4 THE HALDANE PRINCIPLE (continued)
Mission driven research
182. A fourth criticism we have heard of the Haldane
Principle is that it has perpetuated "the situation whereby
the application of research funding fails to match the challenges
facing the economy, industry and society at large".[166]
To put it another way, it has bolstered curiosity-driven research,
but done little to support mission-driven research and development.
We have already discussed at length strategic focus of research
funds and this is a connected theme. It is worth pursuing in this
context, because we received several calls for a dual approach
to research in the UK. The Royal Society of Edinburgh, for example,
is a strong supporter of the dual approach:
It is the solution that emerged post-war in the
United States and that has been so successful. It has created
a diverse and adaptable basic research enterprise, coupled with
sustained, long term investment in 'platform' technologies that
ultimately provide perennial spin-off that can be exploited by
companies that pull strongly on the research base for technological
solutions, and has been further stimulated in recent decades by
the power of public procurement through the SBIR scheme. For example,
a mission-driven component of national strategy might have been
more effective, ten years ago, in ensuring that the UK exploited
its early lead in stem-cell technologies in the period when stem-cell
research in the USA was restricted. We need to see initiatives
actively designed to create new global winners in the UK economy.
This should involve initiatives from the NHS, MOD, Local and National
Government, HMRC etc. It should also involve bodies from the wider
public sector such as OfCom. All public agencies should expect
congratulation if they help one or more British companies to build
commercial success.[167]
183. The Royal Academy of Engineering put it in a
different light:
The Haldane Principle […] has different
meanings when applied to the direction of science and engineering
research. For pure science, it seems reasonable that researchers
themselves should be best placed to understand what direction
their research should proceed in and they should not be constrained
in their academic endeavours. For engineering, on the other hand,
it seems reasonable that Government should express requirements
in terms of general challenges that can be met through directed
research and expect researchers to be able to contribute to the
development of solutions to wider policy deployment problems.[168]
184. However one thinks of the issue, it is well-known
that the UK's immense strength in basic science is not matched
by its follow-through into economic benefits. According to the
CBI: "the UK still lacks the mission-driven ethos that is
prevalent in competitor countries such as the US, where DARPA,
NASA and other agencies lead the way in engaging business and
universities to find solutions to real world problems".[169]
While the creation of the Technology Strategy Board has resulted
in a marked increase in support and focus on user-defined and
challenge-led research, some have argued that it has not gone
far enough. The Royal Academy of Engineering suggests that "the
TSB's budget should arguably be of the same order of magnitude
as the Research Councils' as a whole".[170]
185. We have already given our support for a more
strategic approach to setting priorities in science funding, specifically
at the applied end of the spectrum. Considering this issue in
the context of the Haldane Principle highlights the need for a
new approach to science funding that incorporates the good elements
of Haldane in relation to basic science, but does not hinder a
more mission-driven approach to get the full benefits of applied
science and engineering.
A new research funding principle
186. Although there is support in the science community
for the Haldane Principle insofar as it provides for the independence
of researchers,[171]
we also received a number of submissions that called for a new
or updated Haldane Principle.[172]
Professor Fisk told us that:
It is my impression that the Haldane Principle
was dead in the early 1980s. It is a 1918 principle. Apart from
Magna Carta I cannot think of any other principle that ancient
that clutters around in public life and I think actually its term
is positively unhelpful for the end point you want to have. […]
In most other countries there is an analogous principle but it
is one about the freedom of the academic community in public life
to contribute to the quality of public life. […] My own feeling
is that we ought to be much clearer on what we think is the value
of independent research in a world which is always changing.[173]
187. The Royal Society agreed: "Rather than
a debate about what Haldane meant in 1918, we need a better understanding
about the way in which the Government now interprets the Haldane
Principle".[174]
And the UK Deans of Science made an intriguing suggestion, the
later part of which we discuss in the next chapter: "We believe
that the time has come for a serious discussion about the Haldane
Principle, something that could be one of the first inquiries
carried out by a re-formed Science and Technology Select Committee".[175]
188. The time has come for a new framework to
replace the Haldane Principle (however it is understood) that
adds transparency and rigour to the relationship between Government
and the research community. It is important that the diversity
of relationships between Government and the various bodies it
funds to do research are included under a broad set of principles.
We recommend that the Council for Science and Technology be commissioned
to carry out this work.
166 Ev 205 (BAE Systems) Back
167
Ev 254 Back
168
Ev 200 Back
169
Ev 103 Back
170
Ev 277 Back
171
Ev 75 (Unite the Union); Ev 83 (Natural History Museum); Ev 94
(AstraZeneca); Ev 111 (Institute of Physics); Ev 137 (Imperial
College London); Ev 149 (John Innes Centre & Institute for
Food Research); Ev 258 (Royal Society of Chemistry) Back
172
Ev 106 (BRE Global); Ev 181 (Regional Studies Association) Back
173
Q 62 Back
174
Ev 151 Back
175
Ev 118 Back
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