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

Volume 18, Number 8, June 2005

Energy security of supply Lord Sutherland: Renewables – more than motherhood and apple pie Peter Mather: Looking at the options Kieron McFadyen: Creating the conditions for stability Science communication Colin Blakemore: Cultivating a thousand flowers Kathy Sykes: Engaging in dialogue – and being human Fiona Fox: Scientists should make headlines Strategic subjects in higher education Sir Howard Newby: Strategic subjects are becoming endangered Pam Alexander: The regional voice in education Tom Swan: Meeting industry’s needs Science and the City Paul Myners: Improving communications between the City and science Peter Goodfellow: Making up our minds about the pharmaceutical industry Stephen Timms: Raising R&D intensity in the UK Nuclear power Sir John Maddox: A new nuclear generation?

THE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND fst TECHNOLOGY THE FOUNDATION The Foundation for Science and Technology FOR SCIENCE AND 10 Carlton House Terrace TECHNOLOGY London fst SW1Y 5AH Telephone 020 7321 2220 THE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Registered Charity No: 274727. A Company Limited by Guarantee No: 1327814 Fax 020 7321 2221

VICE PRESIDENTS e-mail The Earl of Shannon [email protected] The Lord Flowers FRS The Earl of Selborne KBE FRS Editor Sir Brian Jenkins GBE Sir John Maddox FRS Viscount Runciman of Doxford CBE PBA Sub-editors COUNCIL Simon Napper, Trish Dent, CHAIRMAN Wendy Barnaby 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 Kt PRS FMedSci The President, The Royal Academy of Engineering The Lord Broers FRS FREng The President, The Academy of Medical Sciences Professor Sir Keith Peters FRS PMedSci www.foundation.org.uk The President, The Science Council Sir Gareth Roberts FRS FREng 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 CBE FRSE Chairman, The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Professor Dame 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

Sir Michael Atiyah OM FRS FRSE Professor Polina Bayvel FREng The Lord Browne of Madingley FREng Sir Geoffrey Chipperfield KCB The Lord Haskel Dr Geraldine Kenney-Wallace FRSC Sir John Krebs FRS Sir Hugh Laddie The Lord Oxburgh KBE FRS Sir Martin Rees FRS 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

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

DIRECTOR Dr Dougal Goodman

Neither the Foundation nor the Editor is responsible for the opinions of contributors to FST journal. © 2005 The Foundation for Science and Technology. ISSN 1475-1704 fst journal Volume 18, Number 8, June 2005 c o n t e n t s

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) Climate change, renewables, road pricing, Volume 18, Number 8, June 2005

Energy security of supply emissions trading, research funding, strategic subjects ...... 2 Lord Sutherland: Renewables – more than motherhood and apple pie Peter Mather: Looking at the options Kieron McFadyen: Creating the conditions for stability Science communication ENERGY SECURITY OF SUPPLY Colin Blakemore: Cultivating a thousand flowers Kathy Sykes: Engaging in dialogue – and being human Fiona Fox: Scientists should make headlines Renewables – more than motherhood and apple pie Strategic subjects in higher education Sir Howard Newby: Strategic subjects are becoming endangered Pam Alexander: The regional voice in education The Lord Sutherland of Houndwood 3 Tom Swan: Meeting industry’s needs ...... Science and the City Paul Myners: Improving communications between the City and science Peter Goodfellow: Making up our minds about the Looking at the options pharmaceutical industry Stephen Timms: Raising R&D intensity in the UK Nuclear power Peter Mather ...... 4 Sir John Maddox: A new nuclear generation?

THE FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND Creating the conditions for stability fst TECHNOLOGY Kieron McFadyen ...... 6 SCIENCE COMMUNICATION Cultivating a thousand flowers Colin Blakemore ...... 8 Engaging in dialogue – and being human Kathy Sykes ...... 10 Scientists should make headlines Fiona Fox ...... 11 STRATEGIC SUBJECTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION Strategic subjects are becoming endangered Sir Howard Newby ...... 13 The regional voice in education Pam Alexander ...... 15 Meeting industry’s needs Tom Swan ...... 16 SCIENCE AND THE CITY Improving communication between the City and science Paul Myners ...... 18 Making up our minds about the pharmaceutical industry Peter Goodfellow ...... 20 Raising R&D intensity in the UK Stephen Timms ...... 21 NUCLEAR POWER A new nuclear generation? Sir John Maddox ...... 23 EVENTS ...... 24

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) update

Climate Change Programme review nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production The Royal Society, in its response to the Government’s Climate technologies; energy; environment (including climate change); Change Programme review, has warned that the Government “is transport (including aeronautics); socio-economic sciences and still over-estimating how much the UK can cut its carbon dioxide the humanities; and security and space. emissions without changes in current policy”. Sir David Wallace, The Commission says that “investing in knowledge is cer- Vice-President of the Royal Society, said on 16 May that “at the tainly the best, and maybe the only, way for the EU to foster eco- current rate, even the Government’s revised assessment of how nomic growth and create more and better jobs, while at the same much carbon dioxide the UK will cut is frankly unrealistic”. time ensuring social progress and environmental sustainability”. The Royal Society has recommended that the Government The proposals will have to be negotiated with the Council of should, in its revised climate change programme, introduce a car- Ministers and the European Parliament before they can be bon tax which would put a cost on all emissions of carbon diox- finalised. ❏ ide from all sectors including industrial, domestic and transport. http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2005/ This would encourage the development of cleaner technologies com2005_0119en01.pdf and a move away from carbon based fuels in the overall energy www.foundation.org.uk/801/130704.pdf supply as well as promoting energy efficiency measures. A report by the Royal Society has shown that the impact of a carbon tax on long-term global GDP would be negligible. Road pricing a step nearer It also argues that the Government’s revised Climate Change The Department for Transport (DfT) is to conduct a pilot study in Programme must “spell out its resolve to look at how we deal a major urban centre to evaluate the potential of road pricing for with the loss of capacity from nuclear power stations and look cutting congestion. The transport secretary, Alistair Darling, said at at the role that all energy sources including nuclear, along the beginning of June that five or six areas were under consideration with energy efficiency measures, might play in meeting the and that the decision would be taken during the next two years. Government’s ambitions for cutting carbon dioxide emissions”. A DfT feasibility study, published last July, concluded that Meanwhile the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), road pricing could reduce congestion by up to 40% and could the Government’s independent advisory body on sustainable lead to savings of £12 billion a year through time savings and development has produced a report, Wind power: tackling climate increased reliability. change and energy security, which argues that “the UK has the www.foundation.org.uk/801/090305.pdf ❏ best and most geographically diverse wind resources in Europe, more than enough to meet current renewable energy targets”. Looking further ahead, Sir Tom Blundell, former Chairman of Review of strategic subjects in higher education the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, says in the In a letter to the chairman of the Higher Education Funding report’s foreword: “At current levels of gas prices, and certainly Council for England (HEFCE) on 1 December 2004, Education if credit is given for its carbon-free status in line with current and Skills Secretary Charles Clarke asked the Council for Government estimates of the social cost of carbon, [wind] is advice on the issue of strategic subjects in higher education already cost-competitive with gas-fired electricity on the best (see also pages 13-17 of this issue). The letter asks “whether onshore wind sites, and seems likely to be the cheapest of all there are any higher education subjects or courses that are of forms of power generation by 2020 on such sites, even without a national strategic importance, where intervention might be carbon credit.” appropriate to enable them to be available”. It also invites the This contradicts the 2004 report from the Royal Academy of Council’s views on how to encourage further research collabo- Engineering, The Costs of Generating Electricity, which argued ration between higher education institutions, and how these that gas turbine and nuclear generated electricity was about bodies might make a greater contribution to regional skills two thirds of the cost of onshore wind energy. The RAE report strategies. HEFCE is due to respond in June 2005. ❏ allows for significant conventional back-up power to compensate www.hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2004/stratsubj/ssletter.pdf for the intermittent nature of wind power. The SDC study says, though, that increasing the proportion of wind power in the electricity system does not require greater back-up capacity. ❏ Emissions trading begins in earnest www.royalsoc.ac.uk The UK Emissions Registry opened in the last week of May, www.sd-commission.org.uk allowing spot trading of carbon emissions allowances to take www.raeng.org.uk place for the first time under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Up till this point, only forward trading – mainly for December 2005 – could take place. The Emissions Trading Registry is web-

EU proposes a doubling of research spending based, and records CO2 allowances and units that are held in EU funding for R&D is set to double under proposals issued by firms accounts, and their compliance. It allows allowances to be the European Commission in April. The Seventh Framework transferred to other accounts both within the UK and in other Programme will run from 2007 to 2011 and envisages a total participating countries. The Registry software, developed by Community expenditure of EUR7.32 billion. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs This is split between five areas or types of activity: cooperation (Defra), has now been licensed to 12 other EU states. – trans-national cooperation on policy-defined themes; ideas – The UK, though, has been forced to accept a lower total investigator-driven research springing from research community volume of allowances than it had proposed in its revised initiatives; people – supporting individual researchers; capacities National Allocation Plan (NAP) submitted last November to – which the Commission rather circuitously describes as ‘support the European Commission. The revisions were due to changes of research capacities’; and a much smaller component for ‘non- in energy consumption projections, with consequent increases nuclear actions of the Joint Research Centre’. in emissions allowances. The Commission rejected the revised Activities within the ‘cooperation’ category take the lion’s version, arguing that it had definitively accepted the original, share of the funding – some €44.7 billion. Nine broad prior- July 2004, plan. The British Government has referred the mat- ity areas have been identified: health; food, agriculture and ter to the European Court of First Instance, but no decision is biotechnology; information and communication technologies; expected till 2006. ❏

2 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) energy security of supply

Energy is a vital component of virtually every aspect of modern life. The challenge of ensuring secure supplies of this essential commodity was the focus of the Foundation’s meeting in Edinburgh on 28 October 2004. Renewables – more than motherhood and apple pie Stewart Sutherland

e are all in favour of renewable partnership and interaction between gov- energy. It is not just motherhood ernment and business, clear shared respon- Wand apple pie, it is more than that; sibility with clear accountability. we all want to see more renewable energy Take the issue of wind power: the because long-term sustainability is an Government is committed to a very spe- issue of which, I think, the population is cific target and rightly so. We are in favour now more aware than ever. However, what of wind power, we want this to be maxim- are the practical steps needed to increase ised. Yet wind can be intermittent and may The Lord Sutherland of Houndwood the proportion of renewables used in die away when a high pressure area settles Kt FBA PRSE is president of the the creation of energy and power? How over the country. There is a risk involved. Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is a does this relate to security of supply? I So, you have to have a back-up supply of member of the Select Committee want to raise one or two of the issues that some kind. Currently, if you have 10 per on Science and Technology of the were addressed in the Renewable Energy cent of your capacity in electricity gen- House of Lords and he took part in Practicalities report from the House of eration coming from wind, you will need the committee’s inquiry into renew- Lords Science and Technology Inquiry. I something like 20 per cent extra capacity to able energy. Lord Sutherland is a want to look at one or two of the conclu- deal with the fluctuations that this implies. distinguished philosopher and fellow sions and some of our suggestions to the That means the Government’s target of 10 of the British Academy. He has been Government. per cent by 2010 actually implies 20 per principal and vice chancellor of the There are a number of aspects to secu- cent additional generating capacity. And University of Edinburgh and princi- rity of supply. Clearly, it means that there the more you go above 10 per cent of wind pal of King’s College, London, as well is enough energy to generate electricity power, the greater the additional cost in as vice chancellor of the University or to run cars, be that gas, oil, renewables, generating the back-up and therefore the of London. He is currently provost nuclear or hydro. Yet, who is responsible greater the commercial risk somebody has of Gresham College and a member for that? If we are drawing our gas supplies to take. Companies may take that on, but, of the Council of the Foundation for from central Russia, is that a secure base on again, they may not. Science and Technology. which to build the economy (the Middle Current grid design carries a risk, too. East and North Africa bring the same sort If the pattern of electricity supply is to of issues to mind)? There is a separate accommodate a move towards a larger range of questions about the security and number of generating centres (as would be effectiveness of supply routes — how do the case with renewable generation) then you get the resources from there to here? the grid has to be altered in a number of There is another element too: how do we ways. Infrastructure costs are attached to get electricity down the wires to the users? this, be it switching capacity or the fact that Look at the problem in New York in 2003 electricity may have to flow at different — there was plenty of energy over the times up or down the wires. The money border in Canada but there was a problem needed for this future provision will have in actually getting it through the switching to be found. We could, of course, depend system which resulted in a blackout in the more heavily on our connections to main- city. land Europe for our energy; again there has So, security of supply covers a range of to be investment and there are costs. One issues, starting, most obviously, with how of the conclusions that we came to through we prevent the lights going out. Where all of this was that energy — particularly does real responsibility for this lie? The electricity — is currently under-priced in Government has a policy in which the this country. market plays a very large part. Now, like This is where our proposals for govern- motherhood and apple pie, I am in favour ment come into play. There is a need for of markets as well; they are good things but policy, planning and targets that are more they have their limits and constraints. It is coordinated than the mantras of ‘joined the business of a large company to carry up government’ that we hear. There are out its tasks in such a way that it makes a some good initiatives but if you try to find profit: it is not therefore going to take on where responsibility lies for this long-term unnecessary risks. The members of the policy planning and implementation, it inquiry believed there has to be a degree of is not as easy as you would expect. We

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8)) 3 energy security of supply decided to be straightforward and to call for a dedicated Minister of Energy whose Policy and investment. Policy and regu- discussion sole responsibilities would be energy sup- lation need to be stable and predictable if ply and the creation of the long-term sta- business is to invest in long-term projects. The record of government in chang- bility that we want in building up capacity. That individual would have to bring about ing the rules can be seen in the experience of the North Sea energy industry the right conditions for the Cabinet and, over the last 20 years. While stability is essential, so too are coherence and eventually, Parliament to make fairly big consistency. Too often different government departments seem to set targets political decisions. independently of each other and these policies can work against each other. One of these decisions concerns the percentage of energy supplied by renewa- The comment was made that security of supply, prices and the drive towards bles. This is a very important question; a low carbon economy are potentially in conflict and there is a need for a we have referred to wind, but we also more integrated approach. recommended very strongly that further exploration should be given to tidal power and wave power. Our committee (of the Nuclear has an advantage in relation to ficient government attention in the years inquiry) was shown how the risks attached CO2 emissions, but there are difficulties after the war, huge housing problems had to a single form of renewable energy could and drawbacks — disposal of waste mate- arisen. A minister was appointed, one with be mitigated substantially if there was a rial, for example. Whichever way we go, talent because he did make huge inroads whole series of renewable sources in the the huge costs, significant investment and into the housing market. He had sufficient supply mix; not all of them are at risk at technological problems must be addressed powers and, more importantly, the ability the same time and in the same conditions. between now and any re-commissioning to argue in Cabinet. We need something The Government would need to decide on or new building that might take place. The of that order today: a minister with sole these questions because we do not think decision is again a Government matter. responsibility for energy who would try to that the market will. The members of the inquiry believe bring about the conditions for long-term Regulation is in need of overhaul. A that the responsibility for security of stability in prices of power, and particularly biomass producer told us that they could supply — to ensure that the lights do renewables. Firms will not invest unless use chicken effluent but not the feathers, not go out — ultimately rests with the they see a reasonable horizon when prices because one was classed as waste mate- Government. We do not believe that the will match the level of investment required. rial and one was not! This may be a trivial risks involved will be accepted by the I believe this is not simply a matter of example, but it highlights the fact that private sector alone. Nuclear, renewables, either the market or the state providing the some clarification of regulation is essential. costs of infrastructure: all of these require answer, but rather public/private partner- There has to be a decision on the nucle- Government decisions and without a ships of one form or another. We will also ar option: as power stations run down a Minister of Energy to drive them forward, need extended and informed public debate significant part of our capacity disappears they might not be taken. on the issues relating to security of supply, but, as yet, there is no clear government I remember a slogan of Macmillan’s: driven not just by groups like us, but by policy about how that will be replaced. ‘300,000 houses a year’. Owing to insuf- Government. ❐ Looking at the options Peter Mather

e have not worried about security of California, London and parts of Europe, supply for years, but suddenly the fortunately on a relatively minor scale. Wphrase seems to be on everybody’s There have been corporate failures such lips. A number of things have put this as Enron, the biggest energy trader in at the top of the agenda: the terrorist the US and one of the biggest in Europe, attack of 9/11 clearly had an enormous which clearly do not inspire enormous impact, particularly in the US, and has confidence in the market. Finally, the created a concept of homeland secu- global climate change debate is inex- Peter Mather is head of country, UK, rity which includes energy (a lot of the tricably linked with security of energy and vice president, Europe Region, terrorist activities were deemed to be supply. for BP Group. Prior to this appoint- coming from energy-producing parts Why is security of supply such a big ment he was vice president of exter- of the world). Geo-political instability issue in the United Kingdom? We have nal affairs, with responsibility for in Iraq, the potential fragility of Saudi been energy self-sufficient for 20–25 Europe, including UK and EU activi- Arabia and its regime, the shift to greater years now and we have been very com- ties, and sub-saharan Africa. He has import dependency in the US and fortable; to be perfectly frank, we have run the supply, trading and market- Europe (including the United Kingdom) not needed an energy policy (and we ing business for BP’s North Europe and, more recently, higher energy prices have not had a particularly active one) gas business and was have all put this issue into stark relief. because this has been a period of over- managing director of BP’s UK gas There have been market and infra- supply, from our wonderful assets in the and power activities. structure failures. Lord Sutherland North Sea. We have been spoilt with very referred to the blackout in New York, low prices: the average price of crude oil but things have also gone wrong in in the 1990s was US $18.50 a barrel and

4 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) energy security of supply when I took over my previous job, head- These account for between a third and ing up natural gas for BP in the United a half of our future contribution to CO2 it was not seen to cost anything. In fact, Kingdom, I think gas was selling at 9 levels in the atmosphere, so they are a it does cost something because you pence per therm. massive part of the problem of climate either have to buy it in or you forgo an Today, gas prices are much higher and change. The world has not yet found opportunity to sell it out. We are actu- the UK regulator, Ofgem, has recently an adequate substitute for the internal ally spending about $300-400 million a investigated why this has happened. Two combustion engine, although many have year on energy-saving activities within factors highlighted in an Ofgem report tried. We have looked very hard at the our business but the Net Present Value were the link with Europe and European oil problem at BP, but oil is an incredibly (NPV) of these investments is much prices (the United Kingdom is no longer an efficient fuel for transportation. There greater. In other words, it is good busi- energy island) and the decline in UK sup- have been recent advances like zero sul- ness; saving energy in manufacturing plies. In fact, I believe the United Kingdom phur fuels and increasing dieselisation, plants and offshore facilities is very, very is still just self-sufficient in natural gas but which emit about 14–15 per cent less good business. not during peak periods. If we do get that CO2 than conventional petrol. Indeed, There are a number of areas where I 1 in 20 really cold winter that everyone says we have just put a new product on the am sure technology and innovation will should come next year (but has not for the market called BP Ultimate which again bring new solutions. Carbon sequestra- last three) then we could have an issue. reduces CO2 by 10–12 per cent because tion is one. We discovered gas in Algeria Security of supply has also climbed of the efficiency improvement in the that had a 10 per cent CO2 content up the political agenda in this coun- engine; there is a lot that can be done which is far too high for the European try because of our commitment to the with the existing hydrocarbon mix in grid (which takes something like 3 per Kyoto agreement and the major focus the internal combustion engine. But we cent). We are now engaged in a project on this subject that the UK presidency have to look beyond that. Hydrogen is that re-injects the CO2 1,800 metres of the G8 will have in 2005. In addition, possibly the only contender that we see under the Sahara desert where we hope we have an ageing energy infrastructure at the moment: however, it has a number it will stay. In terms of CO2 savings this — not just our nuclear power stations of problems. is equivalent to taking 200,000 cars off but a lot of our conventional power gen- Hydrogen does not exist in a natu- the road. If the world could think about eration plants are quite old. ral state so it has to be extracted either carbon sequestration on a more coordi- Production in the United Kingdom from hydrocarbons or from water – and nated and larger scale, that would make is in line with current demand, but by that is an energy intensive process. In a big contribution to tackling climate 2015 that will no longer be the case. So addition, there is no infrastructure for change. There are others of course. what is going to fill the gap? There are hydrogen distribution. We have just Security of supply and climate change several possibilities: pipeline gas from completed a fuelling station in Romford are interconnected. Import dependency Norway; liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Essex which will fuel a hydrogen fleet is not that bad; many countries in the which is going to play a role in the in London. The planning permission OECD have been dependent on imports United Kingdom that it has not played process has been an absolute night- for many, many years and Algeria, for years (the UK was actually one of mare, if I am honest; there is a lot of Russia, even OPEC, have been reliable the first players in this industry, many bad feeling about hydrogen in the same suppliers. Even during the worst of its years ago); the interconnector capacity way there is about nuclear – people internal problems, Algeria was a reliable between Bacton and Zeebrugge, which think about the Hindenburg airship supplier of natural gas. I am not aware was originally designed to take gas from that blew up in 1937 (somebody told of problems with supply from Russia the United Kingdom to Europe but me that actually what exploded on the during their turbulent years, so it is not is now being upgraded so that it can Hindenburg was not the hydrogen, it all bad being import-dependent; the become more of an entry point for sup- was the kerosene that was required as United Kingdom is no longer an island plies to this country; and finally, storage. back-up). For our generation transport and it will be less so with all these pipe- Traditionally, the United Kingdom has fuels are crucially important. lines coming in. had very low storage capacity, mainly Demand management — reducing Investment is taking place, the indus- because of the gas fields sitting off vulnerability by consuming less — is an try is not just sitting on its hands, but Norfolk and Scotland. However, as these area where, just in our own manufactur- can everything be left to the market or are depleted, we will have to get up to ing business, we have found enormous does there need to be intervention? I the same level of storage capacity as the savings. Five years ago, site managers have spent my life working in markets, Continent, which is significantly greater. did not have a clue what their emis- so I am obviously biased: I do believe Security of supply is not just about sions were or what they spent on energy: that markets can provide solutions if gas, it is also about transport fuels. energy was the business we were in so they are allowed to function properly. This is not what happened in California; intervention in that market made it Non-fossil fuel. What could replace discussion dysfunctional and the whole thing did not work. However, I do believe nuclear power? There will be a gap as the that a framework is required from the current plants are decommissioned. Wind power only accounts for 0.4 per Government so that we know that there cent of current generating capacity. The comment was made that all the wind will be consistency of approach for 10 farms in the world, if located on the South Downs, would not generate 20 or 20 years. I know that is asking a lot of any government but I think that will per cent of UK demand. Many of the renewable technologies still need con- help to stimulate investment. siderable research and funding to move them forward. Major investments in We also need diversity of supply. transmission infrastructure will also be needed to provide grid access for wind We must not become over-reliant on power. The Government needs to set ground rules for the planning system, any one particular source — Russia for example — we need a broad mix. And which is there to protect people as well as to allow economic development. finally, we need to keep our options

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) 5 energy security of supply Creating the conditions for stability Kieron McFadyen

he importance of gas security of the UK Offshore Operators Association supply to the United Kingdom is indicate that UK operators will be invest- Tpretty well laid out in the Energy ing some £18 billion over the next five White Paper. By 2020, just 15 years from years to maintain existing supplies and to now, gas will be responsible for something develop new supplies within the area of like 80 per cent of electricity generation. the UKCS. It is absolutely vital that regu- Now, gas and oil have helped, with coal, to lators and government and industry pro- make the United Kingdom self-sufficient vide a stable fiscal framework and a stable Kieron McFadyen is technical direc- in energy. But that is changing; my under- regulatory framework to ensure that we tor of Shell in Europe and is the standing is that we are already importing maintain that level of investment. Royal Dutch/Shell Group’s senior gas. This means that the United Kingdom The United Kingdom is already exploration and production repre- needs to start looking at gas supplies importing gas. France, Germany and Italy sentative on the board of Shell UK. from other areas, both within Europe and have been in a similar situation for many He is also a member of Pilot, the beyond. years and they have managed to fulfil Industry Leadership Team and a It is absolutely vital for us to maintain local and national energy needs through board member of the UK Offshore a long-term view of energy supply against the importation of energy. The North Sea Operators Association. Previously, as short-term alternatives; energy supply is, has served the United Kingdom extremely vice president Europe, he had the key almost by definition, a long-term issue. well; over the last 30 years its oil and gas task of supporting the development With respect to the UK’s Continental have met our energy needs. of Shell Exploration & Production’s Shelf (UKCS) in the North Sea, we must In regard to the maturity of UKCS, we new European organisation. strike the right balance between maximis- are about halfway through — a healthy ing its capability on the one hand and middle age — so the North Sea still has balancing that with imports on the other. a very productive life ahead, another In addition, we need to harness the tech- 30 years at least. Yet some things are nology that we have developed. The North changing. The North Sea is becoming Sea has been a tremendous testing ground more difficult because the sources of for technology in many respects; we need hydrocarbon are becoming smaller and to build on that and see how that can help deeper and, from a geological point of us find other sources of supplies. view, they are more difficult of access. There is no doubt that massive invest- Norway, in comparison, has produced ment is needed. New gas supply projects something like a third of its national oil are by nature risky and investment lev- and gas resource. Given these changes, it els extremely high. Recent figures from is absolutely imperative to get the indus-

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Figure 1 Comparison of remaining oil and gas reserves. Global gas reserve is 50% higher than oil at some 60 years of current demand

6 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) energy security of supply

the UK and Norwegian governments for providing the framework to allow the decisions to be taken and investments to Long haul pipeline be made. from Russia As a technical man, I want to add a bit about the technology which is going to y LNG play a key role in developing new energy supplies in the upstream, both oil and gas. We recently announced that we would start production of our Goldeneye Field off the north-east of Scotland. This is pos-

Cost of suppl Indigenous gas – sible because we made a major technical UK, NL, Norway breakthrough. An offshore gas platform consists mainly of gas processing facilities. We have challenged that paradigm and separated the production system so that the gas platform is now onshore where fuels are being produced from the reser- Figure 2 Natural gas supply — UK options. One Shell EP focus is European Pipeline Gas voir and can go straight to the market. This is a major breakthrough. try together with regulators and govern- Europe to supply UK needs; this is driving There are many other technical devel- ment, so that we get clear, consistent and our strategy and it is based on economics opments, such as low cost drilling opera- stable frameworks. Look at Shell’s invest- and an evaluation of the source of sup- tions. We are testing a drilling operation ment in the area. Today, we are a major plies. We are also a major player in lique- that is manned by five people; after testing player: we operate 21 major platforms, 50 fied natural gas (LNG) but we still see, at it onshore we will take it offshore where it fields and three offshore gas plants. We this moment in time — and I stress ‘at will have a big impact on drilling opera- produce about 25 per cent of the United this moment in time’ — pipeline gas into tions. We are using expandable tubing Kingdom’s oil supply and approximately the United Kingdom as the best option. technology that has taken 10 years to 25 per cent of the UK gas supply. Others have a different opinion, seeing develop. With our partners in Norway, While companies like Total, BP and LNG import into the United Kingdom as we are looking into the development Shell will continue to make the most a viable proposition at this juncture. of sub-sea compression. This will allow of the oil in place and exploit the exist- One primary area of strategic impor- the industry to move into deeper water; ing infrastructure, we will also push the tance for us is the liberalisation of another piece of technology that is going boundaries. If we look at the recent 22nd European energy markets. We support to be key to ensuring UK gas supply. round of exploration licence awards here the adoption of the EU’s Second Gas To supply gas, we need the systems in in UKCS, you will see Shell and BP, as Directive, because this takes a regional place to allow us to take the investment venture partners, successfully applying for view. Another is the stability and pre- decisions. The big challenge in the short licences in this area we call the Atlantic dictability of decision-making; this is and medium term is to make sure that Margin, where the seabed shelves, in pur- absolutely essential to support this level we identify the necessary conditions to suit of new reserves. of investment (Shell aims to invest some allow the transport of gas across bor- Security of supply relies, crucially, on $6–7 billion between 2005 and 2007). ders and that is why our recent experi- the provision of infrastructure, not only Just consider the pipeline from Belgium ence with the Norwegian government to the owner but to other users. There is to the United Kingdom: it is 235 kilo- is important. These frameworks need a very clear pattern in the industry today metres long, it cost hundreds of millions to be put in place and we need to build where investors in, and owners of, infra- of dollars and it will meet about 10 per on them. A year ago Shell decided to structure are making that more available cent of UK gas demand. Investors need change its country-based structure in to third parties. That makes good busi- to have confidence that there are stable Europe and re-structure into a European ness sense for everyone involved. Shell frameworks to allow these investments organisation. In this way we can look for is investing in new infrastructure both to take place. I am encouraged that the opportunities on a regional basis and to make the most of the fuel sources we UK regulator Ofgem, when it looked we can deploy capabilities on a regional already have, but also in the search for at this project, showed a willingness to basis so that UK engineers have work new supplies. In the last 10 years, Shell exempt this pipeline from third party possibilities throughout Europe. has invested $8 billion in North Sea infra- access requirements; there is a recogni- Finally, I want to make a point about structure, so you can imagine that we tion that regulators have to take seriously UK industry. When I came to this job a want to make the most of it. We have no the conditions required to make these year ago, I joined Pilot, a forum consisting intention of pulling out of the North Sea; investments. of operators, supply chain, regulators and we have been there for 30 years and we While there is a need to ensure that government. It is a very effective forum, will be there for another 30 years. new and existing gas supplies make the chaired by the minister for energy: issues We are also productively managing most of existing infrastructure, it is also are presented there, issues are dealt with a portfolio: the exploration and trading necessary to put in place the political and and decisions are taken. For me this was market is quite liquid, there is a lot of other frameworks to allow new infrastruc- unprecedented. Initially, I asked myself trading going on and that is good. This ture to be laid. The Langeled pipeline will “What is this? I am sitting with a competi- market allows new entrants to come in bring supplies from the Ormen Lange gas tor, with a regulator, with a supplier, with and spend money where, perhaps, the field off Norway. This will provide some- government, trying to take decisions.” I major players do not and that has to be thing like 20 per cent of UK gas supply can tell you this works, this works for the good for the business. by early 2007. It is a fantastic develop- United Kingdom. As I said, the challenge In Shell, we believe there is currently ment that took cross-border cooperation is in taking this framework and applying sufficient pipeline capacity in or around to make it happen. I must pay tribute to it cross-border. ❏

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) 7 science communication

How can the public’s understanding of science be improved and its suspicions diminished? The Foundation’s meeting on 10 November 2004 looked at the issues involved. Cultivating a thousand flowers Colin Blakemore

should like to reflect on whether the groups, consultation papers, lay member- development of science communication ship of the Research Councils’ committees Iis essentially a linear evolution or one in and boards – all processes to encourage which many flowers are blooming - you consultation, dialogue and involvement. pick the bouquet you want. I shall argue So, where do scientists now fit in the that there is every reason to maintain a trust table? MORI says that confidence rich and fertile garden of activities. Let in scientists, judged by that simple ques- there not be any doubt about my own tion, “Do you trust X?” has been rock solid In October 2003, Professor Colin commitment to the goals that we all share: at two-thirds of the public for 10 years, Blakemore became chief executive of relating science to the needs of the public, despite the torrent of controversies, and is the Medical Research Council. His involving the public in our thinking about actually increasing. Peter Briggs, (former research is concerned with vision science and making science an intrinsic CEO of the British Association) has pointed and the early development of the part of the culture of this country. out an intriguing feature of these trust brain. He has been president of the It is 20 years since the birth of the tables. Doctors, teachers and clergy gain British Neuroscience Association, modern era of science communication. the highest confidence ratings. What have the Physiological Society and the That was the publication of the Bodmer they got in common? Why is it that jour- new Biosciences Federation. He has report, Public Understanding of Science, nalists are abysmally low at 13 per cent also been president and chairman which emphasised two things: the scien- approval, but television newsreaders, who of the British Association for the tist’s duty to communicate, and the deficit are, of course, journalists, are at 71 per cent? Advancement of Science. model – the notion that the public’s trust Peter’s argument, and I think it carries a lot in science could be increased by reducing of weight, is that people have more trust in the public’s ignorance about science. After other people whom they see behaving and the Bodmer report came the establish- performing – those whose facial expres- ment of COPUS and then the Wolfendale sions and body language are seen. Faceless, Report of 1995, which argued that those impersonal individuals are not so trusted. engaged in publicly-funded research have This reminds me of the transition in a duty to explain their work. the understanding of risk assessment that The establishment of the public happened in the 1970s and 1980s: the understanding movement was followed growing realisation that you cannot quan- by a proliferation of activities: the science tify risk perception without understand- book prizes, grants and training courses ing that it is people, with the irrationality in public communication, National of human nature, who react to risk. The Science Week, the Michael Faraday award, psychological dimension in risk assess- and so on. But the growth of science ment is terribly important. It is equally communication was accompanied by the significant in determining confidence well-known series of controversies and in other people. Seeing other people as problems faced by science, from radioac- human beings is important in deciding tive waste disposal and mad cow disease whether you trust them. That, by the way, right through to foot and mouth and is a very strong argument for authentic nanotechnology. scientists playing a part in public commu- Lord Jenkin, the Foundation chair- nication, not simply leaving it to profes- man, was principally responsible for the sional science communicators to deal with House of Lords’ very influential report the media and the public. (2000) Science and Society. Its emphasis Clearly the level of public trust is was on the critical problem of public also influenced by knowledge about confidence in science. This report marked how scientists obtain their funding and a transition in the evolutionary process, their orders. Scientists from a university from public understanding (the didactic background generally have higher trust downward approach; the deficit model) ratings compared with those from indus- to one of dialogue and involvement, in try. Equally, environmental groups score response to the crisis in confidence. This pretty well compared with government has stimulated a further wide range of scientists. Perceived scientific independ- activities: the establishment of the Dana ence (which cannot be manipulated by Centre by the Science Museum, the paymasters), determines trust. Café Scientifique movement blossoming Is the evolutionary process of the sci- around the country, citizens’ juries, focus ence communication movement entering

8 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2004 >> VOL. 18 (8) science communication a third phase? In the past few months, there has been a flurry of interest in a new Prejudicing independence. The ques- discussion approach. A recent pamphlet called See- tion was raised whether it was really right through Science (www.demos.co.uk/cata- for scientists to declare their personal values and to question who stood to logue/paddlingupstream), published by Demos, a left-leaning think tank, argued benefit from new technologies and who controlled them. There was a danger that we must move beyond dialogue now of prejudicing the independence of science: the bodies involved in a debate to something they call “upstream engage- were liable to represent interest groups. Research was properly judged on ment”. It argues, to quote from the pam- the basis of reproducibility and peer review, not the motives of those who con- phlet, that “broader societal acceptance of new technologies, especially where these ducted it. On the other hand, scientists were not necessarily objective. They are novel and raise concerns, requires made choices which reflected their personal views. Scientists were members open dialogue throughout the develop- of the public themselves and needed to learn to recognise the factors that influ- mental process; if opportunities are to be enced their behaviour. Lay people could help scientists do this. realised, then engagement and dialogue must take place at the right time and involve the right people.” The right time for them, it seems, is at the beginning, in The British Association produced a robust technology. Again, how could having the the process of deciding priorities, select- response to Durodié, in which they too public on the boards of the Biotechnology ing which research to do and recognising embraced the upstream model (Jackson and Biological Sciences Research Council in advance the potential risks. Demos says R et al, Strengths of public dialogue on have avoided this problem? that the Research Councils have a poten- science-related issues. Critical Review Finally, mobile phones, another area of tially decisive role in determining whether of International Social and Political great controversy. Discussion was initially upstream public engagement becomes a Philosophy. In press). driven, to a large extent, by the Stewart meaningful reality. It is salutary to consider a few recent Report, in which the scientific commu- Let us just examine that. The Research controversies that we would all have liked nity proposed a precautionary approach. Councils generally act in what is called to avoid, and to ask whether upstream In fact, the public has been much more ‘response mode’. They respond to the engagement might have prevented or concerned about mobile phone masts needs and arguments of their research ameliorated them. Remember that what than about phones themselves, despite the communities. They are now being encour- is proposed is that the public should be fact that radio frequency (RF) fields from aged to think more strategically about involved in setting the agenda for scien- masts, at ground level, are generally hun- their science in the context of the needs tific research. dreds of thousands of times weaker than of the country. That is not a bad thing. First, MMR and autism. That contro- those from phones. In my opinion, the But are we really suggesting that the pub- versy was triggered by Andrew Wakefield’s concern about masts is largely due to the lic should take the place of the research claim that there might be a causal link. failure of people to see any personal ben- panels that judge applications and try to The cost in time and effort created by that efit from masts. They spoil the landscape set broad strategic goals, in the context of almost certainly wrong hypothesis has been and might affect property values. If the their knowledge of the needs and capaci- immense. But how would having the pub- public were to set the agenda for research ties of the scientific community? lic on the panels of the Medical Research in this area, they would want to concen- Last year, and in contrast to the Demos Council (MRC) have avoided this? It was trate effort on epidemiological studies of paper, Bill Durodié published a critique an unpredicted controversy driven by an health and exposure to masts, whereas of the dialogue agenda (Critical Review individual scientist and, because it was a research aimed at pinning down any pos- of International Social and Political great story, amplified by the media. sible ‘non-thermal’ effects of RF fields is Philosophy, 6: 82-92, 2004). He argued As far as nanotechnology goes, I would likely to be more productive. that dialogue, far from advancing the argue that the debate is being driven by Since the Bodmer report, the burgeon- cause of public engagement, was actu- the scientific community, who are bet- ing science communication community ally diminishing it. It had four failings: it ter placed to recognise the potential has learned much about the different demoralised scientists by implying that problems. It is not stimulated by public ways in which the public can be informed they could not make their own decisions concern; further, it has not captured the about, and entertained by, the excite- properly; it patronised the public by interest of the media because it is not so ment of science – and involved in useful giving a kind of sham involvement and easily hyped or sensationalised. ways in what scientists do. There is a very power, inevitably trivialising the process; With GM, there were other individual strong case for more openness and vis- it elevated new experts, giving a platform scientists involved, there was the stigma ibility of scientists, and more direct con- to disenchanted individual scientists, lob- of commercial involvement and there was tact between scientists and other people bying groups, NGOs, and so on; and it genuine concern about a risk to health. which, in the words of the Demos paper, could be used by politicians as an excuse Monsanto’s communication strategy failed can help to bring out the public in the sci- for not having made sensible decisions. to make the case for the benefits of GM entist. After all, scientists are members of the public too and they share many of the perceptions, the prejudices, the concerns Involving the public. One way to discussion of other ordinary people. engage members of the public with sci- However, let us not abandon the good ence, it was suggested, was to appoint them to panels making research thinking in the Bodmer report. Unless dialogue and engagement are under- funding decisions. It was suggested that if members of the public had been pinned by solid knowledge, then they are involved at an early stage in decisions on the MMR vaccine it might have been bound to fail. The public understanding recognised that mothers faced a real dilemma. There was, however, a question of science is still, in my opinion, absolute- of who were the right lay people to be involved in funding decisions. ly crucial to the dialogue process. So, let a thousand flowers bloom. ❏

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) 9 science communication Engaging in dialogue – and being human Kathy Sykes ialogue: what is it, why do it, when do the GM content of foods and that had to we do it, how can we do it better and be agreed internationally; that the patent- Dare we making progress? Engagement ing laws were a complete mess and, if we is partly about scientists and policy makers did not sort them out, we would run into understanding the public, as well as vice problems. They acknowledged that this versa. It is about listening to people before technology had incredible possible benefits we start talking and realising that it can and might help to feed the world. But they Professor Kathy Sykes is Collier Chair actually help in research. So many people, also warned that if we do not let developing in Public Engagement in Science Nancy Rothwell among them, have said, “I countries help to shape the agenda that will and Engineering at the University of have been asked questions that made me not happen; instead, it will all be commer- Bristol. She directs the Cheltenham start a new line of research because they cially driven and the public will not accept Festival of Science and sits on advi- came from such a different perspective.” it. Finally, they said that a government min- sory groups on science engagement Dialogue means talking to the public on ister should oversee the arena to take us for- for the Government (the Council for ethical issues and with a really open mind. ward thoughtfully. If we had listened to any Science and Technology), the Royal It is not about letting the public make deci- of those recommendations in 1994, might Society, the Wellcome Trust and sions. I think that we can make better deci- we not be in a better position today? Research Councils. She was Head of sions if we understand the public better; There are potential benefits of GM, but Science for Explore@Bristol. Kathy is they will raise concerns that we have not nobody is now in a position to talk about a physicist, with a PhD from Bristol thought of and then we can address them. them because the debate has become so University. After her first degree This is not rocket science. extreme. We could have had a much more she taught maths and physics in Why do dialogue? I believe that if we informed, better-developed dialogue that Zimbabwe with VSO. do this really well we will improve trust in took account of public concerns and hopes, science and the governance of science. I and developed everything more wisely. think that we will have better discussions When do we do dialogue? If all we do around science and we will make better is engage with the public around the time decisions for society. David King, the UK that we start to regulate, about the time Government’s chief scientific adviser, says if that technology is being created, we have we do not get this right there will be no sci- missed the opportunities to help us think ence – it is crucial as that. about how to use science and technology One of my favourite sentences in the better. An example of doing it way down- Jenkin report, Science and Society, says, stream is the GM Nation debate, when “People who do science do have morality the public were asked whether we should and values, of course.” Many scientists I commercialise GM or not. We were doing know are driven in their work because they that round about market testing time - way believe so passionately in the beneficial downstream - whereas the GM consensus impact that it could have. However we tend, conference was way upstream. I would as scientists, to say that we are not going to argue that the further upstream we can talk about the ethics, we are just going to do get, the better it will help our thinking. the science – ethics are not our arena. So In other areas where we have tried to do we are asking the public to trust a group of this upstream (for example, the Warnock people who seem to be beyond morals, who Report), we have had a much better impact. seem to be beyond values. If scientists start On nanotechnology, the Report from the to talk about their own ethical beliefs they Royal Society and the Royal Academy of will start, I believe, to seem to be more like Engineering is really doing things upstream human beings. The Jenkin report is asking and puts us in a better, more prepared posi- scientists to talk about their own values tion. and, in that way, they will command more How to dialogue better? I talked about public support. the example of the consensus conference. In 1994, before the issue of GM really We need deliberative dialogue so that peo- became a hot issue, the Biotechnology ple have time to go away and talk to their and Biological Sciences Research Council families, think, sleep on things and then ran a consensus conference at the Science come back to the issue and consider it more. Museum. A group of ordinary people There have to be clear objectives and scope met over a period of weeks and got fully and there have to be clear ways of feeding informed about the topic. They heard many into policy: it has to happen at a time when different perspectives and came out with policy makers want to hear about the issue some really valuable recommendations. and at a time when they can actually do They said that we needed to label clearly something about it. It needs to be inclusive,

10 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2004 >> VOL. 18 (8) science communication by which I do not mean you have open to the essence of something and there will Innovation Ten-Year Investment Framework platforms with the most extreme groups be an obvious answer. We forget some of the actually articulates that the Government shouting at each other. From a random nuances of the ethics or the environment or wants dialogue to be happening; it wants sample of people, you choose people who other social aspects. things to be happening upstream and it is represent different aspects of a population We can train people, in school, in uni- more than doubling the budget. It is set- and, of course, you give them access to the versity and beyond. We could develop an ting up a new horizon-scanning unit and pressure groups, to the extreme groups, to ethical code for scientists, which is some- it wants to promote much-needed coher- the media, to scientists including maybe the thing that the Council for Science and ence in the science community. Within the most extreme; but that group of people does Technology, of which I am a member, is Government’s Sciencewise grants scheme I not have any vested interests itself. Then encouraging scientific institutions to take am chairing the advisory group which rec- that group is much better able to explore up. We can help scientists reflect. Brian ommends to the Government who should the issue. You involve scientists as well as Wynne, a social scientist, is looking at the be funded; the objective is to be doing dia- other perspectives, and you address bigger Cambridge Group who work on nanote- logue and to be building capacity particular- questions. You do not ask whether or not we chnology, helping them to explore their ly within government. We have just decided commercialise GM, or whether or not we humanity. And we can value better those that we will agree on good practice and we progress with nuclear power. You ask how we scientists who do dialogue and the scientists will help the people who are getting the are going to provide power and energy in the who do it well. We can reward researchers, grants to plug in to policy makers on topics future, or how we are going to provide food and we need to reward departments and they have identified. We want Sciencewise for the future and where GM might fit in. institutions so that they really start to see to be seen as a centre of excellence. Another You also need to get feedback from the par- the value of dialogue. We can embed it. exciting thing is that school science, science ticipants, and it has to be evaluated. So, are we making progress? This is the learning centres, curricula and assessment Do you feel that scientists are well pre- key question. I believe the science com- strategies are all changing to include discus- pared to do dialogue? Research by Diana munity has really taken dialogue on board, sion of issues and the process of science; it is Hess with schoolchildren shows that, unless and is really wanting to talk with the public. becoming embedded. you actually teach people the skills of how to Part of the problem has been that the sci- I will conclude by saying that I am discuss and debate – like listening, reflecting ence communication community is asking deeply optimistic. We are in a really excit- and considering other perspectives – they do where we plug this dialogue in to policy. We ing time. We have to reflect on what we do not get very good at it. Scientists are not well can talk to the public all we like, but where and embed good practice. Helping scientists trained in these skills. In science, winning is are the policy makers who will hear us? explore their humanity is absolutely key. really important; we go to conferences, we The key thing that I believe makes We need to give them practice, to give them fight in a very combative way and this does ‘right now’ an exciting time, is that the feedback and help them to really value this. not work if we ‘fight’ with the public. We Government are taking this incredibly seri- That is what I charge everybody with in the often assume that logic is enough. We think ously and being very clear about their com- room, so that we can make better choices that if we use our logic, we can come down mitment. The Government’s Science and for society as well as for the planet. ❏ Scientists should make headlines Fiona Fox

cience communication – are we mak- radio news. ing progress? I think the answer is These findings are backed up by many Sdefinitely yes, but my input to this academics working in the field. Tammy debate is continually to remind people of Spears, an academic at Cardiff University the central role of the mass media in this School of Journalism and author of the discussion. In many ways, relying on the Economic and Social Research Council news media to influence public opinion report, Science, the Public and the Media, about science is a thankless task. Unlike has reported that in the focus groups she Fiona Fox is head of the Science many of the brilliant science communica- ran on MMR with mothers of young chil- Media Centre. She has led press tion activities around, the way the media dren, they all pointed to the news coverage centres at the Equal Opportunities covers science is still largely out of our con- as a decisive influence on their opinions. Commission, the National Council trol and always subject to the vagaries of In many ways, then, the most power- for One Parent Families and CAFOD, the sound bite and the dreaded ‘news agen- ful science communicators are those who one of the UK’s leading aid agencies. da’. So you will never hear me saying that report science for the national media – but She founded the Jubilee 2000 press the media is the ‘only’ or ‘most desirable’ they do not necessarily warm to that role. group, which helped to force seri- way for scientists to communicate with the At the Foundation meeting on the role ous Third World issues onto media public. However all the facts and figures tell of the media over a year ago, our friend and political agendas. She set up the us that for the public it remains the main Pallab Ghosh, science reporter for the Science Media Centre at the Royal source of information about science. BBC, made a rather irreverent reference Institution, and claims that influenc- The MORI poll commissioned to to science communicators. Gail Cardew, ing the media’s coverage of science is coincide with the opening of the Science director of programmes at the Royal one of today’s biggest challenges. Media Centre (SMC) in April 2002 told Institution, leant over to ask me, “Doesn’t us one thing loud and clear: if we want to Pallab see himself as a science communica- get through to large sections of the British tor?” The answer is, “Absolutely not”. And public we have to prioritise the news in preparation for this speech I did my media – and in particular television and own, admittedly rather unscientific, survey

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) 11 science communication of seven science reporters on the national for comment on the Oxford injunction on therapeutic cloning. media. Of the seven, only one would even animal research – to be told time and time Late last year, following huge media consider being described as a science com- again that scientists were too busy, unable or coverage of Severino Antinori and the municator. Several were very emphatic openly unwilling to engage with this story. Raelian sect’s claims to have cloned a that they did not like the term, feeling that I fully understand that when a sci- human, there was a sometimes heated it suggested they were cheerleaders for sci- ence story is blasted over the front pages debate amongst press officers and scien- ence, rather than journalists reporting on or in the headlines it is probably the least tists about whether to boycott these media the good and bad of science. comfortable or pleasant time to be doing stories or engage in them. The outcome However, just because journalists do not media work, but I am also convinced that was a strong endorsement of the need to see themselves as science communicators it is one of the most important times. engage in these stories. does not mean that scientists themselves There is evidence showing that while the The first test of this came earlier this cannot use the media to communicate British public are not debating all science year when Panos Zavos flew into London with the public. It has been noted many all of the time, they are interested, either one Saturday morning. Although we were times that there has been huge progress when it relates to their own lives or when tipped off late on Friday, we were hoping in this area with more and more scientists it is headline news. that the media would not respond to yet happy to brief trusted journalists like Roger There are lots of theories about what another cloning claim made without any Highfield or Tim Radford and be inter- went wrong with the debate on GM crops evidence and that we could have a quiet viewed by Pallab Ghosh for the main TV in this country. One plausible explanation, weekend. However, when I flicked through news. But my central message tonight is put to me by many GM scientists and their all the main radio and TV channels early that, to make real progress, scientists need press officers, is that the opportunity for a on Saturday morning, it emerged that to make another great leap – into the world balanced, rational discussion on GM was Zavos was to be rewarded for his trip with of science in the headlines. lost in the media feeding frenzy of January the headline slot on every channel. One of the other speakers at the to March 1999. That was when the vast By 8am I was on the phone to Bob Foundation’s meeting on science and majority of scientists ran in the opposite Ward at the Royal Society, Carolan the media was Simon Pearson, Executive direction, leaving the field entirely open Davidge from the Medical Research Editor of the Times, who has since joined for campaigners with less respect for the Council and several other scientists and the SMC’s Board. He made a heartfelt evidence. press officers. Of about 20 scientists appeal to scientists to make the leap from Tim Radford, science editor of the I called, seven agreed to cancel their science as a specialist subject in the media, Guardian, graphically personified the gulf Saturday and make themselves available to science as ‘front line’ news: between scientists and journalists when, in to any national news media. By 9am I was “BSE may have had no link to CJD and his evidence to the House of Lords com- in a position to phone news programmes hard-working scientists may have got us mittee, he described the time as a great and newsdesks to offer scientists for inter- out of a terrible mess – but the public has opportunity: view on this story. By 11, the first scientist, yet to be convinced. One renegade doctor “While scientists complained about the Chris Higgins, was sitting in Sky News may have destroyed the MMR programme media focus on GM, I saw it as a wonder- doing interviews. I turned over to see Bob while best research shows that the vac- ful opportunity for them to educate the Ward on BBC News 24 and turned on cine is safe – but the public has yet to be public about this new technology.” BBC Radio 4 to hear Simon Fishel. Within convinced. GM foods may pose no proven Yet even in this area there has been a few hours, the coverage had completely risk, and indeed may hold huge potential some progress. I think the cases where changed from alarmist headlines about benefits for mankind – but the public has scientists have rolled up their sleeves and scientists cloning a human being to head- yet to be convinced. got stuck in stand as a powerful model of lines about the scientific community con- “This is not down solely to the vagaries how scientists can completely transform a demning human cloning. of an irresponsible press. It is also down media story by engaging with it. This is a graphic illustration of how sci- to the failure of the majority of scientists The best example is the scientific entists engaging in a story can completely to stand up and be counted in the eyes community’s reaction to the variety of transform what the public see and hear. of the public and to put their case across ridiculous claims by maverick scientists All of this has been about scientists convincingly.” that they are poised to clone a human ‘reacting’ to the controversial science sto- If anyone ever did a fly-on-the wall being. The huge media coverage repeatedly ries that break into the headlines. My final documentary of the SMC, it is the days given to these unsubstantiated claims has message is that scientists themselves need when things go mad and science hits the fuelled the impression that science is out to start pre-empting these stories by proac- headlines that we would most want to edit. of control and in some mad race to clone tively generating a few more headlines on Days like yesterday when we started lining the first human. It has also threatened to these subjects. This year, the Royal Society up scientists to meet the media’s demand undermine hard won public support for has repeatedly initiated the right kind of headlines on cloning through Bob May’s statements on the UN Assembly vote. Along Necessary engagement. Some partici- discussion with the Royal Academy of Engineering, it also showed that a balanced message about pants took the view that scientists could the risks of nanotechnology can generate not simply drop their findings into the public arena and stand back. Embryo as much – if not more – media attention as research had only been allowed in the UK because MPs had values, but sci- Prince Charles’ ‘grey goo’ fears. entists ought not to leave it to politicians to make all the links and the judge- Science and health journalists may not ments. In any case, it was possible to go into ethical issues while still looking see themselves as science communicators, but they are communicating science to the at hard evidence. There had, for instance, been three parallel debates over GM public. We should see them as our allies in crops, and the science debate did steer clear of rhetoric and look at the facts. getting our messages over to millions of In conclusion, advice was given never to overestimate how much science the people at times when they are most inter- public understood, but also never to underestimate their common sense. ested in, and most alarmed about, new developments in science. ❏

12 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2004 >> VOL. 18 (8) strategic subjects in higher education

With British universities closing chemistry and physics departments, the Foundation’s meeting on 23 November 2004 considered how best to safeguard these strategic subjects and looked at how the business community could contribute to this goal. Strategic subjects are becoming endangered Howard Newby

his meeting is exquisitely timed. also become an important factor in the Yesterday the University of Exeter thinking of all universities, while regional Tannounced that it would close its stakeholders have acquired an important chemistry department. Tomorrow we are influence on future higher education. due to receive a letter from the Secretary The upshot of these developments is of State asking us to consider the sustain- that universities have been given greater ability of strategically important subjects. autonomy, even though they are con- Our theme is evidently topical. It is also strained in the setting of fees. They are Sir Howard Newby CBE is chief important. expected to manage their own affairs executive of the Higher Education I shall concentrate on the so-called within the constraints of our block grant. Funding Council for England ‘STEM’ subjects – science, technology, Our role is to provide funding and a (HEFCE), before which he was engineering and mathematics – but framework of accountability. But the vice-chancellor of the University there are also others that give cause for Funding Council does not have plan- of Southampton (1994 to 2001). concern. ning powers to ensure the sufficiency and Previously he had been chairman The Higher Education Funding adequacy of provision. (1988-94) and chief executive (1994) Council for England, together with its We are at present engaged on a review of the Economic and Social Research counterparts in Scotland and Wales, are of the funding of university teaching. Council, Professor of Sociology at together the successors of the University The funding formula is now based on the University of Essex (1983-88) Grants Committee (UGC), for which what institutions spend on the various and Professor of Sociology and there is still a powerful nostalgia among subjects, but we recognise that an assess- academics – much of it well placed. ment of the costs of teaching, perhaps Rural Sociology at the University of Then, of course, there were many fewer by an extension of what is known as the Wisconsin, Madison (1980-83). From universities and many fewer students. TRAC methodology, could be a better 1999 to 2001, he was president of The UGC had powers that I can only basis for the funding formula. Universities UK, the body that rep- dream of. Its visiting committees could Nevertheless, we have always recog- resents the university sector. He was pronounce, at the end of their visits, that nised that in a very small number of president of the British Association a university could have a law school, or a ‘minority subjects’, we need to intervene for the Advancement of Science for psychology department, but that it could on the supply side. We support some 2001-02. not teach Japanese. subjects even when they attract very These arrangements were first modi- few or even no students, so as to sustain fied two decades ago in an attempt to some national capacity in teaching and introduce a market approach into higher research. That has not been a contro- education. Now, with the ink barely dry versial issue. The list, which we review on the Higher Education Act 2004, we periodically, consists mostly of exotic have a more potent recipe. The Funding languages or area studies, with a sprin- Council will have to think carefully kling of science and technology subjects about its future role. We shall remain – paper technology at Manchester and the principal source of funds for non- leather technology at University College, research activities, but we shall also be Northampton, for example. the custodian of the public interest in The new problem is different. Many higher education – a kind of regulator. subjects generally regarded as core sub- The passage of the Education Act in jects have suffered persistent and pre- 2004 engendered high political contro- cipitous declines at undergraduate level. versy: the Government will not be eager These include all the STEM subjects to return to these matters for a while yet. although, among the sciences, biology But in the past year, we have also had and medicine are not seriously affected. the Lambert Review on the industrial Most but not all branches of engineering demand for links with higher education. are affected and there has been a marked The Ten-Year Science and Innovation decline of mathematics student numbers. Investment Framework, certain to influ- I should add that modern languages such ence the pattern of university research, as French, German and Spanish are in has a lot to say about strategically decline and we are also concerned about important subjects. The fees issue has the teaching of the quantitative aspects

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) 13 strategic subjects in higher education of social science – statistics, demography, operations research and so on. Is science boring? Many school students discussion Chemistry typifies the problem. feel that scientific subjects are not only dif- Although the number of entering stu- ficult but boring. They are also asked to choose between subjects at too early dents did not decline this year, there had been a fall of a third in the previous an age. Few have any understanding about possible careers or how exciting five years. Other subjects have suffered science can be. Teachers who inspire enthusiasm are, inevitably, rare but they similarly. But no university can sustain could be encouraged and their numbers increased if universities liaised closely serious losses in subjects for which there with teachers, helping them to develop their skills. By bringing pupils into uni- is declining demand. So our problem is that some former core subjects are taking versities, businesses and other institutions (such as hospitals) they would see on some of the characteristics of minor- what scientists really did and what problems they were tackling. ity subjects – notably the mismatch between supply and demand for places. However, there is a national interest in are now largely bereft of provision. So have access to courses we believe to be sustaining provision in these subjects, where are future science students to go? nationally important. and this cannot be equated with the sum Especially if fees and other factors give We should also ponder the conse- total of individual universities’ interests. them an incentive to study locally? quences of recent changes in student How do we build and sustain capac- The Regional Development Agencies financing – the introduction of tuition ity? The first need is for a measured and (RDAs) have developed their own strate- fees and the changing regime of mainte- constructive national debate that recog- gies, as have the sector skills councils. nance awards. Increasingly, students seek nises both the autonomy of universities These strategies depend upon the avail- to live near their homes. As things now and that the aggregate of their interests ability of well-trained graduates in sub- are, 60 per cent of ‘full-time’ students may not add up to the overall national jects important to the regional economy; work 18 hours a week or more; living in interest. We need to chart a sustainable yet provision is sometimes withdrawn familiar territory may give them access to course between these two positions. precisely in those fields in which RDAs local labour markets they understand. It The task is to balance supply and are looking for support. We need a is therefore crucial that we deliver higher demand. With subjects such as Chinese dialogue between all the stakeholders: education to them where it is needed, studies, Arabic studies and Japanese, it HEFCE cannot issue directions. To bor- perhaps with the help of distance learn- is not clear whether the action is needed row a phrase from a predecessor of mine ing and sometimes at the workplace. on the supply side or the demand side. at Universities UK, Martin Harris, higher Again there is a need for dialogue. But for the STEM subjects, there is no education may at present be over-regu- We need to find a way of enhancing doubt that the problem is on the demand lated but under-planned. the ubiquity of supply that satisfies the side. There are still plenty of physics and The origins of many of these prob- interests of the higher education sector, chemistry departments; the problem is lems lie in the school system, not in the other stakeholders and the students to sustain undergraduate demand. That higher education. By the time students themselves – but it must be a way that applies even to the most research-inten- get to us, they have decided whether to avoids draconian regulation. So far, sive departments, whose lifeblood is a study arts or sciences and, sometimes, the higher education sector itself has steady supply of undergraduate students. perhaps even which disciplines they wish accepted that there is a problem we need I have already explained that HEFCE to follow. There is a lot of evidence that to address. does not have planning powers. How students are turned off science in school. What I have done is to list some of then can we sustain subjects while not The university sector, employers and the issues that have arisen or will arise. intervening heavy-handedly in the schoolteachers need jointly to find ways Can we be sure the new market will micro-management of institutions? We of encouraging more students to take deliver the quality and diversity of stu- cannot support shrinking departments science. dents that we need in the subjects that indefinitely in the hope that, one day, ‘Strategically important subjects’ and are important to Britain’s economic and students might turn up. But we need to ‘securing the public interest’ are neat social future? As I have said, a letter from think carefully about the unintended phrases, but they provoke as many ques- the Secretary of State asking us to look at consequences of seemingly rational tions as they answer. Who determines these issues is imminent. After consulta- decisions. While the recent closures of what is strategically important, and to tion, HEFCE will respond constructively. chemistry and physics departments have whom? We do not wish to go back to the I cannot yet tell you what we shall mostly been sensible rationalisations, detailed subject reviews the UGC used say, but I shall leave you with a proposi- they have been geographically random. to undertake. It is a much bigger system tion. We know that neither formal man- The result is that some parts of Britain now. But we need to ensure that students power-planning nor laissez-faire will meet Britain’s needs in higher education. What we need is a strategic perspective that will The causes of decline. The suggestion discussion command the respect of all. HEFCE is was made that the current way of teach- funding a project by the Royal Society of Chemistry to explore ways of making the ing scientific, technical, engineering and mathematical (STEM) subjects might classroom teaching of chemistry exciting be part of the problem of a decline in student numbers. The classification of both for teachers and students. We are scientific subjects into strict disciplines like physics, chemistry, etc, might now talking to other professional socie- be too rigid and result in the existence of too many small departments. This ties representing other STEM subjects. From these activities may spring revisions could hinder interdisciplinary learning and the development of a more general of the school curriculum, which may interest in science as a whole. Solving exciting and difficult problems demands in turn point higher education towards work in various fields and no discipline stands on its own. better methods of satisfying the national demand for higher education. ❏

14 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) strategic subjects in higher education The regional voice in education Pam Alexander

he Regional Development key to future economic performance. UK Authorities (RDAs) exist to foster plc needs an internationally competitive Tsustainable economic development workforce, graduates with the appropri- in the nine regions of England designated ate skills for long-term employability and in 1999 (Scotland and Wales are catered better skilled people in our under-per- for similarly but separately, under the forming areas. What shocked me most, aegis of their national assemblies). We are on coming to this job a year ago, was now being asked by Government to inter- that one in eight of the workforce in the Pam Alexander has been chief est ourselves in knowledge transfer and south-east of England lacked basic literacy executive of the South-East England innovation. We cannot achieve anything or numeracy skills. Development Agency since January on our own, so partnership is central to It is now clear that more skilled 2004. She has been involved with my theme. workers, such as medical and scientific regeneration enterprises for nearly Each RDA has developed a Regional researchers, financial analysts and even 30 years. She was chief executive Economic Strategy in concert with its key university lecturers, could find themselves of English Heritage (1997-2001), stakeholders. All focus on achieving great- competing with highly skilled but lower and deputy chief executive of the er employment and greater productivity. paid workers thousands of miles away. Housing Corporation (1995-97). At One of our functions is to help deliver the Only last week, Novartis (the pharma- the Department of the Environment current science and innovation agenda. ceutical company) was said to be moving (1975-94) she worked on local For example, the RDAs have been charged significant research programmes to China, government finance, transport, with bringing business and universities a country whose $77 billion research and inner-city regeneration and housing together within the Department of Trade development expenditure is now more policy. Ms Alexander is chair of the and Industry’s (DTI) £180 million a year than double that of the UK in cash terms Peabody Trust and a non-executive programme on collaborative R&D and and some 1.5 per cent of its own GDP. director of The Housing Finance knowledge transfer networks. In this environment, how do we Corporation Ltd. In 2003, RDAs invested some £240 support and create an internationally million in Science, Engineering and competitive workforce? Making subjects Technology (SET) related activities. We available for study and research is neces- are closely engaged with the business sary but not sufficient. There is evidence skills agenda and will in April [2005] take that the rate of innovation in Britain is over the management of Business Links. only 60 per cent of that in Germany and Through our investment development not much higher than that of Greece. But managers, we have strong one-to-one the figures also show that British compa- relationships with the larger businesses nies are good at devising new corporate in our regions – particularly with for- (and marketing) strategies. While every- eign direct investors. Our manufacturing one else is getting on and doing it, we are advisory service has helped over 800 com- enjoying planning what we might do if panies; some 250 of them with in-depth only the strategy would stand still. We are approaches to lean manufacturing which good at ideas and we seem to be good at have yielded £8.5 million worth of savings telling people what should be done but and an increase in turnover of £6 million less good at making sure that it happens. in the first year. We have also developed Businesses tell us that this is a criti- enterprise hubs and I am particularly cal issue in relation to the skills of their excited by our success, in partnership with new graduate employees. Leadership and HEFCE, the Office of the Deputy Prime management skills are essential to the Minister and a number of educational management of innovation. One of our institutions, in bringing new opportuni- goals is to provide middle-managers in ties to young people in our priority regen- medium-sized companies with mentoring eration areas of Hastings and the Medway and facilitating networks involving higher towns through new ‘university centres’. education institutions: this might over- The RDAs believe that skills are come some of these obstacles.

S&T workers as a percentage of Researchers per 1000 total employment pool employed

UK 25 6 France 29 8 Germany 34 7 USA 33 9

Table 1. Science and technology skills in an internationally competitive world. Source: SEEDA

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) 15 strategic subjects in higher education

Business leaders also bemoan the difficulties of attracting and retaining University Centre, Hastings. In her talk, case study graduates with the appropriate skills and Pam Alexander gave six examples of initia- knowledge, especially in the physical sci- tives recently taken by RDAs. One is University Centre, Hastings, sponsored by ences and languages. Our offering to employers is not as strong as it needs to her own agency SEEDA. be, perhaps because employers have not This project, which has so far cost £7 million, is designed to break the depri- often been involved in creating or develop- vation and ‘lack of aspiration’ in the severely deprived seaside town of Hastings ing curricula. Another issue affecting the and the surrounding locality. Students come from the locality and teaching is competitiveness of our workforce is the availability of high-level technical skills. provided by a number of higher education institutions in the South-East. I have an example from nanotechnology. The curriculum is driven strongly by the area’s immediate needs with Professor John Wood, of the Council for courses in tourism management and in regeneration studies in an area under- the Central Laboratory of the Research going a 10 year regeneration programme. The centre has been designed for Councils (CCLRC), has pointed to a short- age of people able to ‘move atoms about’, 1,000 students and is expected to reach capacity in four years. despite a strong demand from high-tech Similar initiatives have begun in the Medway area and the Thames companies to get into this area. Such high- Gateway, with towns such as Ashford and Milton Keynes now discussing linking level skills exist in many research-oriented into the growth plan. higher education institutions, but there is no financial incentive for their dissemina- tion. Short, flexible and focused sessions of training would meet the need. particularly in the under-performing areas obstacles to be surmounted – for example, Skills for employability depend not of UK plc. Higher-education participation the unwillingness of many employers to just on the subjects studied, but on the rates are often way below average, even in invest in training for their employees and suitability of what is learned for employ- the South-East. Only 21 per cent of young the unwillingness of many HE institutions ment. I support the recommendation of people under 21 go into higher education to provide other than full-time courses the Lambert Review for more employer in Kent and Medway, for example, well because they feel that this compromises involvement in curriculum design and below the South-East average of 33 per their independence. course delivery. That could ensure that cent. This is one reason why our coastal In each region, RDAs are forming a graduates are well suited to the markets towns lose young people and then do not high level forum between vice-chancellors they enter. The IT skills council, e-Skills have the skills to attract well-paid and and senior business executives to advise UK, said that even graduates with good sustainable jobs. on regional priorities and to take an inter- degrees from top universities need a fur- Our challenge is to articulate the est in the supply of science, engineering ther two years within a company to get up needs of business more effectively as well and technology skills. Every RDA should to speed on such crucial skills as project as their difficulties, such as releasing staff have a Science and Industry Council by management, writing a decent business for full-time training. We are in the very the end of 2004. If we are to compete in case, people skills and other business early days of articulating the demand. international markets, our universities skills. But the universities, not unreason- All the English regions have developed need strength in depth. So, across the ably, were adamant that they were pro- new partnership groups to help define development agencies, our focus for the ducing good graduates, who all got good the needs of businesses in their regions. future is working with universities on col- jobs, so what was the problem? In the South-East we are, to begin with, laborations for excellence and to create Another priority is to widen access concentrating on further education where critical mass in important subjects and to learning and to skills development, there is a huge amount to do. There are technologies. ❏ Meeting industry’s needs Tom Swan

s an industrialist, as long as the sub- entering uncharted territory, it is my jects that are relevant to my business perception that the Germans, with their Aare available for study, I am a happy technical high schools, have got this part man. I need the purely academic subjects of higher education right. I am envious of such as chemistry, physics and engineer- the output of these universities - lab tech- ing to be taught. In another universe, I nicians, plumbers and fitters. Combined need electricians, fitters, plumbers and with modern apprenticeship schemes, Tom Swan OBE is chairman of welders just as much. My contention is Germany has at its beck and call a deep Thomas Swan & Co Ltd, a privately that we need two different types of uni- fund of skills that we lack. owned manufacturer of speciality versities to meet my requirements. In this Where does that take me? It is sim- and fine chemicals. His company has country today there is a greater shortage ple really. First, have two types of univer- invested widely in British universi- of people with vocational qualifications sities, academic and vocational. Second, at ties to develop technologies. He has than with academic qualifications - which the academic universities concentrate on also served on the Cabinet Office does not imply that the academic situa- traditional science and maybe arts sub- Deregulation Task Force. He was tion is satisfactory. jects, modernised where appropriate and awarded the OBE in 1999 for services Without direct experience of – this is important – do not dilute these to the chemical industry. vocational education, and at the risk of core subjects with bolt-on options such

16 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) strategic subjects in higher education as chemistry with business studies – Ugh! At the vocational universities, cover a Higher education provision. The discussion broad range of skills and also methods of Government target is for 50% of young acquiring those skills, for example, sand- people to go through higher education, but one contributor queried whether wich courses and apprenticeships. A second aspect of tonight’s theme is this was a sensible figure. Others though emphasised the need for a knowl- whether we have the right strategy for high- edge- and service-based economy to have a high proportion of well-qualified er education. As an employer, I can judge people in the workforce. If the definition of ‘higher education’ were to cover only by the results of the current strategy vocational training as well – perhaps through foundation degrees – a 50% tar- – and by the quality of the graduates and the quality of the research. I am not sure get, or even a higher 60% figure, would be realistic and desirable. you will like what I am going to say: com- pared to 30 or 40 years ago, the quality of first degree graduates has plummeted. What are the reasons? Has the out- ness management is a disadvantage. If seek a centre of excellence with which put of the schools deteriorated? Are there a chemist shows signs of wanting to go to collaborate. Universities must make too many universities with too many into management, as an employer I will such centres easy to identify. I believe the undergraduates who are not capable of train him and give him that chance but, notion of centres of excellence supports benefiting from a university education? to begin with, I want a chemist, as good as the argument for specialisation in sci- Or does the wide selection of easy subjects possible. ence subjects. In chemistry, for example, in secondary schools mean that universi- Without going into the detailed it would be much easier to attract stars ties must lower their entry requirements whys and wherefores, I plead again for to a relatively few but excellent chemistry to attract students, thus creating a vicious a clearly visible split between academic departments than many moderate ones. downward spiral in quality? universities and vocational universities. So To put it another way, an industrialist To answer my own question, I do far, you may have noticed, I have not once like me is more interested in a chemistry not believe that we have the right strategy mentioned the Tomlinson Report. This department that employs a Nobel Prize for higher education. Those capable of is because I wanted to put my thoughts winner in the type of chemistry in which intellectual achievement should be able forward in my own simple language; I am involved, rather than a five-star rated to achieve high and respected grades in Tomlinson, of course, says the same things department with no stars – if you follow testing examinations that demonstrate an far more cogently than I. He is, of course, my meaning! in-depth understanding of the subject. covering all subjects and not just the sci- Collaborative research needs to be But first, we have to attract them to the ences. I disagree with his proposals for managed. The industrial partners must subjects. coursework; as an employer, I would want invest the appropriate time and quality of Here, the first port of call must be a science graduate to have got to univer- management in the project’s progress. I inspirational teachers. That is easy to say sity through a system of testing, external have been astounded to hear that a large, but very difficult to achieve. Yet teachers examinations rather than subjectively- well-known company, having established are fundamental to any strategy and there examined coursework. The potted version a collaborative grant with a very well- are numerous schemes and programmes of this is: “Start young, aim for excellence known university, thought that it was to help them learn and be more efficient. and have two types of universities”. adequate to visit and discuss the project But the only way of getting excellence in Finally, within the academic univer- once a year. Apparently this is more the science teaching is to pay the good teach- sities, not every university should offer the rule than the exception. Such behaviour ers very generously indeed. whole spectrum of sciences. It should be does no favours to anyone, least of all the The second port of call is to make decided, and there needs to be an element university. By comparison, we visit at science and the application of science of planning here, which will specialise in least once a month and, although some interesting at a young age. The Jesuit, what and how many places will be avail- academics grumble at the discipline Ignatius Loyola, said, “Give me the boy able, thereby ensuring that only the best this entails, they all acknowledge that until he is seven and I will show you applicants will be offered places. Today the project and therefore the university the man” (women did not exist in those comes news that Exeter is closing its department is better for it. days). It is my firm belief that you start chemistry department. Many may lament So where does all this lead us? We the required process of improving sec- this, but it is a tough world out there and have a lot to do at the input end in the ondary schools – and hence universities I believe that only the best departments schools. Science and industry must be – in primary schools. I believe in this nationally should survive. made attractive, otherwise I cannot see sufficiently to have put a considerable The last point leads into the sec- how to supply employers with the quality amount of money, my money, into found- ond of my main headings: the quality of graduates or post-docs that they will ing a primary school programme at the of research. The relationship between need. Doing nothing is not an option – as Chemical Industries Education Centre industry and universities in this field demonstrated by the fact that my com- at the University of York called Children is the subject of the Lambert Review. I pany is now having to employ graduates challenging industry. It is a serious attempt have collaborated a great deal with many from Europe, specifically from France. to bridge Key Stage 3 by creating a deep- universities, not just in Britain. I have The current quality of graduates, seated interest in manufacturing industry not dared to add up how much we have taken across the board, is tolerable but and science. committed to these collaborations, but declining. That will not be put right We must achieve excellence in my mind they have all been successful. unless the input is put right. Nevertheless, throughout primary and secondary What makes for successful collaboration? we need to reorganise the university sys- schools, but from the employers’ point of Well, that is easy, a good result mani- tem to ensure the specialisation that leads view breadth of education can come later fested either as a spin-off company or as to centres of excellence. It is also true that - after the first degree. If as an employer new products and processes. But how can centres of excellence cannot be created I need a chemist, the fact that a gradu- good results be assured? without suitable financial incentives to ate has a degree in chemistry and busi- An industrial partner will usually attract the stars. ❏

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) 17 science and the city

The need for increased investment in Research & Development (R&D) was explored in a dinner discussion on 1 December 2004. Representatives of government, business and research organisations discussed the different aspects of the issue. Improving communication between the City and science Paul Myners

here is a Chinese proverb which says: are treated as internal management deci- “The participants’ perspectives are sions, made with little fanfare and without Tclouded while the bystanders’ views any explanation to investors about the are clear.” The proverb sums up the situa- potential long-term benefits to the busi- tion facing us as we consider the relation- ness. As a result, these decisions are not ship between the business and science understood and the investment is not fac- communities. tored into the share price. In many cases, When we put ourselves in the posi- this reluctance to communicate may be Paul Myners CBE is chairman of tion of the bystanders, the overwhelm- based upon false understandings about the Marks & Spencer, and was chair- ing majority of British businesses – and commercial-in-confidence risks that might man of Gartmore Investment investors in these businesses – see that be attached to a more open dialogue. Management until his retirement in technology and its development via R&D The other extreme is where com- 2001. He is chairman of the trustees is fundamental to the success of our panies succumb to the desire to hype the of Tate, a Trustee of Glyndebourne companies. Yet, despite the commitment commercial potential of new technologies. and a Fellow of the Royal Society of from all sides, participating in technology Unfortunately, investors in the past have Art. In March 2000, Paul was invited on a day-to-day basis is a difficult mat- been seduced by research and develop- by the Chancellor of the Exchequer ter; as the proverb states, our perspectives ment claims where promises have far out- to review matters relating to institu- become clouded. stripped deliverable commercial success. On the one hand, the City is cas- Examples include genetically modified tional investment. He was appointed tigated for its short-termism that seems food, the internet bubble and nanotech- a CBE in the 2003 New Year’s to preclude the long-term investment nology. There is an understandable reluc- Honours List for services to innova- required to bring new technology to frui- tance amongst the investment community tion in finance. tion. On the other, the financial communi- to take everything at face value. So it is ty can point to any number of over-hyped, no surprise that markets will only ascribe expensive, delayed technologies that have value to an as yet unrealised technology if failed to deliver commercial applications. a company has a proven record of success. Let me start by reflecting on how I However, crediting value on the basis believe the financial community views the of past performance and assuming that issue. There certainly appears to be a gap past success will be repeated in the future in understanding between some investors may well change when the operating and and companies about the impact of R&D financial review (OFR) comes into being. spend on corporate valuation. From the Amongst the recommendations in the perspective of the City, it appears to be 2002 Company Law Review is the need for the result of two factors. companies to significantly enhance infor- The first concerns the different mation provided to shareholders, which accounting standards used around the will enable them to better assess the com- world which hamper meaningful com- pany’s strategies, their likely success and parisons between companies. As a result the material risks faced by the corporation. it can be genuinely difficult to be precise The form and content of the OFR about the impact of R&D expenditure on are still evolving. There is an important corporate valuation. The introduction of opportunity here for members of the sci- international accounting standards will, ence community to help frame the way in due course, address this issue and there science and its value to the company are is a significant opportunity for science- articulated in the OFR. There is no prec- based companies as a consequence. edent in this country for the OFR and More interesting for us is the sec- there is, therefore, the opportunity for ond reason, which is a perceived failure various groups to argue for clear expres- to communicate to the investment sector sion of corporate commitment to areas of about R&D expenditure. This occurs in particular interest. two very different forms: on the one hand, Let me explain how we create value not enough information and, on the from R&D at Marks & Spencer. The appli- other, too much hype. cation of technology for customer benefit The perception amongst many inves- is at the heart of our business. Each of our tors is that, too often, R&D investments divisions has a specific technology func-

18 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2004 >> VOL. 18 (8) science and the city tion and we employ more than 100 tech- nologists across the business. Their job, in questions investors should ask part, is to anticipate customer needs and to find technologies that meet customer Paul Myners suggested that investors should ask businesses a number of requirements in a manner that beats mar- ket expectations. questions about their R&D effort: We tend not to invest in pure sci- how well does the business appear to understand technology – i.e. is it a ence for the sake of it; our approach – is to draw on scientific breakthroughs, market leader or a follower when it comes to adopting new technology? on developments in technology and on what is its track record in successfully taking technology from the R&D knowledge in many different fields, and to – bundle this together to deliver customer phase to commercial success? benefits. This approach requires us to how well does the business link technology and customers’ needs? reach out into the world of academia to – identify potential new breakthrough sci- – how well is the business connected to its suppliers, to their suppliers and ences that may shift our marketplace in to the world of academia? the future. If we cannot find what we are looking for, or if we believe that there is – does it have the right people to translate scientific advances into new a gap in basic scientific knowledge, then technology? we move to address it. For example, we created and funded the chair of farm ani- – above all, does it seem to understand the wider, swirling debate about trust mal health, food science and food safety and how this affects customer perceptions of technology? at the Centre of Veterinary Science in Cambridge to fill a gap which we saw in our marketplace. However, if a new tech- nology project cannot demonstrate that it ered any sudden step change in under- and, lastly, nitrogen-based refrigeration will create value for our customers, it does standing, but involved instead the clever allowed us to create a cold chain from not see the light of day. and persistent connection of multiple factory to store. Without any one of these Let me describe two new technol- strands of technology in order to deliver developments, ready meals, which we are ogy products that did get the investment the result. This breakthrough has enabled all now so accustomed to using, could not ‘green light’. The machine washable men’s us to sell over £40 million worth of men’s have been created. suit, a rather prosaic example in a world washable suits during the last two years in I would like to touch on one other of bioscience and space age technology, a market characterised, in the past, by a critical issue that affects all who work with is of huge commercial value to us. Our lack of innovation. new technologies – the issue of consumer customers were telling us that dry clean- My second example comes from our trust. In a consumer market, commercial ing was a bind – expensive, time consum- food business and concerns the develop- success is not just dependent upon clever ing and damaging to clothes. So we set ment of ready meals, now a multi-billion technical solutions, it also depends on our supply chain and technology team a pound market which M&S pioneered in trust. At M&S, we have done much to challenge: develop a machine washable this country. Here, we brought together develop the radio-frequency identification suit that would retain its shape, could be advances in four key areas of science. The technology (RFID) microchip to improve washed without any specific instructions first was in microbiology, allowing us to efficiency in retail supply chain manage- and could be sold for £125. It took three create new ultra-clean factories. In poly- ment and to enhance product availability years and innovations across literally doz- mer sciences, we delivered packaging that in our stores. We have already used the ens of fibre components and manufactur- could be used in the oven or microwave. technology on three million food distri- ing processes, but they stuck to the task Colloid science gave us seven-colour bution trays within our supply chain. and delivered the suit, a world first. printing, allowing customers to see food The results have been encouraging; This was not a journey that deliv- accurately pictured on the packaging but there are concerns that embedding microchips in products has implications for privacy. The practical solution that Fostering knowledge. Some thought the discussion we came up with, through dialogue with City and the Government should be more NGOs involved, has proved relatively straightforward. The microchips are either concerned about the closure of chemistry departments in universities. There was placed on distribution trays or on dispos- room for concern if such closures damaged high quality research and meant able swing tickets – a solution that has that students who wanted to do chemistry could not find opportunities to do it. proved neither difficult nor expensive to It must be remembered, though, that some chemists were recruited outside the implement but was necessary if we were going to continue to foster the huge trust UK; current restrictions on entry of researchers into US universities could provide that our customers have in the M&S brand. a valuable opportunity for UK academia and companies to pick up talent. We must continue to take this dual The Government should concentrate on knowledge transfer, which meant approach of developing the technology ensuring that the intellectual property rights regime was effective. While there and managing trust at the same time. There is undoubtedly a clear need must be some form of market monopoly over research findings for some for the City and business to work more period, nobody thought the present regime was perfect. But change would closely together, in order to understand mean agreement from a large number of conflicting interests. Patents were not the true value of investment in technology the answer in many cases. Technical know-how was the basis of many profitable and to appreciate its implications for the short and long term commercial success technological advances. of our great corporations. ❏

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) 19 science and the city Making up our minds about the pharmaceutical industry Peter Goodfellow

e have a fundamental problem in new drugs cover the cost of research and the pharmaceutical industry. If development, so you end up focusing the Wyou have a product cycle time of costs on a relatively few products. It is like 25 years, you are hovering at the border- spinning a roulette wheel in the sense that line between what you can support by the only some drugs make large amounts of market approach and what you have to money (for example, Liptor: a statin for support by some other means. To put it treating high cholesterol, which sells $10 Dr Peter Goodfellow FRS is senior another way: the high margins that you billion a year). vice-president, Discovery Research, have to charge for your products have When I joined the pharmaceutical nothing to do with the cost of manufac- industry, my boss was Jan Leschly. He took at GlaxoSmithKline. He has worked turing the products. They are to do with me aside one day and said, “Peter, I want as a research scientist specialising the cost of having produced the intellec- to tell you the law of the pharmaceutical in human genetics. In 1992, he was tual property that goes into the product. industry.” He put his arm around me in elected to the position of Balfour If society decides to take the short term a fatherly fashion and then he punched Professor of Genetics at Cambridge view that the margins are unacceptable me: he had a habit of punching people University. For the last eight years, and controls the price, I believe that, as a and as he was a professional tennis player Peter Goodfellow has worked in the society, we will have to find some other in his time, being punched by him was pharmaceutical industry. way of making pharmaceuticals. not altogether a friendly experience. He That may be a metaphor for the said, “Man, this is the law. If we make new wider question of investing in R&D, but medicines that treat unmet medical needs, I am going to focus on the pharmaceuti- society will give us a lot of money and if cal industry in this contribution to the we don’t, they won’t – so go off and make debate. In the UK, pharmaceuticals is the some new medicines.” Industry would industrial sector which accounts for most develop the drugs, and society would allow (40 per cent) of the country’s R&D spend. the profits: that has been the contract that Aerospace spends 15 per cent, automotives we have been working under. Because of six per cent and IT six per cent. One of the that contract, 91 per cent of drugs are first fears that I have sometimes when talking synthesised in industry and only nine per to my colleagues in government is that you cent are first synthesised in academia. end up with no overall gain if you focus We are wrestling with two problems on raising small- and medium-enterprise in the pharmaceutical industry. The first investment while lowering spending in the is that society cannot quite make up its sectors which are already investing. mind whether to use a market-based Look at the data on R&D spending approach or not. The Government has as a percentage of sales. The pharmaceuti- been very sincere in discussing invest- cal industry spends roughly twice what ment in R&D with us. However, in the any other sector does in the UK. If you recent negotiations with the Department look at the US, basically the same thing is of Health over pricing, they mandated a true: pharmaceuticals look different. So, cut in the total amount of money that a what is different? pharmaceutical company could earn in Firstly, making new drugs is very the UK, in order to cut the bill for drugs difficult. I believe it is the most compli- in the NHS. That is true for every market cated thing on this planet to make a new in Europe: the government actually deter- drug. You have to bring together skill sets mines what the price is. in chemistry, and in every ‘-ology’ known Paradoxically, because we have a to man, including that desperately arcane ‘free market’ in Europe, if the government art known as medicine, in order to make a in Greece sets a very low price, then peo- new drug. The cycle time is 14 years to get ple in Greece can export that drug back to through the R&D process before you get the UK, where the price is higher! Parallel to the market, and as the average time in trading, which undermines the whole the marketplace is only 11 years, the over- commercial structure of sales, is a bizarre all cycle time is 25 years. consequence of having controlled markets I work in the pharmaceutical indus- in what is supposed to be a single market try, but I am not going to be in it for – and we have never been able to do any- 25 years to see a complete cycle time. I thing about that. So the pricing problem therefore have two roles: I am the custo- is clearly an issue. dian of what people did before, and I am The second problem is my prob- the custodian of the future. Only a few lem. Sales have gone up but, since 1994,

20 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2004 >> VOL. 18 (8) science and the city the overall success rate in producing new There is, as in everything in life, an the UK is not producing the chemists we drugs has been going down. We have to issue about the cost: if you can do some- need for the pharmaceutical industry. We become more effective so that we can thing cheaper elsewhere with equivalent now recruit 50 per cent of our student make more drugs for less money. quality, then clearly you will. There is chemists from France and Germany. I am So I think that we have a number also the need to invest in new technology not sure if that is a problem or not, but of choices to make. Society has got as opposed to doing things the way that we are not producing the chemists that we to choose whether it wishes to make you have always done them in the past. need in our economy here in the UK. investment – either in the private or You need, too, to make a decision about We also need staff security. There is public sector – in new technology for whether you really are going to be a phar- reluctance related to the issues of animal health. We need perhaps to go back to maceutical company or whether you are rights, and a difficulty in recruiting people the implied contract and get agreement going to be a generic company and copy with ‘in vivo’ pharmacology skills and between society and industry about what other people. interests, which could also be a barrier to the contract actually is, otherwise this It is possible that we could use us in the future. There is also the question industry is going to look very different. other models to make drugs and there of a pro-business culture. Clearly, if you Society also needs to decide if it wishes are, I think, indications that academia is decide to develop drugs in academia, you to reward innovation. becoming interested in taking on this role. do not need a pro-business culture; if you I thought I would say something I would like to make it absolutely trans- are going to do it in industry, you defi- about what actually influences the choices parent that, if we change the model and nitely need it. we make in R&D investment. The first is the cycle time is 25 years, then we run the We need a good regulatory environ- the overall market need. By that I mean risk of missing out on a cycle’s worth of ment and long-term stability. We need a unmet medical need: how many people productivity if the people who are going contract so that the environment does not can you actually help? Then what return to do it do not have enough experience. change dramatically. I also think that a can be made on that investment and how Finally, we should consider the strong relationship with the health service will it appear to investors: this will have social attributes of R&D investment. I is important. an effect on the share price. If we make think that the UK has a great science base. The UK could be the best place to do a drug and then our customer (perhaps I am glad that the Government, in con- clinical research but it is not. That harms the NHS) refuses to pay for the costs to junction with the Wellcome Trust over the patients in the UK: it closes off an option recoup the investment, then we have a dif- past few years, has recognised the worth for improving overall health and clinical ferent problem. Obviously, this also poses of investing in that science base and I treatments here. I am pleased that there difficult questions about diseases of the hope that will long continue. We need to have been some initiatives recently to try developing world. have a trained and willing workforce, but to address this particular question. ❏ Raising R&D intensity in the UK Stephen Timms

would like to concentrate on one strand announced a £1 billion funding increase of our priorities for science and innova- for the science base over the period to Ition over the next decade: our determi- 2007-8; this is, conveniently, an average nation to raise R&D intensity in the UK annual growth rate of 5.8 per cent, just to 2.5 per cent by around 2014. At the on the right side of the figure in the sce- moment it is about 1.9 per cent, and it nario. We set out a ten year framework is going to be quite a tough challenge to for investment in the science base: this bring about that change. R&D intensity is would increase at least in line with the Stephen Timms was appointed an important indicator of a key driver of trend growth rate of the economy, helping Financial Secretary to the Treasury in productivity. We know that a significant to raise science spending as a proportion September 2004, having served since proportion of our productivity gap com- of GDP. May 2002 at the Department of Trade pared with the US is due to lower levels of We are very keen to work closely & Industry first as minister for e- R&D spending. If we achieve our goal of with R&D employers to understand Commerce and Competitiveness and 2.5 per cent we will be in a strong position their investment plans better – and also then as minister of State for Energy, against competitors like the US, France to understand the barriers in the way of e-Commerce and Postal Services. and Germany. making the investment we are looking for. He worked in the computing and We will need action from both the There are very good reasons for telecommunications industry for 15 public and private sectors if we are to suc- businesses to invest in more R&D. years before entering Parliament in ceed. Business R&D is the largest part of Harnessing technological innovation will 1994 as Member of Parliament for the total, so a positive business response is play a crucial role in a business’s ability Newham North East. He was elected essential. In our Investment Framework, to succeed in the global economy in the MP for East Ham in 1997. we sketched out one scenario which future. As globalisation continues apace, Since giving this talk, Stephen Timms assumed equal growth in the amounts competition can only get fiercer; it is has become minister of state at the of both private R&D and public funding estimated that, by 2025, half of all global Department for Work and Pensions. going into the science base. That scenario manufacturing exports will be produced would require a growth in funding on in today’s developing countries, com- both sides of 5.75 per cent a year in real pared with a quarter today. At the same terms over the coming decade. time, rising education standards and In the Spending Review in July we skill levels are enabling a lot of emerging

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) 21 science and the city economies to move rapidly up the value- added chain. Already, China and India Trust. Trust between investors and busi- discussion are each producing around two million nesses was crucial, but there was some graduates every year, and in Singapore public suspicion of science, and a strong feeling that there were social, as well R&D spending is growing at 15 per cent a year. So the competitive imperative for as commercial, objectives that scientific advances ought to be serving. innovation and investment in R&D is For example, did research in the food industry serve the aims of securing very strong. adequate nutrition and preventing obesity in children? Were the oil companies Research shows that business seriously interested in reducing the use of carbon fuels? investment in R&D generates substantial returns: estimates vary between 10 and The answer lay in the need for businesses to recognise public concerns early 40 per cent. More concretely, according to enough to develop products that would address those concerns profitably. The the latest DTI Scoreboard, the portfolio of efforts of the food industry to develop low-salt and low-fat products which cus- R&D-intensive companies on the London tomers wanted to buy, and the investment oil companies were putting into fuel Stock Market has seen share price growth of 57 per cent since 1997, while the FTSE cells and solar power, were examples of such responses. 100 as a whole has fallen by 11 per cent over the same period. R&D intensity in the UK fell in the government is to deliver stable economic science are aimed at supplying the econ- 1980s and 1990s as GDP growth out- conditions, with a supportive regulatory omy with the skills and the research that stripped R&D growth. That was partly environment to make the UK an attrac- it needs. In addition, our targeted invest- because of falls in defence R&D. There tive place for innovative businesses to ments in venture capital and knowledge are now welcome signs that the trend is locate. Building on that, there are fiscal transfer are designed to close gaps in the reversing: since the 1980s, investment in measures we want to use to incentivise private market. R&D has risen in real terms with the big- greater R&D too: tax credits were intro- Of course, companies create their gest increases in the chemicals and trans- duced for SMEs in 2000 and extended to own destinies. As shareholders become port equipment sectors. There have also large companies in 2002. By May 2004, more assertive, we need the City to been some big increases in the services over 10,000 tax credit claims had been explain the case for medium and long- sector. Overall, though, it is still not rising received from SMEs amounting to £570 term investment in science much better. fast enough, and our investment frame- million of support. A DTI technology The challenge is for the City to persuade work identified four things we need to do strategy is focussing resources on key investors that R&D is an asset as well as to deliver the R&D target. areas of technology potential, funding a risk. First, we need to maintain or grow R&D businesses and encouraging more There also needs to be greater col- R&D in sectors where the UK is already collaborative work between the science laboration between business and our strong. Second, we need to attract more base and businesses. The department has academic base. We want businesses to investment into the UK. We want this announced an £80 million fund for com- improve their engagement with universi- country to be the partner of choice in panies to carry out collaborative R&D in ties and research establishments, working Europe for global R&D. In that regard, nine high priority technology areas. to transfer technology from the lab into overseas business investment for com- We want to work much more direct- commercial application, with both sides mercial R&D is up by 75 per cent in ly with businesses than in the past. The becoming more responsive to the experi- cash terms since 1996, compared with DTI has brought together innovation and ences of the other. We are taking steps an increase of all business R&D of just growth teams for aerospace, biotechnol- to address the barriers Richard Lambert 50 per cent. Third, we want to increase ogy, chemicals and (one that I launched) identified in his review of business/uni- R&D intensity in those firms and sectors the electronics industry. These are looking versity collaboration: this concluded that where it is not strong and has not been strategically at the competitive challenges business, the science base and the econo- strong historically. Fourth, we need to faced by each sector to see how best we my as a whole would benefit from better develop new R&D-intensive sectors and can respond. collaboration. improve the rate of creating R&D-inten- We need to improve access to Richard also recommended an sive small- and medium-sized enterprises finance; this is often a factor holding back enhanced role for Regional Development (SMEs). growth, especially in small companies. Agencies in funding and facilitating The principal responsibility of The investments that we are making in research that is relevant to businesses; that is being taken forward by the RDAs themselves. Central Government will be Making choices. It was suggested that discussion investing more to help universities and the very large size of pharmaceutical and public sector research establishments defence companies might inhibit the development of radical ideas: smaller com- build capacity in knowledge transfer panies without a bureaucratic structure might be better at giving highly origi- - for example, the Higher Education Innovation Fund will reach £110 million a nal proposals a better chance. The contrary hypothesis was also proposed, year by 2007-8. though: that large companies might be able to afford to support original, but So, taken together, the measures perhaps uncommercial, ideas while they might sink a smaller company. that we have introduced to increase R&D Investment managers probably do not choose investment vehicles by investi- investment in the UK do, I think, rep- resent important progress. Many of the gating the performance of each company in a sector. They are more concerned measures, the R&D tax credits for exam- with asset allocation between sectors and achieving the appropriate weighting. ple, are already demonstrating positive So any investment manager allocating assets to pharmaceuticals would almost results, but we know that there is still a invariably have shares in GSK for example. way to go and we are determined not to be complacent. ❏

22 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2004 >> VOL. 18 (8) nuclear energy A new nuclear generation? John Maddox, Editor n the run-up to the general election, the ades of experiment in Cornwall, geothermal dangerous procedure. Even the spirit of prime minister, Tony Blair, declared that energy is unlikely to make much of a con- glasnost (fashionable at the time) did not Ihe had “fought hard” to ensure that the tribution to British energy supplies. sanction experiments of this “let’s see what option of building further nuclear power The nuclear industry has acquired a happens” kind. The concern in future may stations in the United Kingdom was not reputation for being unsafe, but its safety be to ensure the integrity of those who con- foreclosed. Now his newly formed govern- record compares well with that of industrial trol nuclear stations. ment is gingerly preparing to publish a sectors such as construction or even farm- The first generation of British reactors white paper defining the conditions under ing, when measured by physical injuries to, was commissioned by Government agen- which further nuclear power stations might or fatalities among, workers. The explana- cies (the Atomic Energy Authority and the be built. The document should appear early tion lies with the nature of the most com- Central Electricity Generating Board). Now next year (2006). mon hazard to well-being – exposure to that the power industry is privatised, that The issue has been lent urgency by sev- radiation, suffered by workers at nuclear route to a new generation of power stations is eral considerations. Despite efforts to pro- plants directly and by the general popula- closed. The white paper will no doubt insist long the life of existing stations, the original tion through the emission of radioactive that future developments will have to be con- Magnox reactors are within a decade of isotopes (of hydrogen and argon) unavoid- ducted within the economic framework that being decommissioned. The second gen- ably emitted from nuclear power stations. has evolved over the past few years. eration of Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors The current regulations limiting human The most serious task for the authors of (such as that in Dungeness in Kent) will exposure to radiation are based on the the white paper will be that of devising a reach the ends of their life within 15 years. assumption that the risk of contracting level playing field on which several alterna- Thereafter only the Pressurised-Water cancer is directly proportional to the radia- tive sources of power can fairly compete for Reactor at Sizewell in Suffolk will remain in tion dose received. In other words, there is the attention of consumers. Even as things service. Yet these power stations account for no ‘threshold’ below which exposure has are, it is difficult enough to use market nearly 25 per cent of British electricity pro- literally no effect. The permitted doses are mechanisms to strike a balance between duction. The likelihood that they could be then set at such a level that the occurrence oil and gas: the latter has a price advantage replaced by renewable energy is not strong. of cancer will be statistically imperceptible. because it produces less CO2 per therm of Security of supply is in question. The nuclear industry and the Nuclear energy, but who knows whether the price The past decade has seen substantial Installations Inspectorate are well equipped differential is correctly set? improvement in reactor design. Both in with the techniques (and the people) If new nuclear power stations enter the the United States and Europe, the use of needed to monitor these things. The white British mix of energy production, there will enriched fuel in water-cooled reactors has paper will no doubt emphasise the rather be further complications. One is that nucle- led to structural designs which are inher- good record of the past 40 years, although ar power stations now operating are subject ently cheaper to build and which produce that will not dispel the notion that an invis- to the climate change levy by which the less radioactive waste for the energy they ible agent such as radioactivity in the air or government taxes electricity not generated generate. Even without considerations of water can cause cancer. by renewable sources. (The justification, fossil-fuel induced climate change, power There remains the problem of radioac- that nuclear stations embody great quanti- generators would be looking to nuclear fis- tive waste generated from the fuel in nucle- ties of energy in their construction, has sion as a source of electricity. ar reactors. The belief that this must be always been contentious.) Fair play would The US design for a modern reactor has strictly isolated is a central plank of nuclear require this provision to be amended, per- been developed by Westinghouse, which public health policy, and rightly. But the haps even abolished. is now a subsidiary of the Government’s problem is not insoluble. There is, for The past few years have also provided wholly-owned British Nuclear Fuels example, a general opinion that the safest vivid evidence that the costs of dealing with (BNFL). The European design is the prod- means of disposing of the most dangerous nuclear wastes, and of decommissioning reac- uct of a consortium led by Siemens, the material is to incorporate it in glass, and tors, cannot be ignored. No doubt the white German electrical manufacturer. then to pour that glass into stainless-steel paper will insist that the new regime should But climate change is the real driver of the containers which in turn are stored in an cover these costs, at least in principle, from the Government’s change of tack. The difficulty accessible underground repository. outset – speculative though they may be. of meeting the current goal of 10 per cent of Such procedures are being followed The white paper will therefore pose big electricity generation from renewables (most- in the United States, France and Finland, and subtle questions for industrial contrac- ly wind power) by the end of the decade is among others. In Britain, the government tors and the capital markets on which they manifest. An accelerated programme of con- agency NIREX proposed building such a depend. But the really difficult questions are struction to meet a forward projection of the repository in the rock beneath the Sellafield for the government itself. Does it have the Kyoto Protocol is likely to be a disheartening site in Cumbria, but this was rejected follow- stomach for building anew the infrastruc- experience for everybody concerned. ing a public enquiry. The outcome is that ture for an industry that has been mori- If the abatement of climate change is the the Government has handed the question bund for a quarter of a century? Is it pre- urgent goal the Government believes, all of long-term waste disposal to a working pared to seek to win the public debate there pollution-free sources of energy will have party due to report only in July next year. No will inevitably be? And to face the endless to be deployed. The white paper is likely doubt the debate likely to be caused by the public enquiries there may have to be. to argue for this. No doubt the need for white paper will still be raging at that time. It will be surprising if these questions energy efficiency will again be rehearsed. The risk of an accident such as that at can be decided quickly. In an ideal world, Wave power is a long-term potential source, Chernobyl in 1992 is not a technical but a they would need a whole five-year parlia- on which the Government is spending sub- managerial question. The reactor caught mentary term. But that luxury is no longer stantial sums. Solar power serves a niche, fire after two engineers on a night shift car- on offer. The timetable of climate change is but deserves encouragement. Despite dec- ried out an unauthorised and manifestly too pressing. ❏

FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) 23 events

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

25 May 2005 23 November 2004 The Education of 14-19 Year Olds Strategic Subjects in Higher Education Pauline Cox, Head, Tiffin Girls’ School, Kingston Sir Howard Newby CBE, Chief Executive, Higher Education Funding Council Lord May of Oxford, President, The Royal Society for England Julie Bramman, Head of Curriculum, Specialism and Collaboration, Pam Alexander, Chief Executive, South East England Development Agency Department for Education and Skills Tom Swan OBE, Chairman, Thomas Swan & Co Ltd Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and The Comino Foundation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)

11 May 2005 Science Policy and Management Sir Keith O’Nions FRS, DGRC, OST Sir David Wallace CBE FRS, Vice-Chancellor, Loughborough University 10 November 2004 Dr Mark Walport, Director, The Wellcome Trust Science Communication - are we making progress? BAE SYSTEMS, The Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils and Professor Colin Blakemore FRS FMedSci, Chief Executive, Medical Research The Natural Environment Research Council Council Professor Kathy Sykes, Collier Chair: Public Engagement in Science and Engineering, University of Bristol 27 April 2005 Fiona Fox, Head, Science Media Centre, Royal Institution of Great Britain Can the UK get on, and stay on, a path to a sustainable economy? Defra, Pfizer and The Wellcome Trust Jonathon Porritt, Chairman, Sustainable Development Commission Anna Coote, King’s Fund Dr Bernie Bulkin, former Chief Scientist, BP Professor Howard Dalton FRS, Chief Scientist, Defra 28 October 2004 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Energy Policy — Security of Supply The Natural Environment Research Council The Lord Sutherland of Houndwood KT PRSE FBA, President, Royal Society of Edinburgh 23 March 2005 Peter Mather, Director UK and Europe, BP Kieron McFadyen, Technical Director (Europe), Shell Exploration and The UK Productivity Gap Production Professor Vicky Pryce, Chief Economic Adviser and Director General, Scottish Enterprise, The IEE and the Institute of Physics Economics, DTI Professor Jonathan Haskel, Queen Mary, University of London Professor John Van Reenen, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics The Gatsby Foundation and The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 26 October 2004 The Lord Lloyd of Kilgerran Award Lecture Dr Richard Durbin FRS, Head of Informatics Department and Deputy 9 March 2005 Director, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Transport Policy - How should road congestion be managed? Graham Pendlebury, Director Road and Vehicle Safety and Standards Directorate, Department for Transport Dr Archie Robertson CBE, Chief Executive, Highways Agency 20 October 2004 Professor David Rhind CBE FRS FBA, Vice-Chancellor, City University Public Health — imposing choice? Professor Anthony May OBE, Chairman, Inquiry into Transport and Derek Wanless, Inquiry Chairman, Securing Good Health for the Whole Emeritus Professor, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Population Royal Academy of Engineering Melanie Johnson MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department of Health Department for Transport and Lloyd’s Register of Shipping Lucy Neville-Rolfe, Company Secretary, Tesco Professor Siân Griffiths, Senior Clinical Lecturer, Department Public Health and Primary Care, Oxford University 23 February 2005 Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Kohn Foundation Identity Management Des Browne MP (represented by Katherine Courtney), Minister of State for Citizenship and Immigration, Home Office Ian Watmore, UK Government CIO and Head, e-Government Unit, Cabinet 12 October 2004 Office Ed Mayo, Chief Executive, National Consumer Council Risk Perception and Public Policy Sharp Laboratories of Europe and QinetiQ Sir John Krebs FRS, Chairman, Food Standards Agency Professor Ian Diamond, Chief Executive, Economic and Social Research Council 1 February 2005 Professor Nick Pidgeon, University of East Anglia Visit to Ford Dagenham Diesel Centre Defra, Fishmongers’ Company, Pitchell Consulting Mr Roger Putnam, Director, Ford Jacqui Smith MP, Minister of State for Industry and the Regions , DTI

20 July 2004 1 December 2004 Science & innovation investment framework 2004–2014 Science and the City John Kingman, Director, Enterprise and Growth Unit, HM Treasury Paul Myners, Chairman, M&S Sir Keith O’Nions FRS, Director General Research Councils, Office of Stephen Timms MP, Financial Secretary, HM Treasury Science and Technology, DTI Dr Peter Goodfellow FRS FMedSci, Senior Vice President , Discovery Andrew Barker, Head of European Equity Strategy & Managing Director, Research, GlaxoSmithKline UBS ARM, Comino Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and HEFCE Research Councils UK

24 FST JOURNAL >> JUNE 2005 >> VOL. 18 (8) Companies, departments, research institutes and charitable organisations providing general support to the Foundation.

3i plc Foreign & Commonwealth Office Science Media Centre Aberdeen University Fugro GEOS Science and Technology Policy Research Advantage West Midlands Gatsby Foundation Scottish Funding Council for Further and Aerial Group Limited GCI Healthcare Higher Education ALSTOM Power GlaxoSmithKline SEMTA Altran Technologies Harley Street Holdings Ltd Severn Trent plc ARM Heads of University Biological Sciences Sharp Laboratories of Europe Arts and Humanities Research Board Health & Safety Executive South Bank University Association for Science Education Higher Education Funding Council for England Textile Institute Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry House of Lords Select Committee on Thames Water BAE SYSTEMS Science and Technology The British Academy Baker Tilly IBM (UK) Ltd The City Centre for Charity Effectiveness Bank of England Imperial College of Science, Technology and The Generics Group BBC Medicine The Hydrographic Society Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Japan Society for the Promotion of Science The Institution of Electrical Engineers Research Council Johnson Matthey plc The Institute of Physics Blackwell Publishing King’s College London The Leverhulme Trust BP KMC Search and Selection The Meteorological Office BRIT Insurance Holdings plc Kobe Steel Europe Ltd The Open University British Antarctic Survey Kohn Foundation The Royal Academy of Engineering British Computer Society Lloyd’s Register The Royal Commission on Environmental British Council - Science Section London Development Agency Pollution British Geological Survey London School of Hygiene and Tropical The Royal Commission for the Exhibition British Library Medicine of 1851 British Maritime Technology Loughborough University The Royal Society British Trade International Medical Research Council The Royal Society of Edinburgh Brunel University Michael John Trust The Smallpeice Trust BTG plc Microsoft Research Limited The Wellcome Trust CABI Bioscience Middlesex University UK Council for Graduate Education Calderwood Han Limited Ministry of Defence UK eUniversities Worldwide Cambridge MIT Institute Monsanto plc UK Marine Information Council Cancer Research UK National Grid Transco University College London Council for the Central Laboratory of the Natural Environment Research Council University of Birmingham Research Councils Natural History Museum University of Bristol Chantrey Vellacott NESTA University of Buckingham CIRIA NIMTECH University of Cambridge City & Guilds North East Science & Industry Council University of Dundee Comino Foundation Nottingham Trent University University of Durham Conoco (UK) Limited Office of Science and Technology, DTI University of East Anglia Council for Industry & Higher Education Office of the Deputy Prime Minister University of Edinburgh Council of Heads of Medical Schools Ordnance Survey University of Glasgow Cranfield University Oxford Innovations Limited University of Hertfordshire David Leon Partnership Parliamentary Office of Science and University of Hull Department for Education and Skills Technology University of Kent Department for Environment, Food and Particle Physics and Astronomy Research University of Leeds Rural Affairs Council University of Leicester Department for International Development Peter Brett Associates University of Manchester Department of Health Pfizer Univeristy of Nottingham Department of Transport PowerGen University of Newcastle upon Tyne Department of Trade and Industry PricewaterhouseCoopers University of Reading DSTL Premmit Associates Limited University of Southampton East Midlands Development Agency QinetiQ University of Surrey Economic & Social Research Council Queen Mary, University of London University of Sussex Elsevier Rail Safety and Standards Board University of Teesside Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Red Gate Software Limited University of Ulster Council Roehampton University of Surrey University of Warwick Engineering and Technology Board Rolls-Royce plc University of Westminster Environment Agency Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew University of Wolverhampton ERA Technology Royal Holloway, University of London Winsafe Limited Ford Motor Company Limited Rutherford Appleton Laboratory 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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