority of the chances of their students. But we shall not their children, by what our children want young people believed that controversial move forward if the assessment regime and expect and by our examination pass- subjects such as genetic engineering and does not develop with it. es, which sometimes force us into teach- cloning should be in the science syllabus I agree with John Holman that the ing against the grain. The role of a teacher and thought they should be introduced science curriculum should not be decid- is complex and multiple. It is not just before age 16. They are already there, but ed by any one group. But sometimes about a subject; we are educating young frequently there is not enough time to people feel that the curriculum is people for the world of tomorrow, all of discuss and develop these issues while imposed rather than consulted upon, them with different aspirations. We must covering the GCSE syllabus. My students which is why the present consultation on do our best to give each individual the find such issues relevant. They also pro- Key Stage 4 is extremely welcome, as is skills, knowledge and understanding to mote interesting discussion and can lead the reduction of content. It is good to see engage fully with a future rich in science to a better understanding of the science a variety of models proposed, but should and technology ❐

Your own copy – FST Journal subscriptions FSTJournal is available at £55 for five issues, inclusive of post and packing. Download a subscription form from www.foundation.org.uk, write to the address below or contact [email protected] Each issue summarises recent FST discussions on topics on – or soon to be on – the public agenda. Diary and Update columns cover news events and future policy decisions with a science and technology angle.

Highlights from recent issues Volume 17, number 9 The Roberts' Review: Recommendations of Sir Gareths Roberts' Review on the supply of science and engineering skills in the UK was discussed. Volume 17, number 10 Chemical and biological threats: The risks of biological and chemical terrorism and what can be done to mitigate these risks. Volume 18, number 1 Current interest in the Arctic is heightened by the region's role in climate change and its potential as a source of hydrocarbon fuels. A discussion meeting gave viewpoints on how UK interests should be managed.

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FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) 23 science, clinical research and the NHS

On 6 November 2003, during a Foundation visit to Addenbrooke’s NHS Trust Hospital, Cambridge, participants were able to meet leading researchers and the interface between science and the treat- ment of patients. Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield reports on the visit. A visit to Addenbrooke’s Hospital

t a Foundation discussion meeting could provide. Patients needed the spe- ring-fenced resources devoted to clinical on 30 April 2003 on medical cialist centres where researchers could research. Aresearch (FST Journal Vol. 18, no.1), provide expert and innovative treatment. Speakers tended to concentrate on why participants had laid stress on the need for For both these groups, the NHS was past efforts to ring-fence funds had failed clinical research to be conducted through essential. Addenbrooke’s, closely associat- and how better tactics might be devised. It the National Health Service (NHS). The ed with the scientists at Cambridge was a pity that there was not an authorita- Foundation arranged a visit to University, the teaching and research tive statement of how the NHS viewed clin- Addenbrooke’s NHS Trust Hospital where strength of the Cambridge School of ical research among its priorities, whether those leading clinical research at the hospi- Clinical Medicine and other bodies, was managers in the system welcomed the idea tal were able to demonstrate the impor- an exemplar of how science, research and of yet more ring-fenced funds and how tance of their work and how it melded patient care can work together. All that building networks and developing specialist with the priorities of the NHS. was needed were more — and ring-fenced centres, with transfers from other hospitals, A formidable array of scientists and clin- — funds; surely there was enough in the meshed with developing financial and other ical researchers (Professors Sir Keith Peters, huge NHS budget to provide them? The strategies (including foundation hospitals). Chatterjee, Compston, Ponder and Pickard) benefits must be obvious, not least the Advocates for more funds for clinical gave vivid examples of the clinical research savings that would result from cheaper research would have a stronger case if they being carried out at Addenbrooke’s, treatments, or more useful diagnoses. acknowledged that cash must come from described the immense value of the dedi- It was difficult for participants in the somewhere within existing budgets and not cated Wellcome Clinical Research Facility discussions to give the speakers the chal- assume that the sum was so small that it and extolled the unique “laboratory” that lenge they might have hoped for. Too many could easily be found. To assert that suffi- the NHS provided. of them were wholly in agreement with the cient cash savings would come from differ- Researchers needed the statistics, which essential need to develop clinical research, ent treatments or better diagnosis was only networks of clinicians, asking the build on the collaboration of scientific, unconvincing as these could equally lead to right questions and observing treatment, charitable and hospital resources and see lengthier treatment or increased demand. ❐ events

Recent lectures and dinner/discussions organised by the Foundation are listed below. Sponsors, to whom we are very grateful for their support, are shown in italics below each event. Summaries of these and other events are available on the web at www.foundation.org.uk

2 December 2003 18 November 2003 Professor Mike Gregory, Director, Institute for The Lambert Review and the DTI Nanotechnology: threats and Manafacturing, University of Cambridge Innovation Review opportunities Aerial Facilities Limited, SEMTA and the Textile Mr Richard Lambert, Chairman, Lambert Review for The Lord Sainsbury of Turville, Minister for Science Institute HM Treasury and Innovation, DTI Mr David Hughes, Director General, Innovation, DTI Professor Sam Stupp, Professor of Materials Science, 6 November 2003 Sir Colin Lucas, Vice-Chancellor, University of Oxford Chemistry and Medicine, Northwestern University, USA The Lord May of Oxford OM AC FRS FMedSci, Professor Stephen Holgate FMedSci, MRC Clinical Visit to Addenbrooke’s Hospital Dr Mary Archer, Chairman, Addenbrooke’s NHS Trust President, The Royal Society Professor of Immunopharmacology, School of Hospital Medicine, University of Southampton BTExact, Fugro GEOS, Momenta, Qinetiq and Particle Sir Keith Peters FRS PMedSci to Regius Professor Ann Dowling CBE FRS FREng, Chair, Royal Physics and Astronomy Research Council Professor of Physic, President, The Academy of Society and Royal Academy of Engineering Study of Medical Sciences Nanontechnology, University of Cambridge Professor Krishna Catterjee FMedSci, Professor of Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research 25 November 2003 Endocrinology and Director of Wellcome Trust Councils and QineitQ Clinical Research Facility Energy policy: the renewables targets Professor Alastair Compston, Professor of Neurology Dr Bernie Bulkin, Chief Scientist, BP Professor Bruce Ponder, Professor of Oncology Dr Malcolm Kennedy, Chair, Energy Working Group, 11 November 2003 Professor John Pickard FMedSci, Professor of Energy Innovation and Business Unit, The Royal Does manufacturing have a future in the Neurosurgery and Chairman and Clinical Director of Academy of Engineering UK? Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre Ms Claire Durkin, Director, Energy Policy Innovation The Lord Haskel, House of Lords Dr Robert Winter, Medical Director, Addenbrooke’s and Business Unit, DTI Mr Simon Edmonds, Director, Material and NHS Trust BRIT, National Environment Research Council, Engineering Sector Unit, DTI Dr Richard Henderson FRS FMedSci, Director MRC and The Royal Academy of Engineering Mr Tim Woodbridge, Chief Executive, Webdynamics Laboratory of Molecular Biology

24 FST JOURNAL >> DECEMBER 2003 >> VOL. 18 (2) Companies, departments, research institutes and charitable organisations providing general support to the Foundation.

3i plc Harley Street Holdings Ltd Rolls-Royce plc Aberdeen University Heads of University Biological Sciences Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Advantage West Midlands Health & Safety Executive Royal Holloway, University of London Aerial Group Limited Higher Education Funding Council for England Rutherford Appleton Laboratory ALSTOM Power Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin Science Media Centre Amersham plc House of Commons Library Science Year ARM House of Lords Select Committee on Scottish Higher Education Funding Council Arts and Humanities Research Board Science and Technology SEMTA Association for Science Education HSBC Severn Trent plc Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry IBM (UK) Ltd Sharp Laboratories of Europe BAE SYSTEMS ICI plc Software Production Enterprises Baker Tilly Imperial College of Science, Technology and South Bank University Bank of England Medicine Taylor Woodrow BBC Institute of Food Research Thames Water BBSRC International Power The British Academy Blake Resource Development Japan Society for the Promotion of Science The Generics Group BP International Power plc The Hydrographic Society BRIT Insurance Holdings plc Johnson Matthey plc The Institution of Electrical Engineers British Antarctic Survey Keele University The Institute of Physics British Computer Society King’s College London The Leverhulme Trust British Council - Science Section KMC Search and Selection The Meteorological Office British Geological Survey Kobe Steel Europe Ltd The Open University British Library Lloyd’s Register The Royal Academy of Engineering British Maritime Technology Lloyd’s TSB Bank plc The Royal Commission on Environmental British Safety Council London Development Agency Pollution British Trade International London Guildhall University The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of Brownell Limited London School of Hygiene and Tropical 1851 Brunel University Medicine The Royal Society of Edinburgh BTG plc Loughborough University The Smallpeice Trust Calderwood Han Limited Manchester Metropolitan University The Wellcome Trust Cambridge MIT Institute Medical Research Council UK Council for Graduate Education Cancer Research UK Microsoft Research Limited UK eUniversities Worldwide CCLRC Middlesex University UK Marine Information Council Centre for Policy on Ageing Ministry of Defence UK Nirex Limited Chantrey Vellacott Monsanto plc UKERNA CIRIA National Grid Transco UMIST City & Guilds Natural Environment Research Council Union Railways North Limited CODASciSys plc Natural History Museum University College London Comino Foundation NESTA University of Birmingham Conoco (UK) Limited New Product Research & Development University of Bristol Council for Industry & Higher Education NIMTECH University of Cambridge Council of Heads of Medical Schools Nottingham Trent University University of Dundee Cranfield University Novartis UK Limited University of Durham David Leon Partnership Office of Science and Technology, DTI University of East Anglia Department for Education and Skills Office of the Deputy Prime Minister University of Edinburgh Department for Environment, Food and Ordnance Survey University of Glasgow Rural Affairs Oxford Innovations Limited University of Hertfordshire Department of Health Oxford Natural Products plc University of Hull Department of Transport Parliamentary Office for Science and University of Kent Department of Trade and Industry Technology University of Leeds DSTL Particle Physics and Astronomy Research University of Leicester East Midlands Development Agency Council University of Manchester Economic & Social Research Council Peter Brett Associates University of Newcastle upon Tyne Engineering Employees Federation Pfizer University of Reading Engineering and Technology Board PowerGen University of Surrey Engineering Training Council PricewaterhouseCoopers University of Sussex Environment Agency Public Record Office University of Teesside ERA Technology QinetiQ University of Ulster Esso UK plc Queen Mary, University of London University of Warwick Ford Motor Company Limited R & D Efficiency University of Westminster Foreign & Commonwealth Office Railway Safety University of Wolverhampton Fugro GEOS Research Into Ageing Welsh Funding Councils GlaxoSmithKline Roehampton University of Surrey Winsafe Limited The Foundation for Science and Technology 10 Carlton House Terrace London SW1Y 5AH Telephone: 020 7321 2220 Fax: 020 7321 2221 e-mail: [email protected] www.foundation.org.uk

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