APPENDIX 40
Memorandum submitted by the Economic and
Social Research Council
INTRODUCTION AND
SUMMARY
1. The ESRC welcomes the opportunity to
contribute to the House of Commons Select Committee Inquiry into
the impact of the 1993 White Paper on Science, Engineering and
Technology. Given the Government's preparation for the forthcoming
White Paper on Science and Innovation, it appears particularly
timely to learn lessons from the last major structural change
following the 1993 White Paper.
2. As the leading public funding agency
in the UK for the support of research and postgraduate training
in the social sciences, Economic and Social Research Council has
a central contribution to the national science base and the wider
public good. The reason for this, in part, is attributable to
the response that the Council has made to the 1993 White Paper,
which includes:
— strategic aims and plans to deliver
the objectives of the White Paper and ESRC's new mission;
— regular national consultation with
the public and users on ESRC's "Thematic Priorities"—which
have guided ESRC's funding decisions on research and training
since 1995;
— users involved at all levels of ESRC's
decision-making;
— communication strategies for all
research programmes; the creation of networks of users, and user
engagement plans for all research awards;
— engagement with White Paper initiatives
such as Foresight and ROPA awards;
— concordats with major Government
Departments and agencies;
— collaboration with other Research
Councils and private and public sector bodies;
— development of major initiatives
to increase take-up of ERSC funded research in public and private
sectors;
— increased administrative efficiency
and effectiveness.
3. More generally, we believe the changes
in culture and focus that were promoted by the White Paper are
being addressed and consolidated in publicly funded research.
There is increasing openness and transparency in the Research
Councils, and more effort and expectation in achieving knowledge
exchange and use of research outcomes in policy and commercial
settings. Social scientists work closely with users to increase
both the quality of the research and its impact in applied settings.
4. However, there are a number of issues
concerning the White Paper that need further consideration.
The early focus on economic competitiveness at
the expense of quality of life issues has not been entirely resolved;
this has implications for the contribution of the arts and humanities
to the objectives of the White Paper, as well as for the social
sciences generally.
The increasing involvement of users in the business
of the Research Councils has not necessarily led to greater public
acceptance or confidence in science; it is possible that it has
had the opposite effect.
The "Haldane Principle" which clearly
separates scientific and governmental decision-making processes
has become less clearly defined. This may also have contributed
to a loss of public confidence, and needs to be restated in the
modern context.
The Funding Councils' allocation for research
through the Research Assessment Exercise remains largely incompatible
with realising the White Paper objectives for publicly funded
research. The RAE's strictly academic incentives for scientific
research encourage discipline oriented journal output rather than
longer-term contribution crossing discipline and academic/user
boundaries.
Research careers remain insecure and underpaid
despite the concordat. This is detrimental to research in the
UK and to achieving the aims of the White Paper. We would recommend
that this issue is addressed in the Inquiry.
5. This memorandum continues in three parts.
The first part contains a general overview of the strategic and
operational measures that ESRC implemented following the White
Paper, and the second part addresses the specific issues raised
by the Select Committee's Inquiry. There is a brief concluding
section at the end.
ESRC RESPONSE TO
THE 1993 WHITE
PAPER
Strategic Planning
6. The White Paper led the ESRC to embrace the
three core elements of Quality, Relevance and Independence
to characterise its distinctiveness as a research funding agency,
and the value it adds to public investment in research. All three
are key attributes to fulfilling its purpose, but the most important
is quality—ensured through peer review of all ESRC's research,
without which the contribution of research to basic or applied
areas would not be effective. Relevance is achieved through
our Thematic Priorities, and Independence enshrined in
ESRC's charter.
The Council introduced four long-term strategic
aims in response to the White Paper:
(i) Investing in Themes.The Thematic
Priorities enable the ESRC to operate effectively at the intersection
of the interests of academia, public policy, business and industry,
and to engage with initiatives such as the Foresight Programme.
The themes are identified through national consultations undertaken
every three years and involving all our constituencies. The themes
therefore allow ESRC to address the most pressing scientific and
national priorities by providing the framework to guide the decisions
of the Council and its Boards on funding research and training.
There are currently nine Thematic Priorities (which are available
on the ESRC website), with about 65 per cent of ESRC's budget
allocated to them, mainly on research programmes and centres.
The Council has just completed its Year 2000 Review of the themes.
A set of new or modified themes will be published in the autumn
and will guide ESRC for the next three years. In the context of
the Select Committee's Inquiry, one important finding of the consultation
was the extent to which the thematic approach has now become accepted
and understood in the academic and user communities.
(ii) Developing Social Science.This
aim concerns the Council's commitment to develop and promote social
science research capacity in the UK to undertake research of the
highest quality. Activities in support of this aim include responsive
mode research grants, research resource provision and postgraduate
training.
(iii) Working with Users.The Council,
aiming to work with users to increase the relevance and impact
of its activities, sought and succeeded in engaging users and
stakeholders at all levels of Council business. Council itself
consists of 50 per cent academics and 50 per cent drawn from the
private, public and voluntary sectors. There is strong user presence
on Councils boards and committees, and users and stakeholders
are centrally engaged in research programme development, commissioning
and evaluation, and in research communication. These activities,
which involve users in agenda and priority setting, in selection
of research and management of its output, mark a move away from
the linear model of research output flowing to users through dissemination
of material.
The full extent of collaboration with external
constituencies on specific ESRC programmes and schemes can be
seen from the attached Annex 1, which is taken from the 1999-2000
ESRC Operating Plan. In addition, ESRC has eight concordats with
central Government Departments and the devolved administrations
of Scotland and Wales. We have recently developed "connect"—a
forum for communicating ESRC research to private sector organisations.
(iv) Managing our Resources.The Council
has continued since the White Paper to address the efficiency
and effectiveness of its activities. Staff numbers have been reduced
by around 20 per cent, while at the same time workload and the
range of activities has significantly increased (both directly
and indirectly as a result of the White Paper), and the budget
itself has increased by 20 per cent. This has led to considerable
pressure on the staff of ESRC.
7. These four aims provide the structure
for ESRC's strategic and operational plans, and enables the Council
to monitor the extent to which the White Paper objectives are
being achieved.
ESRC RESPONSE TO
ISSUES RAISED
BY SELECT
COMMITTEE
Extent to which the objectives set out in the
1993 White Paper, Realising Our Potential, have been delivered.
Objective1: Forward Look
8. The Forward Look is useful in outlining
and clarifying the priorities for science and technology across
Government as a whole. The format and structure of the Forward
Look has improved significantly and may well provide a helpful
information source.
Objective 2: Technology Foresight/Foresight
9. It is now widely acknowledged that the
value of the first Technology Foresight exercise was limited by
the lack of social and economic perspectives in the work of the
sector panels. Consequently the recommendations of this exercise
did not accurately reflect important projections in such areas
as the changing demographic composition of the UK (and Europe),
changing lifestyles and consumer behaviour, or economic trends
inherent in globalisation. The ESRC's Thematic Priorities sought
to incorporate the findings of the exercise, however, and we also
collaborated on specific Foresight related projects through the
"Foresight Challenge" programme.
10. The current Foresight Programme, reflecting
the views of many participants in the first exercise (including
ESRC) has incorporated social and economic perspectives both in
terms of the panel coverage and methods (eg the knowledge pool).
Thus, for instance, there are panels on Ageing, Crime and Education,
and social scientists are involved as contributors, participants
and advisers to panels. We are more hopeful that the outcome of
the current programme will have, in marked contrast to the first,
longer-term social horizons, and greater impact as a consequence.
Objective 3: Council for Science and Technology
11. The role of the Council for Science
and Technology and its relationship to other elements within the
Office of Science and Technology are unclear. It may provide the
independent advice that was originally intended, but this is not
widely apparent. This would suggest the need for a wider communication
of the Council's work.
Objective 4: Technology Transfer
12. The ESRC has welcomed the shift to place
more importance on the interchange of ideas and knowledge between
scientists and users, and has itself made significant changes
in its decision process to address this policy. The wider interpretation
of knowledge transfer is even more important with the rapid expansion
of new media and information technologies as tools of the knowledge
based society and economy.
13. However, one consequence of the technology
transfer debate has been an inappropriate emphasis on the division
between basic and applied research, and an apparent confusion
of the roles of research funders. Public investment through the
science vote alone is not sufficient to address the needs of private
or public sector users—and nor should it be. The academic
community and the funds it receives from the Research Councils
are only one part of the equation.
14. This suggests that policies and incentive
measures for public and private sector R & D need to be considered
and applied through other Government policy mechanisms, such as
fiscal policy and industrial policy. Thus it would be a mistake
in our view, for the Government's Science and Innovation Strategy
to place the greater burden for innovation on the Research Councils.
15. On a specific level the ESRC collaborates
directly through LINK, CASE and TCS (formerly known as the Teaching
Company Scheme). The ESRC has funded major research programmes
and centres on innovation which have involved building very close
links with the private sector. The Council is currently establishing
a major new resource in evidence-based policy, which aims to bring
the findings of the highest quality social science research in
the UK further into the domain of those who need to use it. Many
of our leading researchers are engaged in the development of key
policies, working closely with policy-makers. The ESRC is also
currently implementing a programme to evaluate the impact of our
research in the public and private sectors.
Objective 5: Improve SME access to innovation
support programmes
16. The White Paper has had an impact on
improving the partnership between research and SMEs through LINK,
CASE and in particular the TCS which has played an important role.
In 1999-2000, 87 per cent of new TCS Programmes with ESRC funding
involved SMEs.
Objective 6: Re-organisation of the research councils
17. Paragraph 6 illustrates the range of
approaches and measures introduced by ESRC in response to the
1993 White paper. This was accompanied by measures to manage resources
through reduction in staff numbers, re-structuring of divisions,
and new and flatter management and grading structures.
18. These internal changes were part of
a wider structural change of the Research Councils and the creation
of the Office of Science and Technology, which itself was eventually
re-located into the Department of Trade and Industry. With regard
to the current make up and boundaries of the Research Councils,
we believe the system has worked well, enabling the development
of collaborative ventures between the Councils and the promotion
of multidisciplinary research. However, the arts and humanities
also have a key role to play in addressing the White Paper objectives
but have remained outside the Research Council system. The Inquiry
should include the future of the arts and humanities in its considerations.
Objective 7: Creation of DGRC and abolition of
ABRC
19. The creation of both the post of Director
General of the Research Councils and the Office of Science and
Technology has had the positive benefit of strengthening and focusing
the dialogue between Government and the Research Councils. In
general, we believe that the interests of the science communities
have been represented well by this arrangement as illustrated
in the 1997 Comprehensive Spending Review.
20. However, over time we have been concerned
that the relationship between the Research Councils and the OST
has become less clear in terms of both preserving the Haldane
principle and representing the interests of the social and economic
sciences specifically.
21. It is possible that the location of
the OST within the DTI does not ensure its equitable position
across Government Departments, and inhibits communication. A closer
relationship with the DfEE, for example, might go some way to
addressing the disparities in the research funding mechanisms.
A more consistent Government approach to research funding would
no doubt increase the quality and effectiveness of research in
the UK. The approach to science policy and to research funding
might also be clarified and strengthened through a clearer delineation
of and demarcation between the roles of the DGRC, the Chief Scientific
Adviser, OST and departments, with the Science Minister taking
a higher profile in Government, perhaps of Cabinet rank.
Objective 8: Public Understanding of Science
22. Involving users in Research Council
business does not necessarily lead to greater public understanding
of or confidence in science. While White Paper objectives of greater
interchange between scientists and users (eg government, business,
industry) may have been achieved, it by no means follows that
scientific applications are acceptable to the public—as
recent events have demonstrated. There is a crisis of confidence
in science and in scientific advice, and in part this is attributable
to the perception that vested, often commercial, interests are
defining scientific agendas and applications rather than the public
interest. It follows therefore, that the White Paper may unwittingly
have contributed to this crisis.
23. It is not sufficient to undertake campaigns
to increase the public understanding of science as the White Paper
advocated. These will be largely ineffective because the problem
does not lie with the extent of public understanding, but in the
trust and confidence the public has in the process of scientific
policy-making and administration. Moreover, research undertaken
by social scientists shows that far from impeding the progress
of science and its take-up, the active engagement of the public
on equal terms in debates and decisions about science, based on
open access to scientific information, creates a climate of mutual
trust in which science itself can flourish.
24. This is clearly an important issue for
the Inquiry and has implications for the Government's Science
and Innovation Strategy. The key points we would emphasise are:
— involvement and participation of
the public and their representatives in the decision-making process
of science;
— access to scientific information
and outcomes;
— openness, transparency and public
accountability ensured through regulation;
— the public interest objectives of
the White Paper;
— independence of the Research Councils
from sectional interests.
25. The ESRC is currently developing a major
new research programme on Science and Society which will
be examining the issues discussed in this section.
CONCLUSIONS
26. The ESRC believes that the objectives
of the White Paper have generally been addressed with a distinct
cultural change geared to increasing both the involvement of users
and the impact of research. It remains a good basis for science
policy, but there are a number of important points that we would
like the Inquiry to cover:
(i) the appropriate representation of public
interests and public involvement in science;
(ii) the role of the arts and humanities
in achieving White Paper objectives;
(iii) clarification of the position of OST
in relation to other departments, and to the Research Councils;
(iv) research careers: the pay and conditions
of researchers;
(v) the independence of science from sectional
interests; restatement of the Haldane principle;
(vi) the role of the Funding Councils in
meeting White Paper objectives.
June 2000
ESRC COLLABORATION NETWORK
| Activity | Collaboration
| Contribution to Corporate Objectives
| Status |
| Cities, Economic Competitiveness and Social Cohesion Programme
| DETR | Theme 1 (Section 3.8)
| Operating |
| Intangible Assets | DTI |
Theme 1 (Section 3.8) | Consideration
|
| Inland Surface Transport LINK Programme |
EPSRC, DTI, DETR | Theme 2 (Section 3.9)
| Operating |
| Climate Change Centre | NERC, EPSRC
| Theme 2 (Section 3.9) | Under Implementation
|
| Research Studentships in Environmental Themes
| NERC | Theme 2 (Section 3.9) and Postgraduate Training (Section 4.2)
| Implementation |
| Sustainable Technologies LINK Programme |
DTI, EPSRC | Theme 2 (Section 3.9)
| Consideration |
| People at the Centre of Communication and Information Technologies
| EPSRC | Theme 5 (Section 3.12)
| Implementation |
| Innovative Health Technologies | MRC
| Theme 5 (Section 3.12) | Implementation
|
| Teaching Company Scheme | DTI
| Theme 6 (Section 3.13) | Operating
|
| Teaching and Learning Research Programme |
HEFCE, Scottish Executive, Welsh Assembly, DfEE
| Theme 7 (Section 3.14) | Implementation
|
| UK Centre for Longitudinal Studies | ONS
| Theme 8 (Section 3.15) and Research Resources (Section 4.3)
| Implementation |
| Growing Older Programme | EQUAL Initiative, (OST, MRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, NERC)
| Theme 8 (Section 3.15) | Operating/(Implementation
|
| Age-Net | MRC | Theme 8 (Section 3.15)
| Operating |
| Time Use Survey | ONS, DCMS, DETR, DfEE, DoH
| Theme 8 (Section 3.15) and Research Resources (Section 4.3)
| Implementation |
| Eating, Food and Health LINK Programme |
BBSRC, MAFF, DoH | Theme 8 (Section 3.15)
| Implementation |
| CENSUS Programme | ONS |
Theme 9 (Section 3.16) & Research Resources (Section 4.3)
| Ongoing/Implementing/Consideration |
| Collaborative Studentships | Various (in-CASE)
| Postgraduate Training (Section 4.2) | Ongoing/Implementation
|
| Centre and Network for Evidence-based Policy
| Various, especially DfEE, DETR, Home Office at current time
| Research Resources (Section 4.3) | Consideration
|
| CENSUS Data Units | Joint Information Systems Committee
| Research Resources (Section 4.3) | Operating
|
| European Social Survey | European Commission, European Science Foundation, various European National Funding Agencies
| Research Resources (Section 4.3) | Consideration
|
| Local Government Networking | Local Government Association and Local Government Management Board
| Working with Users | Implementation
|
| ROPAs | Various | Working with Users
| Operating |
| Foresight LINK Awards | DTI and Various
| Working with Users | Operating
|
| ESRC/AIRTO User Fellow Scheme | AIRTO
| Working with Users | Implementation
|
| CONNECT Network | Various, Public & Private Sector
| Working with Users | Operating/Implementation
|
|
