IUSS Select Committee: Putting Science and Engineering at the Heart of Government Policy

The RSC has submitted evidence to the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee inquiry into Putting Science and Engineering at the Heart of Government Policy, which discussed a broad range of topics relating to science policy. The response reviewed a number of issues including the capacity and mechanisms in place to promote the use of scientific evidence in policy-making within government and the policies in place for the distribution of science funding.

The call for supplementary evidence was a response to Lord Drayson's proposals on strategic science funding. Lord Drayson asked whether "the time come for the UK - as part of a clear economic strategy - to make choices about the balance of investment in science and innovation to favour those areas in which the UK has clear competitive advantage?" 

This response from the RSC discusses the difficulties of specialising whilst maintaining an adequately broad science base in a small country such as the UK. An alternative to developing a UK science strategy would be to introduce a science strategy across Europe in order to take advantage of economies of scale.