Science can drive both intellectual and commercial dynamism, and when money is tight, it needs to do both, the new UK Science Minister David Willetts said when he made his first major speech at the Royal Institution in London last month.
“Emolument matters. Public spending on science, just like everything else, has to stand up to rigorous economic scrutiny,” Willetts said to an audience anxious for clues to where the axe will fall in the UK spending review (for which read announcement of cuts to public sector budgets), that will happen in October.
One of the most frequently used arguments to support research relates to the benefits – often unanticipated – which accrue from blue skies research. “The surprising paths which serendipity takes us down is a major reason why we need to think harder about impact,” Willetts said, adding, “There is no perfect way to assess impact, even looking backwards at what has happened.”
To read the full, original article click on this link: Science|Business When money is tight, the returns from science matter
