Funding Science and Technology: Who pays? Who benefits?

Today, science and technology is funded both publicly and industrially. There is a consensus that both types of funding are necessary - but how much money is needed and what should it be spent on? On the 10th October 2006 the RSC invited a panel of science policy specialists to the House of Commons to discuss the rationale for funding science and look at the different ways of doing it. How does the UK compare internationally and what level of funding should we be aiming for?

The seminar was addressed by Professor Ben Martin, Professor of Science and Technology Policy Studies at the Science and Technology Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, and Dr Tim Bradshaw, Head of Group, Innovation,Science and Technology Policy, at the CBI. Neil Gregory from the Institute for manufacturing,Cambridge University spoke about technology transfer and universities and Dr Jack Stilgoe, senior researcher with the think-tank DEMOS, looked at how to preserve a social and ethical dimension in science.