Industry | 2009.05.23
Built on brainpower | Paul Drayson
Labour will use science as the primary means to achieve a healthy and prosperous Britain
Is scientific inquiry that seeks to understand the building blocks of our universe fundamentally different from – or somehow better than – science directed at building a wind turbine? In practice, the distinction between pure and applied science is seldom clear. All science involves asking questions and pursuing the insights yielded in various directions. My former company developed a device that injects medicines as fine particles, thereby dispensing with needles. The principles of fluid dynamics and supersonic flow that lie behind it can be traced back to Oxford scientists, who were seeking an urgent solution to Spitfires crashing during the war.
That\'s what scientific serendipity means: questions about why planes go into tailspins increased understanding of basic physics, eventually spawning unanticipated medical applications. That\'s precisely the kind of research our country needs, however experts label it – the key point missed by George Monbiot in these pages last week .
We are a knowledge economy. Britain\'s greatest natural resource is brainpower. Our prospects for success, and ability to compete fully in global markets, depend on harvesting the insights of all kinds of science. More than that, we need brainpower to devise the renewable energy sources that commentators such as Monbiot regard as critical.
I\'m optimistic about the future, but if we fail to create wealth by building a lead in the next-generation industries like green tech, our tax base will suffer. That will mean less money for schools and hospitals, and less for scientific research. This we must avoid. By more than doubling investment in real terms over 10 years, the government has funded a renaissance in science. It is now world class, and our facilities state of the art.
Today, despite immense pressure on public finances, we remain committed to sustained investment. The science budget continues to be ringfenced. And unlike many parts of government, the efficiency savings we\'ve sought from the research councils (£106m from a total of around £4bn) will be reinvested by them in scientific research, pure and applied. But we must also prioritise investment – as other nations are – to thrive in growth markets, tackle problems like climate change, and reassure taxpayers concerned about jobs and prosperity. That means focusing on areas like the environmental and life sciences. But it\'s for scientists, not ministers, to identify the key disciplines and most promising research.
Indeed, focusing effort within science is nothing new, whether during war or peacetime. Nor is accountability. Scientists have benefited from massive public investment. It is entirely reasonable to expect them to describe the possible impact of their research in grant applications. I also expect them to communicate the significance of their work to the wider public. That\'s important for our democracy, and for attracting future generations of researchers.
So, there\'s no U-turn under way in British science; no retreat from excellence; no undermining a diverse base capable of interdisciplinary research; no challenging the independence of scientists, who remain governed by research councils and peer review. What has changed is our sense of urgency to use science as the primary means to achieve a healthy and prosperous Britain.
People will soon have the chance to vote on whether that urgency is appropriate. They face a clear choice: between maintaining an optimistic course of investment explicitly predicated on science and technology; or a pessimistic one defined by austerity, silence on the value of research, and a history of starving science of the investment it needs.
To me, the long-term consequences of an impoverished research base don\'t bear thinking about. I\'d like to believe that scientists feel the same.
Lord Drayson is the minister for science and innovation
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/[...]/science-funding-future-policy
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