A Science Policy for Wales 2006The Welsh Assembly Government’s Strategic Visionfor Sciences, Engineering and Technology

NovemberA-CMK-22-03-078

G/MH/2495/11-06ISBN 0 7504 9032 2

Typeset in 12pt© Crown copyright 2006

Contents

Ministerial Foreword 2

A Science Policy for Wales 4

Executive Summary 8

Higher Education’s Contribution to Science: 12Research and the Application of Research

Commercialisation of Science 19

Science Education 23

Public Dialogue and 27 Understanding of Science

Key Priority: Health 29

Key Priority: Low Carbon Economy 35

Key Priority: Enabling Sustained Social 41and Economic Renewal

Effective Use of Scientifi c Evidence 45by Government

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Ministerial Foreword

The time is now ripe for a Science Policy for Wales. Wales cannot compete in the global economy on the basis of low wages and low value added goods and services. Our future lies in a knowledge economy, enriched by scientifi c, technological and engineering know-how. Although science policy and funding is not devolved, a science policy tailored to Wales’ needs will help to accelerate the development of a knowledge economy as well as enhance the quality of our higher education system, health service, environment, agriculture and evidence-based government in general.

If Wales attempts to invest in a bigger scientifi c effort right across the board, it will spread the ‘butter’ far too thinly. We can succeed, however, if specialist strengths in science and technology within our research institutions and our higher education sector can be married with private sector strengths in those same science and technology fi elds. Not only is Wales a small country without devolved responsibilities in science, it is also a country in which the engine of scientifi c effort has for many decades not been running as effectively as it should. Wales has never been blessed with a large number of government research establishments or private sector R&D establishments. The excellence we

do have in Wales is spread relatively sparsely between institutions and disciplines. This is the situation we face. The question for us all is what we do about it? We need to consider the benefi ts that might accrue if a well designed science policy, tailored as closely as possible to the needs of Welsh society, is brought into action. In doing so, we need to be aware of and engage with other parts of the UK and Europe and the USA, and to relate to fast developing economies such as China and India.

We can only sustain a successful science policy if it is outward-looking and ambitious and actively engages all stakeholders – business, our higher education community, our Welsh National Health Service, science educators in schools and in the community, and policy makers in central and local government. Wales’ business and higher education communities also need to mesh effectively with the wider United Kingdom and the world. We must continue to bring together networks and institutions to achieve strength in depth and the interdisciplinary fl exibility that is the so essential to success in modern science and technology.

We must also ensure that benefi ts accruing from research conducted in Wales and elsewhere benefi t the people of Wales and

by The Right Honourable Rhodri Morgan AM,First Minister and Minister for Science

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support, where possible, all our strategic policy objectives. The scientifi c world impacts increasingly on our lives in varied ways – personalised medicine, information and communications technology, to name but a few. It is essential that we all become more aware and better informed of the challenges, solutions and opportunities scientifi c advances can offer.

The future also lies in ensuring we have a suffi cient cadre of people able and willing to work in research and technological development and to teach the science, engineering and maths subjects that are essential to any knowledge-based future. We have to build and retain enthusiasm and a positive image for studying and researching such subjects among our children and their parents and advisors.

When we carried out our consultation on this issue earlier this year, in A Science Policy for Wales? three priority areas were proposed for Wales to focus more of its effort and resources upon – health/life sciences, the low carbon economy and sustainable economic and social regeneration (and the social and natural sciences linked with it). The consultation outcome, which produced over 280 pages of comment and suggestions, was mostly

supportive of the proposed areas to focus upon but carried a proviso that there needs a readiness to be fl exible in order to be able to embrace change and opportunities as and when they might arise. Some respondents were keen to see policy widened to address other science-related issues and this policy document responds to those calls – on education and skills, public understanding of science, and commercialisation, as well as science for policy making. It sets a direction of travel, defi ning a broad policy. It is not intended, however, to go into detail or depth in any particular area. Other documents and activities will do this.

I am passionate about the importance of science in our lives and to our ambitions for Wales. That is why I carry the role of Minister for Science as well as being First Minister. This strategy explains how we should set out to achieve those ambitions. I commend it to you.

Rhodri Morgan AMFirst Minister and Minister for Science

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Wales may be said to have inherited a science defi cit. The causes are very long standing. Wales produces thousands of science graduates and postgraduates every year. Many leave Wales and sometimes the UK to work in private sector R&D establishments, government research establishments or, increasingly these days, to convert their natural science skills to meet the insatiable demands of the fi nancial services industry in the City of London and elsewhere. Others migrate to Wales but, in common with all other regions and countriesof the UK other than London and the South East, Wales is a net exporter of graduates in natural sciences.

That is not a satisfactory situation but it is not an easy inheritance to change radically. A ‘golden triangle’, based on Oxford, Cambridge and London, is very well entrenched in defence R&D and in big pharmaceutical company R&D. R&D establishments and their location are far more diffi cult to induce to move from within the golden triangle to locations outside it further along the M4 than are manufacturing establishments. The same applies to the smaller Cheshire and Manchester science belt and the possibilities of entering it with North Wales along the A55.

No one now builds new government research establishments. Correcting the existing science defi cit by waiting for the UK Government or European consortia of governments to build a new Harwell or CERN and then lobbying for Wales to be the location would be pointless. It would take far too long. We have seen in the recent competition within England, between Daresbury in the North and Harwell in the Thames Valley, over the Diamond Light Source synchrotron, which shows how strong the golden triangle’s magnetic pull is. It may be a regrettable situation but it is a situation which has to be faced. An answer that suits

Wales’ 21st century needs must be found. Quality of life is quoted as one reason for the concentration of scientifi c manpower and womanpower in the golden triangle – and, of course, proximity to other top scientists, concentrations of cognate specialists, and a belief that the facilities they need will bemade available.

Our universities not only produce thousands of excellent science graduates and post-graduates, they offer employment in research and teaching as well and have improved the standing of many, if not most, departments in the Research and Assessment Exercises (RAE) carried out over the past decade and a half. Where Welsh higher education institutions (HEIs) have been far less successful than their Scottish counterparts is in winning Research Council funding. Relative to the total size of the higher education base or to the total population, Scotland wins more than its share of UK Research Council funding and Wales wins less than its share of UK Research Council funding. There would be hundreds more scientists employed in Wales if Welsh HEIs won the same share of Research

A Science Policy for Wales

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Council funding, relative to its population, as Scottish HEIs do. Welsh HEIs science mass and revenue streams would be much improved as well. Although the situation is improving and different HEIs have different degrees of success in this area, a general improvement of performance here is bound to be an obvious high priority. Winning a higher proportion of EU Collaborative Research 7th Framework Programme funds would not involve the same level of improved revenue streams but carries other global awareness benefi ts. The science workforce is more globally mobile than most.

An extension of the science base in health R&D carries an added benefi t of being of benefi t to actual treatments. Although treatments evolving from scientifi c health-related research carried out in Wales would in no way be restricted to Welsh patients, likewise, new treatments for Welsh patients would never be restricted to research carried out by health researchers based in Wales. Clinical best practice will always come fi rst. We do know that innovations such as the Wales Cancer Bank do involve Welsh patients contributing to innovations from which they or their genetic near-neighbours might benefi t.

The Wales Gene Park is another example of a collaborative project which shows the way forward for Welsh HE, the health sector and private sector in genetics – turning the excellent level of collaboration, generated in the building process to be part of the UK Genetics initiative, into sustained collaboration in implementing the Wales Gene Park.

One of the benefi cial side-effects of having a bigger mass of scientists is the greater probability of healthy levels of spin-offs and spin-outs of science-based innovation and enterprise in science-based high-tech companies. The greater the number of research

laboratories and the volume of scientists, technologists and other researchers working in them, the greater the potential for ideas-based new companies being formed. Likewise, the greater the inculcation of an ‘enterprise’ orientation among the present cohort of scientists and other researchers in our HEIs, colleges and research laboratories, the larger the number of spin-off and spin-out company formations. These two strands of policy need complementing by inculcation of a culture of in-trepreneurship, whereby organisations in the public and private sector need to encourage ideas or, at least, not to block ideas for new lines of research which may be outside the set priorities of the organisation. It should not be necessary for someone to leave an organisation to pursue a bright idea, which may lead to a new revenue stream, a hatful of high tech. new jobs or a new breakthrough in the treatment of ill-health or in new crops or the solution to a long standing environmental problem.

Where spin-off high tech. enterprises are formed from the laboratories of Welsh HEIs or Government and private sector research establishments, the question of suitable

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high quality accommodation for high-tech. companies arises. Wales has been very successful in evolving the Technium model to cover the initial phase of newly formed science-based enterprises. It is, however, short of science parks. We need more ‘move-on’ accommodation for enterprises ready to leave the Technium incubator environment but still requiring something quite different from the standard commercially available, shed-type accommodation, built for the warehouse or manufacturing company or the standard speculative-build offi ce. Where a market has not developed, whereby science park-type accommodation is available in Wales, there is a case for the public sector selectively fi lling the gap left by the market. Ideally, the science park should adjoin a Technium, which in turn ought to adjoin the University (or at least its natural sciences faculty areas) or Government research establishments. It is unlikely to occur in this ideal pattern of next door proximity that facilitates spin-off and move-on every time. While the ideal may not always be possible, the logic of proximity remains of aiming for locations to be as close as possible.

The top of the pyramid of scientifi c research, higher education or science-based enterprises rests on the base of broadly-based science education in Wales’ schools. Making science and allied disciplines accessible and interesting to a wide range of school children is critical to building a strong base for that pyramid. Very substantial strides have already been made towards making science education more inviting and less forbidding for both primary and secondary school children. These efforts to improve the appeal of the curriculum need to continue with the end in mind that, when it comes to choices at A level and its vocational equivalent, a higher proportion of 16 year-olds and 18 year-olds choose at least a part science-based set of subjects. The current shortage of physics, chemistry, mathematics and design and technology teachers needs to be corrected, because of the danger of the vicious circle – a smaller number of new physics teachers making it less likely that GCSE and A level age-groups will opt to study physics. If the new set of appropriate incentives can adjust the choices of would-be university students to teachers in these subjects at least for part of their career, that potential vicious circle can be turned round into a virtuous circle of more new physics, chemistry and maths teachers enthusing more 14, 16 and 18 year-olds to specialise in those shortage subjects.

Wales is potentially a great area to carry out scientifi c research. It has the quality of life and cost of living advantages that have a huge appeal for recruiting scientists and other researchers in a globally competitive market for the scarce scientifi c human resource. Wales is rich in landscape ideal for the kind of outdoor activity that appeals and attracts scientists: mountain-biking, climbing, surfi ng and sailing, at an affordable price. While scientifi c superstars may feel the magnetism of the UK’s ‘golden

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triangle’ or Southern California, recruitment of scientifi c research teams at PhD and post-doctoral level is easier in Wales because housing is much more affordable. The risk to sustaining the UK’s science base, with international standards of excellence, comes from continued over-concentration in or around London, the M25, Heathrow, Oxford and Cambridge. High housing cost for most researchers, certainly those on university and public sector salaries, means these key staff will not be retained in research and science when they become‘thirty-somethings’.

Quality of life and affordability is Wales’ unique selling-point in the race to recruit the best science resource. It enables us to power ahead into the knowledge economy. Creating a more science-oriented society and economy must not tempt Wales to pretend that we are a big country, trying to cover the entire huge range of science or that we could independently

develop and fund our own research at the expensive end of R&D such as particle physics or space research.

The key to Welsh success in implementing a science policy is to focus on a few key areas. We have chosen three that already show signs of strength and comparative advantage in Wales. We must push them, particularly where those sectors of science have a relevance for Welsh society. The “Small Clever Country” with high returns to the public benefi t from focussing in three relevant broad areas of science strength is a small clever country indeed. Health and life sciences, the low carbon economy and enabling social and economic renewal would appear to lead the fi eld at present in the contribution that greater scientifi c effort could make to benefi t Wales and the world. They are not an exclusive three areas, nor are they permanent. They are broad areas of focus to give coherence to Wales’ fi rst ever overarching science policy.

Quality of life and affordability is Wales’ unique selling-point in the race to recruit the best science resource.

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The Government consulted on A Science Policy for Wales? from January to March 2006. The consultation proposed three areas upon which a science policy focussed on innovation should concentrate:

■ Health

■ Low Carbon Economy and

■ Enabling Sustained Social andEconomic Renewal

The consultation document received a large number of responses, many from the academic world but also from business, other public sector organisations and from individuals. The responses largely agreed with the three areas foci but many argued strongly that a Science Policy needed a broader focus, including consideration of issues surrounding education and public engagement with science.

Higher Education’s Contribution:Basic and Applied ResearchIn Wales, Higher Education (HE) Institutions have a key and pivotal role in delivering the science, innovation and skilled people which are important in enabling economic, social and cultural success. We need to attract and retain academic talent of international standing.

The three priority strands put forward in the science policy consultation (health, low carbon and enabling economic and social renewal) were agreed, subject to fl exibility. HE Institutions have academic autonomy to choose their priorities but there is strong support for activities in the three priority areas. This autonomy is an important and highly-regarded feature of UK higher education. Assembly Government spending decisions will not hamper Welsh HEIs in being competitive with the UK HE system. We are alert to risks to science in Wales from a changing balance in the dual support mechanism. Wales will continue

to access UK-wide funding, and our strategy will need to operate in a complimentary and matching way. Supporting full economic costs, including overheads, in areas such as charity-funded and Assembly Government-commissioned work will be phased in over time.

Our relatively small HE institutions will continue to need to follow the route of greater convergence and collaboration remains important to achieving ‘critical mass’. Assembly Government funds provide strong incentives in this area. There are possibilities for further centres or networks of excellence whichcould underpin the three priority areas of this science policy.

Teaching students well is a core feature. Our science policy ambitions need people with appropriate skills working in the fi elds identifi ed. We are concerned by the fall in take-up of courses in some science subjects, but the overall picture is not one of decline. We will monitor the trends, and look at innovative ways to encourage take-up of courses in science. We

Executive Summary

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wish to maintain a strong national capacity in key subjects.

Within HE, exploiting scientifi c knowledge and expertise to the benefi t of society and economy comes in many guises. HE is important in helping business in Wales to engage in the research, development, design and deployment of new products and processes. We are keen to see a spirit of enterprise embedded in our HEIs, aided by our third mission funds and will encourage them to focus on the three priority strands. There should be stronger engagement between our HEIs, businesses and our two public sector research establishments (PSREs) – the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) at Aberystwyth, and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) at University of Wales, Bangor.

Commercialisation of ScienceThe Welsh Assembly Government will continue to support strongly the effective translation of research and scientifi c know-how into business, health sector, and environmental outcomes. We want to promote innovation in business products and services and in the Welsh public sector. We will continue our futures horizon-scanning activity to detect market shifts and

developments as early as possible and highlight the opportunities which these might bring to Wales. We will utilise the resources of our new Department for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks to best effect to seize these opportunities. Through our Education, Life-long Learning and Skills Department we will give society in Wales the skills to exploit scientifi c discovery and change. We will continue to seek investment into Wales that is knowledge-based and encourage the building of the best possible research, development and design teams, especially in the three priority strands. In particular, we will encourage business collaboration and inter-institution working to give such teams the reputation and ‘critical mass’ to capture substantial funding, backed by strategic investment in physical facilities to enable even more cutting-edge work to evolve in Wales.

Science Education It is a problem in Wales and the wider UK and beyond, that there are insuffi cient people (generally young people) studying science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM). We need a higher proportion of students to opt to study these STEM subjects to ensure we have future generations of people supplying our science and technology needs and exploiting opportunities, alongside a population suffi ciently educated and attuned to science to be able to understand how science relates to the challenges and opportunities society faces.

Within the overall numbers of students training to become teachers we will strive to achieve a higher percentage who are science and mathematics specialists and enhance the means to ensure their subject knowledge and skills are kept up to date through continuing professional development and our forthcoming Pedagogy Initiative. School science and maths

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teaching must have equipment, supplies and accommodation that are modern and fi t for purpose. We will continue to provide capital investment for schools across Wales.

We must strive to have a good supply of talented young people who are alive to the enjoyment of science and seriously consider taking it up as a career – this requires, among other things, clear, informed and current advice on the avenues and opportunities available. Also related, we will continue to encourage enterprise education as an element in degree and other tertiary courses, to equip and encourage many of these students to establish or join businesses where their expertise and knowledge is employed for commercial purposes. We will continue to look around for innovative and effective ways of educating students in STEM subjects and, working with business and the voluntary sector, demonstrate the relevance of science to all walks of life including generating the successful knowledge economy which is our goal.

Public Understanding of ScienceThe pace of scientifi c and technological change is quickening all the time. Opportunities and challenges; locally, regionally and globally, arise from and have solutions in the scientifi c and technological world. We must ensure the people of Wales have an appropriate and balanced understanding of these issues, their causes and the possible ways forward. The Welsh Assembly Government will maintain close links with organisations promoting the importance of scientifi c understanding to the public, including “science-producing” bodies such as universities, which themselves should be in the forefront of showcasing their achievements. We will maintain public consultation on these issues as required, canvassing views and attitudes to science-related matters. We will encourage scientists and scientifi c educational and funding bodies, such as Techniquest, the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) and the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) to continue communicating objectively new scientifi c discoveries, and their implications, to the public. We will support closer working together by the media, scientists and policy makers to increase the public understanding of science.

Key Priority Areas While this policy document addresses the importance generally of science, engineering, technology and mathematics, Wales is a small country with limited resources and we must focus our efforts. Our analysis and the formal consultation exercise has confi rmed that there could be exceptional benefi ts from focusing on the three stands of health, low carbon economy and enabling sustained economic and social renewal, and these strands are explored in more detail in this document. However, we also recognise that these priorities must be kept under constant review and that we should

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not slavishly focus on them to the exclusion of any other opportunities which might arise and present exceptional opportunities for Wales.

Use of Scientifi c Evidenceby GovernmentThe Assembly Government will continue to monitor scientifi c advice from the UK and further afi eld to make the most informed policy for Wales. This will be assisted by further building on the good relationship the Welsh Assembly Government advisors and offi cials have with equivalent UK Government Departments and UK-wide public bodies. We will do likewise on the wider European stage and are strengthening our internal processes to this end. Also helpful will be the prominent role in UK and wider initiatives played by Wales’ best scientists and technologists.

Action PlanningFrom the fi rst, the Welsh Assembly Government has put in place activities which were supportive of science, but they were located within wider strategies relating to particular fi elds of activity – such as higher education, economic development and schools – a distributed model. Wales fi rst overarching science strategy consolidates and sharpens the focus of the various elements, and adds to of this range of policy, support and encouragement. The detail will be the subject of other planning and activity. A revised Innovation Action Plan, for example, due in late 2006, will fl esh out the commercialisation and technology transfer agendas. Detailed policy development will be led by the appropriate Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government.

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Wales is no different from other countries in that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have the pivotal role in helping to deliver the human resource skills base which will deliver the science and innovation which will play an important part in our economic, environmental and health success and social renewal.

Recent studies, conducted both here and on a wider UK basis, have identifi ed science and innovation as driving forces in economic growth. Outputs from the science base – such as new knowledge, skilled people, new methodologies and new networks – contribute to improvements in a range of key areas, which include wealth, health, education, environment and culture. The scientifi c expertise that resides within Welsh HEIs is already signifi cantly impacting on all of these areas, but there is potential to develop its impact still further. Strategically deploying this expertise, strongly linked to the rest of our society will place the HE sector at the heart of science development in Wales to the benefi t of both our economic and social welfare ambitions.

It is also important to set this development in a wider context. The way in which the knowledge economy is underpinned by advances in science, engineering and technology (SET) is well-documented and already refl ected in current UK – and European-wide economic

policy, most recently in HM Treasury’s Next Steps policy document (which amended the ‘SET’ focus to ‘STEM’ by embracing mathematics as a further key strategic subject).

The impact of HE on social and economic well-being is already well documented. In terms of facilitating a successful science policy this investment needs to be viewed as seeking to retain and attract ‘high fl yer’ scientists and technologists of international standing to Welsh universities to teach, to research, to commercialise the outputs of their research and/or to transfer their ideas and products to business, to spin out new business of their own and/or to inspire their students to do so. This would mean ensuring that the HE sector in Wales is fi nancially strong, excellent in research and teaching and well regarded as a place to work, invest and with whom to do business.

It is important to acknowledge that investment in Wales’ HE sector comes from a range of sources. These are not and must not be confi ned to Wales. Welsh HEIs operate on an international, as well as a national, stage and it is imperative that they continue to do so. For example, the greater their internationally recognised and benchmarked excellence in teaching and/or research, the greater their capacity to deploy knowledge and expertise in support of key Wales policies and strategies,

Higher Education’s Contribution to Science:Research and the Application of Research

A strong and vibrant Higher Education (HE) sector can support Wales to evolve into the “small clever country” envisaged in the Knowledge Economy Nexus Report only if the potential of our universities to maximise their potential impact on society and economy can be effectively driven by the institutions and supported and harnessed to best effect by business, government (at all levels) and others.

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not to mention their ability to attract knowledge economy companies to Wales to work with them. We already see this happening in instances across Wales, not least via the Technium programme.

Welsh HEIs contribute substantially to an overall UK science base that HM Treasury describes as “one of the most productive and infl uential systems of publicly funded research in the world”. This UK science base is underpinned by a dual support system that funds university research through a combination of core annual funding via the four UK HE funding bodies, with more focused project and programme-specifi c support delivered by the UK Research Councils, major charities and other public and private sector organisations. The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales’ (HEFCW) research funds play into this dual support system and help provide a strong, fl exible and adaptable research base that can be mobilised both in support of specifi c Assembly Government policies or focused over a rangeof priorities.

The response to the consultation A Science Policy for Wales? largely agreed that the three areas chosen were correct in terms of research strengths and opportunities. Many respondents also pointed to the need to build in fl exibility and change into these areas. There is no disagreement with the need for fl exibility. We will continue to enable HE institutions to be able to develop in new directions as well as to underpin the three priority areas. We recognise that the prioritisation of the sectors we propose in this science strategy requires the foundation of a solid, wide ranging and fl exible platform of basic research capacity. This is where the really new ideas come from; this is where the sharpest minds get honed; this is what major companies have said that they want from HEIs – to provide them, and Wales, with ideas and people trained

to the highest level. We will maintain the dual support system, supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and the funds it deploys, while encouraging our institutions to maximise their funding from other sources, some from Wales, some from outside. Core funding for research for Welsh HEIs in 2006/7 from HEFCW amounted to over £60 million (the comparable fi gure for Northern Ireland is £40 million and for Scotland is £158 million). Together with other formula and initiative funding, funds for Higher Education research delivered through the HEFCW in 2006/7 will be nearly £82m rising from almost £69m in 2005/6.

In taking forward the new research funding methodology following the RAE in 2008 we will remit HEFCW to take into account both the Assembly Government’s priorities and the excellence of our institutions as measured by the RAE and other measures.

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The academic autonomy of HEIs is an important and highly-regarded feature of the UK HE system. The majority of Assembly Government funding to HE institutions through HEFCW is available for individual institutions to direct as they see fi t to meet their own priorities. The importance of autonomy here lies in ensuring that the direction of basic research remains in the hands of those closest to it and able to see how the global science agenda is moving and so respond quickly and fl exibly to developments. It is worth noting that the UK as a whole does only 5% of global research, though its impact is rated as far greater than that. It is vitally important that our R&D personnel, whether in academia or business, are working in collaboration with leading research groups no matter where in the world they are located so that a strong and independent basic research capacity can provide the eyes and ears on the 95% of global science that is done outside the UK. It is clear that there is considerable support from HEIs for the principle of strengthening Wales’ contribution to the three areas identifi ed and we look to the totality of our HE sector to support this Science Policy and vice versa, for the wider benefi t of Wales.

We will continue to invest in core funding for our HE institutions so that they can compete ever more effectively with those in other parts of the UK and to further the success of Welsh HEIs in securing other sources of funding support. Given the current balance of dual funding in Wales between the Research Councils and HEFCW, any shift of funds at UK level towards the Research Councils could pose serious risks to the science base in Wales given our relative below par success rate in securing funds from the Research Councils. This is also why current discussions about the application of metrics to drive research assessment in future need to be handled with

care: any metrics that tied our research funding in Wales too closely to research council funding decisions would risk producing a monolithic set of drivers of funding, to the probable detriment of Wales and its HEIs. The nature of the devolution settlement means that the Assembly Government and others must be alert to the wider UK opportunities and threats and to the implications for Wales of decisions over the future funding of science and innovation taken in London. We will continue to access UK-wide funding opportunities such as the Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF) and maximise their effectiveness through matching with existing capital funds, where possible. This has given an investment or commitment to invest totalling almost £129m over the period 2002-2008. Over time we will move towards supporting full economic cost recovery in areas such as research funded through charities as well as for research and work the Assembly Government undertakes with HEIs.

As we have set out in the recent consultation on The Learning Country II, the evidence is clear that Wales still has too many small HE institutions which cannot generate ‘critical mass’ in research on their own and vulnerable institutions, acting alone. The route to a strong HE sector is through continuing support for reconfi guration and collaboration. On current plans, some £12m per year is available to support the sector in this way. We will continue to use these Reaching Higher funds to support collaboration but also, as we have done in 2005 and 2006, strategically through world class research groups, releasing research active staff or to support HEIs in drawing up bids and funds to attract overseas academics. We will give priority to supporting proposals which develop existing excellence in the themes we have identifi ed in this Science Policy.

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We will explore, through HEFCW and others, the possibilities for supporting the development of further institutes in areas which underpin the three priority areas such as a:

■ Low Carbon Research Institute

■ Wales Cancer Institute

■ Wales Institute of Social Science Research

■ Collaborative Research Initiative: Engineering Applications of Complex Fluids at theMicro-scale

■ Centre for Sustainable Construction

We will look too beyond the UK, to develop our strengths and maximise the impact of our science. There are clear synergies between our priority areas and the EU 7th Framework research programme sectors. There are opportunities too for synergy between use of Convergence Funds and FP7. We will explore the possibilities of increasing numbers of new researchers through EU programmes to maximise the gains from these funds. We will explore with the sector and HEFCW what the barriers are to greater Welsh HEI participation

in European research funding and how these might be tackled through collaborative action or other means of support. We will explore how EU schemes such as Marie Curie can be used to best effect. We will better use our existing international partnerships such as the ‘4 Motor Regions’ in Europe. There are opportunities beyond the EU also. We will engage in UK-wide international initiatives such as UK/India research initiative and UK/China low carbon programme where we can and where it meets Wales’ priorities to do so.

TeachingUnderpinning the research strength of our Higher Education Institutions (now and for the sustainable long term) is their teaching role. Research collaborations which also impact on the teaching provision for undergraduate and continuing professional development also help to ensure a sustainable future for the excellence we are supporting. We will encourage institutions to integrate teaching and research elements in their collaboration proposals in support of our Science Policy.

Existing Reaching Higher Collaboration and Reconfi gurations supported which underpin theScience Policy priority areas:

■ University of Wales, Aberystwyth and University of Wales, Bangor Research and Enterprise Partnership

■ University of Wales, Bangor, Cardiff University, University of Wales, Swansea, Wales Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience

■ University of Glamorgan, University of Wales College Newport, Cardiff University RWCMD and SIHE Skillset Screen Academy

■ University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Bangor and Swansea, and Cardiff University Institute for Mathematical and Computational Sciences

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More fundamentally, a steady supply of graduates from the subjects which underpin the three areas retained in Wales as far as possible is clearly essential. The evidence on enrolments in some STEM subjects is encouraging, whilst in others (such as chemistry) there is cause for concern. We will continue to monitor the pattern of enrolments into these subjects. Last year, the Assembly Government remitted HEFCW to consider whether there were subjects of broader importance to Wales. The Council’s advice made it clear that we needed to consider this in the context of the wider England-Wales HE context. The position in Wales was stronger in some disciplines thanin England, particularly in undergraduate provision in many branches of Engineeringand Ocean Science.

We will, through HEFCW, continue to monitor the position in Wales in respect of provision of STEM subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate level. We will look to HEFCW to engage early with HEIs when proposals to

close STEM departments are mooted, in order to consider whether any signifi cant issues are raised, and what options might be appropriate in particular with a view to maintaining national capacity in these basic areas, whether through collaboration or single provision within Wales or with appropriate institutions over the border. We strongly encourage our HE Institutions to take HEFCW into their confi dence at a very early stage.

Institutions are already, individually, collectively and with HEFCW, taking innovative steps to engage young people in STEM subjects as part of the programmes to encourage wider access and participation in HE. We will continue support for these innovative approaches to engaging young people in science and technology and other subjects where demand is an issue through the Reaching Wider programme.

We will pursue through HEFCW, as we have done with modern foreign languages, collaborative and innovative measures to promote demand for STEM subjects.

Providing access to scientifi c information and resources is a key role for academic and research libraries, museums and archives in supporting scientifi c research in Wales which the Welsh Assembly Government supports through CyMAL: Museums, Archives and Libraries Wales.

Third missionThe third mission activities of our universities, on top of their more traditional teaching and research role, relate to exploiting the scientifi c knowledge and other expertise that resides within HEIs for the benefi t of society and economy. Knowledge transfer activities are delivered in many guises, with more set out in the ‘commercialisation of science’ chapter

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below. Sometimes technology transfer is at their core and sometimes it is people transfer that provides the catalyst for new developments; but both ultimately lead to new applications of knowledge and/or technological expertise. In this way science and innovation are drivers of productivity growth and the knowledge transfer activities of universities have an important role to play in encouraging more Welsh businesses to tap into the expertise that resides within the HE sector in Wales, and perhaps to become more research, development or design active themselves. Equally important in this area, however, is the need to support within our universities a culture of enterprise that encourages, and a support framework that facilitates increased commercialisation of the science base.

We will continue to promote this activity through third mission funds to underpin HEIs’ interaction with industry and their own commercialisation activities. These funds rise to over £6m a year on current plans. In taking forward the next three-year period of funding we will encourage HEIs to focus these resources

where they have existing strengths on activities supportive of our three key priority areas.

Wales does not presently enjoy substantial UK Government investment in public sector science institutions compared with some other parts of the UK, but there are two such centres here. The Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) at Aberystwyth, and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) at University of Wales, Bangor. CEH has the benefi t of a new £7m laboratory complex. IGER is going through a rationalisation phase with its much larger partner institution at Rothampsted following a change in DEFRA and BBSRC priorities.

We will continue our proactive relationship with DEFRA and research councils in support of these two centres and continue encouraging their efforts to draw research funding to Wales. We are encouraging greater synergy and collaboration between these PSREs, our HEIs and businesses – for their mutual benefi t. The University of Wales, Aberystwyth and Bangor Research and Enterprise Partnership will promote this interaction with IGER and CEH.

Examples of ‘Reaching Wider’programme activityFirst Campus includes a unique Reaching Wider partnership of all HEIs and Further Education Colleges in South East Wales over April 2004 to April 2005. Every one of the 22 secondary schools has participated in at least one of the 160 events held, which saw over 3062 pupils getting involved in activities such as interactive sessions in forensic science murder mysteries, modern foreign languages, internet study skills, radio broadcasting, health and social care study, study skills and a residential robotics course.

SETPOINT Wales provides science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities to

pupils and teachers throughout Wales. These activities are designed to enhance and enrich the curriculum and to encourage students to take scientifi c and technical qualifi cations and careers. One of the most popular events is Stardome – the University of Glamorgan’s portable planetarium – which is managed and delivered by SETPOINT Wales. All the presenters are graduates from astronomy disciplines which gives the students (and teachers) the opportunity to ask questions of experts. This attracted over 3000 under-14 pupils to participate. In total the operations of SETPOINT have involved 4731 under-14s,1184 14-19 year olds and 14 adult learners.

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The Third Mission Contribution:

■ 17 active staff start-up fi rms in Wales with over100 FTEs in employment

■ 168 active graduate start-up fi rms in Wales (higher than all English Regional Development Agency areas) with over 200 FTEs in employment (10.5% of UK graduate start-up employment)

■ Research and collaborative research income of£78m in 2003-4

■ Over 230,000 individuals benefi ted from free events at institutions ranging from science lectures to creative arts performances

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Some current examples:

Biosciences■ Assessment of cardiovascular disease and

foetal heart monitoring improved by world-leading Huntleigh Diagnostic’s Doppler ultrasound equipment

■ Professor Sir Martin Evans’ (Cardiff University) pioneering work on human stem cell research

■ Bioluminescence labelling technology from the University of Wales College of Medicine (now merged with Cardiff University) revolutionised molecular biology

■ The Cardiff University Brain and Repair Imaging Centre (CUBRIC) features the latest brain scanning technologies based around complementary applications for human-based brain imaging

Built Environment■ The Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff,

winner of a RIBA award in June 2005, combines slate, timber, glass and stainless steel technologies; refl ecting the natural and manufactured resources of Wales

■ The innovative streamlined box-girder units for the deck of the fi rst Severn Crossing suspension bridge were fabricated in the Fairfi eld-Mabey Ltd. yard in Chepstow

■ Corus colour coat products are at the leading edge of building construction

Communications■ Opto-electronics technology and incubation

centre (OpTIC), opened in 2003 atSt Asaph, has encouraged various innovative concepts in opto-related process and product development to be brought to market

■ IQE with its HQ in Cardiff is one of the world’s leading micro and opto electronic epitaxial-substrate producers

Commercialisation of Science

Past Welsh signifi cant achievements in science, technology and engineering include:

■ For half a millennium, scientists in all cultures and in all languages have used a way of writing down their thoughts that was devised by Robert Recorde, a doctor from Pembrokeshire. He invented the “equals” sign (=) – used by children to denote that two plus two equals four and by distinguished professors to express highly complex phenomena.

■ Swansea lawyer and scientist Sir William Robert Grove developed a “gas battery”in 1839, the world’s fi rst hydrogen fuel cell.

■ In engineering, the aviator and pioneering motorist Charles Rolls, (half of Rolls-Royce) came from Monmouth.

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Energy■ Sharp Solar, the world’s largest photovoltaic

manufacturer, established its fi rst European production facility at Wrexham in 2004 and it has recently been further expanded

Engineering■ Professor Pham’s Manufacturing Engineering

Centre at Cardiff University is working with a very wide range of companies on the development and utilisation of leading edge manufacturing processes

■ The Product Design Centre at UWIC (PDR) has assisted hundreds of companies to develop quality products incorporating world-class design

■ A novel aluminium recycling furnace produced by Platinum Controls Ltd of Llandarcy has reduced cycle times by 75% with a 10% gain in recovery rates

Environmental Science■ Evidential alcohol levels in drivers are

measured throughout the world using portable breathalysers developed by Professor Tom Parry Jones of Lion Laboratories, Barry

■ Waste slate from North Wales has been spun into fi bres to make a potential insulation material

■ Willow branches are being assessed as a sustainable alternative to concrete and steel in slope stabilisation by Richards Moorhead and Laing of Ruthin

Exploitation of scienceBecause of its industrial heritage the Welsh industrial base has been characterised in the past by a large number of SME companies at the smaller end of that scale and a small number of very large heavy industrial enterprises with relatively low investment in R&D and too few links with higher and further education. The modern Welsh inheritance lacks a ‘critical mass’ of businesses in the knowledge-based sectors and too few major companies with headquarters and R&D functions in Wales. Past decades of attracting the ‘branch factory’ to Wales, without giving suffi cient priority to attracting the HQ and R&D function as well, has delayed the necessary process of getting into the Knowledge Economy. While this situation is being transformed by new inducement tools such as the Job Creation Grant paid in relation to a percentage of salary levels not of capital expenditure, more needs to be done.

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The Welsh Assembly Government also encourages, supports and funds a range of initiatives to foster better links between business and the science base, to fund research and new product and process development by business and to help create an innovative environment through a network of innovation centres. These include funding for HE’s ‘third mission’ activity (the Knowledge Exploitation Fund (KEF) and HEFCW-deployed resources, SMARTCymru, the Wales Innovators Network, the NHS Intellectual Property (IP) Hub, the Centre of Excellence (CETIC) programme, the Wales Innovation Relay Centre and the Technium network.

The newly merged Department for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks is already enhancing our knowledge economy base and ensuring that key operations such as the Knowledge Bank for Business (KB4B) and Finance Wales are increasingly focussing on strengthening the technology base of our economy. We will ensure that the mechanisms and support for commercialisation of discoveries, for attracting SET-relevant inward investment, showcasing our business and academic strengths and for transferring technology generally are the best possible- concentrating on identifying opportunities with exceptional potential. An independent review of commercialisation activities is currently underway which is expected to be completed early in 2007.

Not enough of the excellent academic science output in Wales is being commercialised for the benefi t of the Welsh economy. We need to evolve the most effective structures and resources to accelerate the commercialisation of R&D in Wales. For example HE technology transfer offi ces require suffi cient resources to deliver the required services, and their personnel need continuing professional development and training. We will look to research funding bodies and others to provide further support as the commercialisation infrastructure for Wales develops, and to HEIs to ensure that, collectively, they present a coherent face to potential users.

We need also to benefi t from new SET developments, wherever they occur. Wales must nurture close links to science beyond Wales’ borders because we only have 5% of the UK population and the UK science effort is only a small fraction of global scientifi c and technological development. It is vitally important that our R&D groups in academia and in business are working in collaboration with leading research groups all over the world.

Intellectual propertyWe will facilitate a new push to ensure we better protect and commercialise the intellectual property (IP) resulting from activities in Wales. IP can be generated from a number of sources, including the academic science base businesses, Technium tenants, KB4B clients, the NHS and outcomes from EU funded programmes.

Areas where we will work to arrange more support to encourage better commercialisation of IP include:

■ IP and Commercialisation Advisory Services – to cover the process from identifi cation of the opportunities, best route to commercialisation through to detailed

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negotiations. We will investigate whether Wales might be well served by adapting the Irish Republic’s model of the ‘One-stop-shop’ for information on support for commercialisation, applied research, technology development and business innovation, thereby providing a single interface for companies with the full range of national and international support for commercialising R&D.

■ Technology due diligence and auditing – identifi cation of IP for commercialisation (and also IP that should be allowed to lapse) and gaps where vital IP will need to be acquired – from anywhere in the world.

■ Technology brokerage – we will assist with fi nding partners for licensing deals.

■ Financial support – for both grants and access to external sources of funding we will work with recipients to:

● Buy in expertise

● Protect IP – fi ling, translation etc.,as appropriate

● Fund proof of concept

● Fund prototypes

● Scale up to manufacture

● Fund facilities and equipment

● Support market analysis

■ Investors Forum – including non-Wales-based investors

■ Creation of a pool of IP experts, including the UK Patent Offi ce, patent attorneys and other IP professionals

■ Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and training for IP and commercialisation managers, especially in HEIs and in new business, and management skills for the academic community

We will seek to fund this activity by drawing on a variety of sources, including:

■ opportunities provided by EU Convergence funds 2007-2013

■ KEF for our Higher (and some Further) Education institutions

■ Some elements of SMARTCymru

■ Funds deployed by HEFCW

■ The Wales Spin-out Programme

■ Finance Wales

■ Private sector investors

Performance evaluationIt is very important to have effective measures of what the impact of our and others activities are. We will work up a set of metrics which include patents/trademarks granted; percentage turnover resulting from new products; income from licensing; new knowledge-based spinouts and fi nally new value added jobs as a result of these other measures.

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Science and the school curriculumSince 1988 every pupil who attends a maintained school will have studied science throughout their years of compulsory schooling. This core status recognises the important part that science plays in the school curriculum, whilst allowing suffi cient fl exibility to meet individual learners’ needs and motivate themto enjoy and succeed in science.

Science teaching at Key Stages 1 – 4 (that is ages 5-7, 7 to 11, 11 to 14 and 14 to 16) is focussed on four learning areas:

■ scientifi c enquiry

■ life processes and living things

■ materials and their properties and

■ physical processes

At Key Stage 4 (ages 14-16), pupils study science courses at Entry Level or GCSE. These provide a balance of chemistry, physics and biology, leading to a single or double award in science, depending on the breadth of study. Pupils having a particular interest in the sciences may be entered for three separate GCSEs in chemistry, physics and biology. GCSEs in double award science or the three separate sciences provide suffi cient preparation for further study of chemistry, physics and biology at A Level. A

recent addition to this suite of qualifi cations is the ‘vocational’ GCSE in applied science which provides suffi cient preparation for pupils to move on to study a range of science related and technical courses post-16. Schools may also offer other science-related courses, such as the vocational GCSE in health and social care. This range of opportunities allows schools to select the most relevant qualifi cations for their pupils.

Pupils’ attainment in science has shown substantial improvement over the last ten years at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. Whilst GCSE results in science have tended to “plateau” over the seven years to 2005, results at A level have shown a substantial improvement during the same period.

Planned changes to the science curriculum will build further on this progress. The Assembly Government’s Department for Education Life-long Learning and Skills (DELLS) is already reviewing the curriculum, from age 3-16, including science, and there will be national consultation in spring 2007. It will have greater emphasis on the skills young people need for life and work, and include greater emphasis on contemporary issues, and environment.

These changes are intended to run from the very earliest years to the end of compulsory schooling. The Foundation Phase will subsume Early Years and Key Stage 1. Science will form part of a wider area of learning entitled “Knowledge and Understanding of the World”. The main focus of this phase is that children learn through experiential activities, structured play, exploration and develop their skills across the curriculum – intended to stimulate children’s interest and curiosity. In this area of learning, children are developing the crucial knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world. This forms the foundation for later work in science, design and technology,

Science Education

24

history, geography, and information and communication technology (ICT).

The revised National Curriculum will be available for consultation early in 2007, prior to planned implementation from September 2008. The aims for the revised curriculum are to ensure that the curriculum:

■ focuses on and meets learner needs

■ is inclusive and provides equality of opportunity

■ equips learners with transferable skills

■ is relevant, challenging, interesting and enjoyable for all learners

■ transforms learning to produce resourceful, resilient and refl ective lifelong learners

■ is achievable and adequately resourced

For science at Key Stages 2 and 3 (ages 7 to 11 and 11 to 13), this will mean a reduction in the content of the programmes of study to allow teachers to focus on the pupils’ prior learning and individual needs and to give more time to develop pupils’ skills in the areas of thinking, communication, number and ICT. The programmes of study and level descriptions are to be revised to emphasise the opportunities for making links between the different areas of science. Similarly at Key Stage 4, the content will be reduced to allow greater fl exibility in qualifi cation design leading to a wider range of approaches and difference in content between the various options. Our aim is to enable pupils of all abilities to take the qualifi cation that best suits their needs and abilities, allowing those with the interest and ability to progress further.

Our Better School Fund will include a new activity area aimed at supporting this revised national curriculum, including the important changes to the science curriculum.

The Assembly Government is also investigating the potential for promoting innovative approaches to maths and science teaching in collaboration with Techniquest and the (UK) National Science Learning Centre in York.

STEM careersCareers Wales, launched in April 2001 is the fi rst all-age information, advice and guidance service in the UK. Its services are available to all in Wales via high street careers shops; outreach work in the community; a presence in schools and further education colleges; by telephone and online at. www.careerswales.com.

Careers advisers’ role is very much centred on the individual. Firstly they must provide independent and impartial information, advice and guidance to young people and adults, in accordance with the individual’s interests. They do not promote or advocate careers in particular sectors or industries, but do provide up-to-date information on trends in the labour market and bring attention to areas of skill shortage. They always work closely with Sector Skills Councils – who do have responsibility for marketing careers in particular sectors of the economy,

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including science, engineering and technology, to ensure up to date and useful information is available to clients.

Careers Wales companies also support schools in delivering the work-related education element of the basic curriculum linking employers with education through activities such as:

■ work experience

■ providing opportunities for teachers to have placements in business and industry

■ employer mentoring for young people

■ enterprise and business awareness programmes and

■ employer involvement in the delivery and development of the curriculum

This last aspect includes a wide range of activities, programmes events and competitions that involve employers from Science, Engineering and Technology with schools and colleges. These raise the profi le of the sector with young people from primary school level onwards. Examples include Engineering Team Challenge events; the Micro-mouse competition (electrical engineering) – involving a teacher placement and then a project with pupils; Young Engineers Knex Challenge; robotics competitions; the Jaguar Formula 1 Challenge (Key Stage 3 and 4 pupils and sixteen+ pupils design and build a model of a carbon dioxide powered racing car using a CAD package); the Creativity in Engineering, Science and Technology (CREST) Awards Scheme (awarded to pupils who have participated in particular school projects). In the old Mid Glamorgan area (Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taff and Merthyr) over 2,000 primary children attended science clubs and gained First/Young Investigator Awards – 25% of the UK total.

In 2005-06, Careers Wales worked closelywith Fforwm to develop a National Engineering Week, to include all FE colleges and their 14-19 Network partners. They have also worked closely with the Welsh Electronics Employers Forum on both marketing materials and contents on their website, plus the distribution of information across Careers Wales companies.

The Careers Wales Association is also a strategic partner with Chwarae Teg on their “Ready, SET, Go” project. Careers Wales involvement is two fold i.e. activities run as part of the teacher training programme and adult guidance. Careers Advisers provide support and guidance activities for 10-week taster programmes for women who are interested in opportunities in science engineering and technology.

In 2004/05, two-thirds of Welsh domiciled undergraduate enrolments in science, engineering and technology were male. The ratio has been fairly steady over the past few years. Males outnumber females in all subject groups apart from biological sciences. The proportion of females is least in engineering and technology (around 10 per cent) and computer science (around 20 per cent). There has been very little noticeable change in this profi le in recent years.

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Around 80 per cent of academic staff employed in science, engineering and technology cost centres are male. Females are most likely to be researchers, although it is still the case that 70 per cent of researchers are male. The proportion of SET staff that are female falls in higher grades. There are very few female professors,5 out of nearly 190. Since it is well-documented that there are proportionately too few women entering careers in many aspects of SET, the Welsh Assembly Government has provided funding and support for some time to Women Into Science and Engineering (WISE) in Wales. We will continue that support.

Teaching science and science teachersin WalesStatistics suggest that mathematics, chemistry, physics and design & technology are areas where, compared with secondary subjects overall, there tend to be diffi culties in recruiting to posts in maintained schools. They tend to attract fewer applications than average and to have higher vacancy fi gures.

Action has been taken to improve the attractiveness of these subjects in initial teacher training (ITT). The Welsh Assembly Government offers incentives for eligible people to undergo a postgraduate (PGCE) ITT course (training grants) and for eligible persons to take up particular teaching posts (teaching grants). We have designed the incentives to attract the best quality, highly-committed students to train and teach in Wales. They have been increased for courses starting in September 2006:

■ eligible trainees on secondary PGCE courses in these subjects can receive a £7,200 training grant

■ those eligible can also receive a teaching grant of £5,000 when they complete Induction and are teaching their subject (£2,500 for design & technology)

We will take forward changes in ITT provision in the light of a recent review. Past over-production coupled with falling pupil numbers means we will need fewer ITT places inthe future.

Within reduced numbers, however, the Assembly Government intends to increase the proportion of places in priority subjects, including mathematics, chemistry, physics and design & technology.

We will be taking steps to improve teacher workforce planning. We will be examining teacher supply modeling, used for calculating ITT intake targets, to see the scope which might exist for better inputs to and the outputs from the process using data which is more specifi c to and refl ective of issues of concern in Wales.

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The pace of scientifi c and technological change is quickening all the time in Wales as elsewhere and bringing with it new opportunities and challenges – locally, regionally and globally – to fi nd solutions in, the scientifi c and technological world. The consultation showed an appetite for more public understanding of scientifi c issues from several quarters. It also showed concern that there are too many people unaware that many developments in the modern world are largely “science-produced” in such as areas as food, materials and health. We need to combat that lack of awareness and ensure that the public of Wales has a proper understanding of signifi cant science issues, their causes, and the solutions that present themselves or that may be on the way.

The Welsh Assembly Government will maintain close links with organisations promoting the importance of scientifi c understanding to the public such as the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science), including our “science-producing” bodies, such as HEIs and PSREs. We will continue to encourage them to showcase their achievements whenever appropriate and continue with outreach and community engagement activities in science subjects, such as the exhibitions, demonstrations, and lectures undertaken annually during National Science Week.

We note that the UK research councils are increasingly expecting scientists receiving funding from them to build in means and plans for disseminating outcomes from their work. Most academics do really enjoy explaining their work to a wider world, but it does represent a time commitment, to be fi tted in with research and teaching. Some universities now employ staff who specialise in this important and developing fi eld of public understanding, which forms a signifi cant sub-set of their ‘third mission’ activity.

The Welsh Assembly Government will maintain public consultation on these issues as required, canvassing views and attitudes to science-related matters whenever appropriate. We will continue to encourage scientists and scientifi c educational and explanatory bodies to continue using their considerable experience in communicating new and challenging scientifi c discoveries and their implications, to the public.

The Assembly Government also provides core grant funding to help support our main science discovery operation, Techniquest. This plays an important role in helping to engage people of all ages in science, both through the interactive displays at their centres in Cardiff and North Wales and their outreach activities with schools across Wales. Techniquest have recently drawn up a 5-year plan for promoting and expanding their activities with an increased emphasis on working with schools and partners across Wales.

Communicating the importance of Science is only one facet of the work that the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) does, but it is one they undertake effectively, and we remain wholly supportive and appreciative of their activities, a numberof which the Assembly Government collaborates with.

Public Dialogue and Understanding of Science

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Museums throughout Wales already present and interpret science to the public, applied to particular industries, environment and everyday life. Public, academic and workplace libraries along with many archives provide access to a wide range of resources that help develop people’s knowledge of science. We will continue to work in partnership with museums, libraries and archives to improve access to these resources.

We will support closer working together by the media, scientists and policy makers to promote science to the people of Wales.

It must be remembered that new scientifi c discoveries, treatments and technologies create new choices and decisions for people to make, and an appropriate level of knowledge and assistance must be put in place to allow them to make those choices properly informed. An example of this is the Wales Gene Park, an undertaking run chiefl y from within Cardiff University, but with Techniquest collaborating to provide professional education on gene therapies for health professionals to enable them better to discuss matters with patients and others. Science festivals have a part to play as a means for bringing a number of stakeholders together and in devising creative ways of drawing in suffi cient numbers of participants and audience to be sustainable.

We will collaborate and cooperate with the UK Government, as and when appropriate, to convey messages related to the understanding of particular scientifi c issues to the wider public, or particular sections of the public, in the most effective means available.

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Healthcare systems around the world face major challenges. In the western world, the expectations of individuals in accessing the best health care available are rising. The proportion of the population in the upper age groups is increasing and this places greater demands on the health and social care services. There is also a growing need to provide the best but most cost effective treatments against a background of rapid technological advances, rising costs and, in Wales, organisational change.

Within this context, major health challenges that face Wales include:

■ diabetes

■ cardio-vascular disease

■ lifestyle issues, especially alcohol and drug abuse; sexual health; obesity and smoking

■ cancer

■ mental health

There is also a pressing need to fi nd solutions to the delivery of more effective health and social care, where the services interface, such as in transfers of care.

These complex challenges will only be tackled successfully if the most effective mechanismsof interaction are developed and fostered between innovators, healthcare industries,the NHS and individuals.

The Welsh Assembly Government’s strategy, Designed for Life, seeks to create a world class health service in Wales, fi t for the 21st century. It focuses on modernising the health service, thereby improving the health of the population and reducing health inequalities. Research and development is crucial to achieving the aims of this strategy, by informing its implementation and in evaluating it.

Health Science is broad in scope. It encompasses basic as well as translational

research; health services, public health and policy related research; and epidemiology. It involves research to develop knowledge of health and its determinants and the evaluation of interventions designed to promote and protect good health and improve healthcare. Importantly, health science involves taking innovation from the ‘bench to the bedside’. It is founded on the pure and applied sciences of biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, engineering and the social sciences.

The benefi ts of health related science and science related health extend well beyond health, to wealth creation, education and social justice and regeneration. Thus the aims of health science in Wales can be summarised as follows:

■ To promote and protect the health of the population – through the identifi cation and adoption of effective evidence-based interventions and technologies

■ To improve the quality of life of patients and carers – by, for example, reducing the discomfort associated with some treatments; and improving access by locating services nearer to homes or by telemedicine

Key Priority: Health

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■ To promote the sustainability of healthcare services – by informing the planning of the most cost-effective services, interventions and technologies

■ To support economic development and wealth creation – by the identifi cation and exploitation of commercial opportunities for innovative healthcare products and services and the creation of jobs

■ To promote excellence in science – which will enhance Wales’s reputation as a base for health science thereby improving: the recruitment and retention of high calibre scientists; the research rating of our academic departments; and, in turn, their power to secure research grants from sources external to Wales

Principles and approaches underpinning investmentA review of bioscience in Wales from January 2003 (A Strategy for Bioscience in Wales– Ernst and Young) identifi ed four key themes which should underpin our strategy. These themes: unifi ed leadership, ‘critical mass’, innovation and commercialisation, and building the science base, arguably apply to the whole of the research spectrum from basic science to translational research and can usefully form the basis of the drive for improvement. The review also identifi ed 290 companies active in bio-science, operating in areas as diverse as:

■ pharmaceuticals

■ clinical trials

■ medical devices

■ diagnostics (in vivo and in vitro)

■ non-invasive surgery

■ drug discovery technologies and systems

Leadership needs to be demonstrated across all sectors: public, private and voluntary, but

there is also a need to bring together the major stakeholders to ensure a coordinated approach to strategy and implementation. The Welsh Assembly Government will play its part in this respect by ensuring that better coordination exists across the policy departments in the Administration and with other public bodiesin Wales.

Building and maintaining an effective infrastructure for health science will be key to achieving our aims. This involves ensuring that the right equipment and facilities are available for research purposes; people with the right skills and knowledge are employed and organisational arrangements and structures are in place to aid collaborative working. Collaborations should be multidisciplinary where appropriate and partnerships actively fostered between the NHS, industry and academia. A mutual understanding of the needs of the sectors will be an important part of building successful partnerships. The initiative

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to streamline governance arrangements in clinical research will, for example, help to meet the needs of industry as recommended by the McKinsey report in August 2005 (ClinicalResearch in the UK: Towards a single system that reliably delivers distinctive quality and rapid access at reasonable costs).

Much is already being done to build strong all Wales collaborations through CRC Cymru, a major research infrastructure initiative which builds on the success of the cancer research network in improving the quality and quantity of research undertaken in Wales. Nine networks comprising academics, practitioners and policy makers have been established which cover the following thematic research areas, of policy relevance to Wales:

■ children and young people

■ dementias and neurodegenerative disorders

■ diabetes

■ emergency and unplanned care

■ epilepsy

■ learning disabilities

■ mental health

■ older people and ageing

■ public health improvement

Whereas CRC Cymru is essentially an infrastructure for facilitating research in clinical areas, MediWales will be crucial for building collaborations and partnerships in bioscience. The industry network provided by MediWales and the NHS networks provided by the Welsh Assembly Government’s health professional advisory committees could work together to provide access points for Industry to identify potential clinical collaborators within NHS Wales.

The recruitment and retention of high calibre scientists will be key to achieving our vision. However, we also need to develop

our capabilities and capacities through a coordinated and cohesive approach to training and career structures. The NHS is a major contributor to meeting this aim as it is the largest single employer of scientifi cally trained staff in Wales. The Welsh Assembly Government is already committed to participating in the UK wide clinical academic careers initiative. A UK review of future training and careers of all clinical staff is in progress and the importance of retention and dissemination of in-depth research expertise will need to be recognised in this work. Current arrangements in Wales for establishment of training posts for future researchers and academics across the health professions will be reviewed.

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The quality of the NHS as an environment for health science is critical for future success. Here we need a strong, focused environment for research underpinned by effective leadership and adequate resources to meet servicesupport costs.

We recognise that the Government funding of research and development needs to be improved and are actively seeking ways of achieving this. One mechanism could be the levering of Convergence Funds to support research and development, innovation and technology. But funding could also be improved by policy departments joining forces to make more effective use of their resources as is already the case in the areas of public health, intellectual property, and training and career development. We also need to strengthen our links with research funders: industry, research charities, research councils and other government departments to maximise our resources and attract new funding into Wales. HEIs are keen to improve their record in generating external income from these competitive sources. Partnerships between HE, the NHS and industry in the commercialisation of ideas will also generate income which can be reinvested to the benefi t of research.

StrengthsWales has a number of strengths that it can build on. Our scientists are able to forge collaborations relatively quickly. Our bioscience sector may not be the biggest in the UK, but it is strong in cancer, neuroscience, medical genetics, mental health, infection and immunity, stem cells genetics and genomics. Translational research is stronger in genomics and cancer. Clinical research facilities are developing in Cardiff University and the University of Wales Swansea. The Cardiff Institute for Tissue Engineering and Repair (CITER) has established

an international reputation in the science and application of measures to improve tissue healing. A strong collaboration is developing with University of Wales Swansea and the local NHS. There are also important collaborations in the fi eld of intelligence relating to Human-IT interaction, underpinned by the InformingHealthcare and Informing Social Carestrategies.

Wales is also capitalising on the opportunities presented by its size and the organisational cohesion of the NHS to develop as a leader in health information research. The access of researchers at the University of Wales Swansea to the IBM supercomputer (‘Blue C’) in the new Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) will enable mechanisms to be developed for supporting research through the innovative use of routinely collected operational data, as well as the analysis of large and linked datasets from health and other sectors.

For innovation and commercialisation an Intellectual Property Advisory Service (Welsh Innovations in Healthcare (WIsH)) is already in place to maximise the benefi ts of R&D within the NHS: Cardiff has a track record in this area through the Medicentre on the University Hospital of Wales campus. Incubator opportunities in Swansea and elsewhere in West Wales are being expanded through the Technium programme. Links with devices industries are fostered through Mediwales and with the pharmaceutical industry through the Welsh Industry Group which is the Welsh branch of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).

Emerging areas to encourageWe will build on existing strengths, through collaboration across organisations and businesses to share expertise, best practice and facilities; nurture established excellence in

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research in key fi elds; and support emerging areas in which Wales has the potential to lead.

The Welsh Assembly Government’s future technologies programme will continue to add value to the healthcare sector by identifying opportunities to translate current inventions and external global pressures into new and improved products and services. In collaboration with key stakeholder sources, information will be gathered and disseminated to key bodies, including networks in Wales such as MediWales, which has access to a large numbers of other organisations, to help identify and progress future and emerging opportunities. Additionally, sector support will continue in order to ensure effective training, business advice and dissemination.

There is wide-ranging advanced software expertise across HE in Wales on visualisation of very large 3D medical imaging data set, including use of virtual reality methods which could link with the state-of-the-art facilities in HEIs and the NHS. This has potential for application in simulation-based training. This would include imaging modalities such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET), functional

MRI (for example as located at Cardiff University’s Brain and Repair Imaging Centre – CUBRIC) and CT. Collaborative working between institutions could be assisted by infrastructure to facilitate image data sharing.

Science park developments are ongoing under the Technium banner to help facilitate constructive interaction between HE, clinicians and industry. Plans for a specifi c life sciences park development are being considered.

We will continue to enhance Wales’ diagnostics expertise, which, with our bioscience company base, will be opportune in both the in-vitro and in-vivo fi elds (but especially in-vitro). Work in diagnostics will also develop tools and technologies to move the process of diagnosis forward and bring it into the surgery and home.

■ Opportunities will be maximised in the emerging area of personalised medicine, where leading research is already being carried out in businesses in Wales. Wales is at the forefront of personalised medicine both from the academic and the industrial perspective.

Wales has a number of strengths that it can build on.

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■ We will strive to build up mass within Wales and we will continue to try and attract big pharmaceutical R&D operations and activity and seize opportunities to help strengthen existing companies, attract new inward investment in niche markets and encourage more spin-out companies.

■ We will seek to continue to improve our research base and the links in the research continuum, by investing in CRC Cymru, so that Wales can develop its potential in participating in and leading large scale clinical trials within the context of UKCRC. One approach will be to build capacity through extending the post-doctoral fellowship programmes. We need to address investment in specialisms in which there is a shortage: for example, statisticians and health economists, and promote and encourage exchange between the sectors to build cooperation and collaboration. We will continue to promote and develop patient and carer involvement in the research agenda both at the strategic and thematic levels.

■ There is potential to build on existing and emerging strengths in public health and health services research. We will

encourage the building of collaborations in epidemiology; and research and teaching related to health and healthy lifestyles, within the context of Health Challenge Wales.

■ The need for health information research is UK wide and Wales has the potential to lead in this area. Research is needed to develop new methodologies to:

● Access and combine routine data for a wide range of research purposes

● Explore how routine collected data can support large scale trials, cohort studies and evaluation studies

● Develop innovative analyses of large and combined datasets

● Develop methods for data capture, across the research spectrum, to common standards and defi nitions in multiple locations

Collaborations need to be built to meet these objectives and the Welsh Assembly Government funded Health Information Research Unit (HIRU) at University of Wales, Swansea will play an important part in this respect.

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Global driversIt is now accepted that the earth’s temperature is increasing. The activities of the human race are a prime cause. The increase arises from a number of factors, the main one being the rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere from burning coal, oil and gas. To reduce the rate of increase in global warming and stabilise the temperature we have to reduce emissions of CO2. The most signifi cant of human emission-causing activities are power generation, manufacturing, space heating (coal, oil and gas burning), and transport (oil burning).The current scientifi c consensus is that the CO2

level must be kept below 500 parts per million (ppm) or less to avoid triggering catastrophic and irreversible, global warming effects – the current level is 382 ppm. To achieve this, the EU and a wider world consensus is now looking to reduce CO2 emissions by 60-80% by 2050 or perhaps sooner – a very challenging target. It will require a relatively rapid move to a low carbon global energy economy both through massive technological developments which meet stringent sustainable development criteria and possibly major changes in social behaviour in the use of energy – the extent of the latter depending on the success with the former.

The challenges posed by global warming and the associated shift in the technological base of

the energy industry provide a major challenge and major opportunities for Wales. Wales, with its virtually unique commitment to sustainable development written into its founding legislation for devolved government, has the opportunity to encourage the development of a low carbon energy economy, with the twin benefi ts of:

■ contributing to the reduction in Welsh and worldwide CO2 emissions

■ developing a world-class low carbon energy business and research sector based in Wales, contributing signifi cantly to the development of Wales’ economic growth and job creation

Local factorsWe will move to realise these opportunities building on our several advantages – including a number of unique geo/environmental factors and a Government which recognises both the scale of the challenges and the importance of holistic solutions, as exemplifi ed in Wales: A Vibrant Economy (W:AVE), the Wales Spatial Plan, the Wales Energy Route Map, the expected Wales Transport Strategy Connection Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government Environment Strategy, now joined by this strategic policy document.

In addition, Wales has a diverse and strong private sector energy base on which to build an exemplar low carbon economy, including coal, gas, hydro, wind, and nuclear technologies. Major companies such as GE, Exxon, RWE, EoN and BHP Billiton have plants in Wales, though not R&D departments. We will seek to engage further wherever possible. The development of Milford Haven as a major Liquid Natural Gas import terminal and probable associated gas-fi red electricity power generation also places us in a special position to contribute to the low carbon economy of Wales and the wider UK.

Key Priority:Low Carbon Economy

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The geographical location of Wales means that it benefi ts from extensive marine resources, a high-wind regime, signifi cant opportunities for forestry and energy crops and substantial rainfall. These factors, alongside a temperate climate, mean that this country is ideally placed to contribute to signifi cant renewable energy enhancements, at both a large and small scale.

The geology of Wales, with its considerable reserves of coal and other interesting formations, such as signifi cant saline aquifers, means that Wales is well placed to participate in the development of clean coal technologies (including enhanced bed methane and underground coal gasifi cation) and carbon sequestration (long-term underground CO2

storage) in a variety of geological formations, including the Liverpool Bay oil and gas fi elds when exhausted.

A signifi cant proportion of the industrial base within Wales is heavily focused on large scale power generation and usage. It is, therefore, very susceptible to changes in the technological base and/or in the economics of energy. This provides an strong incentive for these companies to be at the forefront of development of new lower carbon emission processes.

The Welsh housing stock includes a number of blocks where major reconstruction and refurbishment is required. This provides the opportunity for large projects to reduce the energy needs of housing, based on improved energy effi ciency and local energy generation.

Opportunities also exist for radical changes in transport/work concepts in urban development: we have considerable expertise in design and construction which we can apply and integrate

The geographical location of Wales means that it benefi ts from extensive marine resources, a high-wind regime, signifi cant opportunities for forestry and energy cropsand substantial rainfall.

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the available technologies into new build and refurbishment projects to create a sustainable environment. Good building and landscape design considerations should include local energy generation and effi cient energy use requirements. These can be infl uenced by factors such as the purpose and size of build, site location, transport factors, orientation of building, surrounding environment, location, grid connection, availability of appropriate fuel supplies, opportunities for natural ventilation and lighting and future maintenance considered from a total life cycle perspective.

Wales has a healthy level of representation in the photovoltaics manufacturing sector, including Sharp at Wrexham, soon to be joined by G24 in Cardiff, alongside several small companies in the associated supply chain. There are also a number of companies/organisations with a wide range of micro-generation development and installation experience and strong micro-electronics-related operations plus an ambitious solid-state lighting industry-led consortium. In addition there are a number of Technium centres and ECM2 in Port Talbot with relevant low carbon related objectives (including materials developments).

Current university science baseThere are currently several departments in Welsh HEIs which are world-class and of a size to be signifi cant in the energy sector, notably the Welsh School of Architecture and the School of Engineering at Cardiff University, both with strong expansion ambitions. In addition there are a number of smaller fi rst-rate research groups which are operating in more niche areas, these includes groups at Glamorgan (hydrogen, combustion, controls), Cardiff (power engineering, renewables, thermo-electric devices, nuclear waste management, high-voltage engineering),

Swansea (materials, marine energy, aquaculture, power electronics), IGER (bio-crops), Bangor (marine, environmental studies and PV). Some of these groups are major participants in the UK research councils’ SuperGen and equivalent energy-focused programmes with Cardiff also representing Wales in the UK Power Academy and in the EC biofuels technology platform initiative. All our groups are starting to work more closely together, through the Welsh Energy Research Centre (WERC) and closer integration is envisaged with the possible development of a Wales low carbon research institute, with a very strong focus on multi-disciplinary activities and effective interactions with business.

In addition Wales is fortunate in having world-class behavioural science/psychology departments in University of Wales, Bangor and Cardiff University which can help develop programmes to infl uence the way energy is used. Increasing the amount of energy generated from low carbon sources will have only a limited impact on carbon emissions unless government, industry, businesses, and individual families consciously aim to reducethe amount of energy used.

Current Welsh Assembly Government supportThrough the Welsh Assembly Government’s programmes – KEF; SMARTCymru and CETICs, we have strong support mechanisms to promote extensive industrial collaboration and commercial exploitation. To this end signifi cant funding has been also directed at the energy sector within the current Structural Funds Objective 1 programme, including support for Wave Dragon (wave power), MCT (tidal power), various WERC research projects and a gas-turbine test facility. International Business Wales are identifying opportunities to attract

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inward investment in this sector, utilising as one of the attractors, the presence of relevant skills in our HEI and industrial R&D sector. In the next round of EU Convergence funding there will be an energy strategic framework supporting developments which will enable the delivery of our vision for energy in Wales in 2020.

The Welsh Assembly’s procurement policies and initiatives, and planning and building design standards now also play into this drive to be at the forefront of low carbon economy developments.

Major long term low carbon energy strategic objectives and associated technology opportunities – 2020 visionThese support mechanisms in conjunction with the associated and expanding UK and EC technology development and deployment support, offer considerable opportunities for creation of a very signifi cant low carbon energy technology base in Wales, with potentially enormous long term economic and environmental benefi ts. We intend to make sure these opportunities are seized effectively but, in a very competitive environment, our research

capacity needs to be expanded and integrated, to be as focused as possible (without hindering important ‘blue skies’ activities), and to have excellent links with industrial research and exploitation in UK and internationally.

In order to achieve our objective for Wales to be in an advanced stage of transformation to an exemplar and sustainable ‘low carbon energy’ economy by 2020, four priority low carbon energy themes have been identifi ed. These and some of their associated technological R&D, design, deployment and supply chain opportunities are listed here:

Large scale clean power generationfrom non-renewable fuels■ advanced combustion systems for power

plants, using both fossil and renewable fuels, and for vehicles

■ carbon dioxide capture and storage systems

■ clean and safe exploitation of coal reserves, including through ECBM (enhanced coal bed methane) and UGC (underground coal gasifi cation)

■ in depth expertise to enable fi rst-rate environmental impact assessments

■ monitoring nuclear technology (power generation and waste disposal) technology developments

Large scale power generationfrom renewables■ reliable and affordable large-scale renewables

plant, including extensive deployment of marine, especially barrage, technologies

■ energy from waste systems

■ wide range of agri-energy and bio-refi ning developments

■ effi cient and ‘low cost/ low carbon’ hydrogen production, and

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■ advanced grid infrastructure developments (for large and small scale generation plant)

Distributed generation includingmicro-generation, district heating and CHP systems■ reliable and cost effective micro-generation,

especially solar, heat pump, micro-combined heat and power (CHP) and biomass systems

■ effective energy storage systems (including pumped storage and hydrogen) which meet sustainable development requirements, and

■ economic application of high effi ciency district heating and CHP technologies

Maximum practicable progress towards more energy effi cient buildings, processes and transport■ advanced energy effi cient processes in all

walks of life, including land, sea and air transport

■ application of power electronics to a wide range of energy effi ciency issues including low energy stand-by systems and high effi ciency motors

■ affordable long-life solid state lighting

■ application of social science expertise to communicating to all the importance of transforming to a low carbon economy

Early opportunitiesOf early interest are the following:

■ Severn tidal energy studies – to explore the potential for the exploitation of the massive tidal power resource in the Severn estuary

■ transformation of what is currently virtual Wales Energy Research Centre (WERC) into a more integrated actual low carbon energy institute

■ expansion of Technium and ECM2 operations to (amongst other things), better attract international research groups to Wales

■ Heads of the Valleys energy initiative – to create a major urban redevelopment programme which focuses on low carbon communities

■ schools multiple-microgeneration systems demonstration initiative

■ solar energy demonstration/training centre

■ life cycle institute for sustainable construction and civil engineering

■ potential marine energy test facility

Transport An excellent transport system – practical, affordable, environmentally-sustainable travel for all, is a major factor in achieving the Welsh Assembly Government’s broad aims

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of spreading prosperity, reducing economic inactivity and strengthening communities.

Connecting Wales the draft transport strategy for Wales has completed its consultation period. It will seek to achieve:

■ a fair, manageable balance of investment

■ delivery of an integrated transport system with easy interchange between all modes of transport

■ co-ordination with policies on the environment, land use, health, social inclusion as well as economic development

Within these objectives, the Assembly Government will encourage more energy effi cient and environment-friendly vehicles and maximise the benefi ts to Wales of the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO). This is currently for 5% of fuel sales in the UK to be of bio fuels by 2010. Presently most of the latter derive from crops, such as oilseed rape and wheat, refi ned and mixed with petrol and diesel to run in ordinary cars. In future, the intention is for more advanced bio fuels, or possibly even hydrogen from renewable sources. The UK Government has plans, which we support, to ensure the materials for these fuels are sourced sustainably.

In vehicle energy-effi ciency, Wales should seize the enormous opportunities in the world of hybrid vehicle, bio fuels and hydrogen-related technological developments. We have in Wales major engine plants of Ford and Toyota, which could be accompanied by the introduction of a range of new engine technologies Under the current Sustainable Development Action Plan, we have commissioned a project to investigate the benefi ts and barriers to promoting the uptake of alternative fuels in Wales, such as liquid bio fuels, bio gas, natural gas and hydrogen – which is now complete. Also in the transport fi eld, our combustion and composite materials expertise could be applied to the benefi t of our aerospace and automotive industries and transport telematics developments are also of interest

For freight, we will investigate working with train and freight operating companies in Wales to encourage the use of bio diesel. This is particularly pertinent given the absence of electric traction on Wales’ railways. The haulage industry in Wales will be given encouragement to adopt more fuel-effi cient practices. Bus operators and local community transport groups in Wales are already encouraged to use cleaner fuels through the enhanced rate of Bus Service Operators Grant.

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In our world, there is an increasingly and complex relationship between people (as individuals or part of communities of interest), and the science and technologies brought to bear on their daily lives. Developing policies and practices where economic, social and cultural, technical, resource and environmental issues coincide is hard to do, but is an important part of the Welsh Assembly Government strategies for sustained economic and social renewal.

To pursue our sustainable development ambitions and duties, better health and a more low carbon economy are both key drivers. There are a wider range of problems though, where much can be achieved through the concerted application of both physical/engineering and other sciences/humanities knowledge. An example would be the trend towards an older population. There are applicable health technologies referred to in the health section above, but a huge range of other issues, such as communication, remote monitoring, social engagement, volunteering, housing, and consumer profi ling also apply if we are to meet the needs, requirements and expectations of older people, in all their guises. This, we would suggest, needs a collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach to be effective and timely.

The consultation document A Science Policy for Wales? saw three further broad areas within this renewal strand which had particular relevance and potential for Wales, both in achieving sustainable economic growth from successful participation in these fi elds and in achieving the social outcomes seen as desirable for Wales and its people in the future.

■ The benefi ts of pursuing a high resource effi ciency economy

■ The development of more harmonious/vibrant communities

■ The empowerment of the individual though the use of the internet

Communities are generally striving for a better life and improved life chances in material, social and cultural ways. Knowledge from the natural sciences, social sciences and the arts and humanities can be brought to bear in helping to meet these aspirations, by creating or facilitating:

■ better, more infl uential, communications

■ better jobs

■ better health/education

■ greater and lower-cost access to, and participation in, cultural and sporting activity

■ improvements in the effi ciency ofresource utilisation

■ capacity building and cultural changeswithin communities

All of these can contribute a greater sense of individual belonging, and in turn stimulate a greater desire for community involvement. The overall outcome being a strong and positive social-capital feedback loop.

Of especial interest in this regard are:

■ high resource effi ciency, from ‘cradle to grave’ systems

■ communication and mobility enhancements

■ effective uses of data, including for the generation of policies (whilst not infringing individuals’ civil rights/privacy)

Physical/engineering science based technologies which may enable the above include:

■ advanced manufacturing techniques and systems integration, including topics such as design-skills digitisation – as used for example by Airbus

Key Priority: Enabling Sustained Social and Economic Renewal

42

■ improved materials, miniature sensorsand design

■ artifi cial intelligence, virtual realityand security

■ data-handling/tracking/analysis andICT generally

■ product lifecycle analysis

■ agricultural and aquaculture technologies: both for food and industrial crop production

One multi-national exemplar is the General Electric ecomagination initiative, through which GE is doubling its research budget, mainly in pursuit of technologies which have positive environmental consequences such as less energy-consuming transport; minimising water use; development of more environmentally-friendly materials; higher effi ciency engines for rail and aerospace. It is worthy of note that 80% of most products’ environmental impact is thought to be determined at the product research and design stages.

In addition, there are a range of social/cognitive sciences, humanities and creative/media fi elds which can offer considerable commercial opportunities in themselves. We will encourage them to help bridge the people-technology divide, and pinpoint the importance of social changes to all aspects of society, including business.

Across this broad spread of topics discussed above, Wales has a good business, and base in HE and other research on which to build. We will support and encourage this base to grow and develop.

Current strengths – physical sciences orientatedWales remains strong in manufacturing, with a wide range of sectors from defence to packaging and supported on the academic

side by advanced manufacturing operations such as those at Cardiff University’s School of Engineering. This includes the Manufacturing Engineering Centre (MEC). This, centre has already won substantial funding from industry, research councils, DTI, the former WDA, EU Structural Funds and EU’s Framework Programmes. There is also UWIC; Swansea Institute of Higher Education (SIHE); North-East Wales Institute (NEWI) and the University of Glamorgan, with co-ordination of access to these facilities for companies through the Wales Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS).

Both in companies and our HEIs we have a wide range of advanced-materials knowledge, ranging from the macro to the nano, often alongside strong construction and civil engineering expertise. There are, for example, 10 out of the 18 current Welsh Assembly Government-awarded CETICs with strengthsin these areas.

Wales possesses an internationally-known product design support operation in the PDR at UWIC and its Welsh Assembly Government contracted Design Wales advisory service. This centre also has CETIC status.

Good environmental science expertise (including substantial waste technology and land-reclamation interests) is distributed throughout Wales. A signifi cant Geo-science cluster has emerged around the Llandudno area. There are signifi cant Wales-based centres belonging to international consultancy companies such as Arup and W S Atkins. The geo-environment initiative is based at the new sustainable technologies Technium at Baglan. This involves a number of college departments, UK research operations such as TRL and the ‘Engineering research and environmental applications’ and ‘Civil computational engineering’ CETICs.

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We have put in place a strong broadband telecommunications infrastructure and have a growing range of expertise in helping to ensure that this infrastructure is used by all sectors of society. There are ICT strengths in operations such as grid computing and the ‘advanced software and intelligent systems’, ‘Communications and software technologies’ and ‘Enterprise planning operations and control systems’ CETICs.

We see a growing body of digitisation and systems integration expertise in companies such as Airbus, General Dynamics, EADS, Logica CMG and EDS.

Centres of data gathering, assessment and analysis expertise exist with unique facilities at ONS, Newport: these are potentially being supplemented by visualisation centre developments at University of Wales, Aberystwyth and Bangor, which can assist with the effective application of data in a wide variety of circumstances.

Wales has signifi cant and developing creative sector and/or media units in most of the Welsh HEIs and some colleges, noting the School of Journalism at Cardiff University and the role of the media in infl uencing public opinion.

In the agriculture and aquaculture sectorsWales has:

■ growing aquaculture expertise (both private and public) including the ‘Applied marine science’ CETIC

■ the Centre for Alternative Land Use (CALU)

■ IGER incorporating the Welsh Plant Breeding Station with its founding goal of the support of rural communities through the use of new technology

■ the bio-polymers and food research units at University of Wales Bangor and the University of Wales Aberystwyth, Aber-bio centre CETIC

Current strengths – other sciences or humanities orientatedWorld-class behavioural science/psychology departments are found in University of Wales, Bangor and Cardiff University, with, for example, a unit at Bangor focusing on experimental consumer psychology.

Each of our major HE institutions has a business school, and there are signifi cant centres of relevant expertise in planning/regional development centres such as:

■ the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cardiff University

■ the Rural Economy Unit at University of Wales, Aberystwyth

Cardiff University has its ESRC-funded centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society (BRASS), and the ‘Culture, Subject, Economy’ research group; the Centre for the Study of Knowledge Expertise and Science and other relevant units in its Social Sciences Department including WISER.

University of Wales, Swansea possesses the School of Environment and Society at University of Wales, Swansea and the Centre for Social Policy R&D at University of Wales, Bangor are also signifi cant.

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Current major opportunitiesIn the predominantly physical/engineering sciences areas, many of the opportunities are already being exploited through the Welsh Assembly Government’s CETICs network. However further ‘synergistic’ developments which, with signifi cant private-sector involvement, might offer considerable potential, include:

■ an institute of life cycle assessmenteco-design and brand management

■ a next generation broadband-services centre of excellence

■ an institute of sustainable construction

■ enhanced fi nancial-services sector operations in our business schools

All of which in combination with some of the other fi rst-rate facilities described earlier, could form a strong, virtual Wales ‘centre for sustainable development’.

We will seek to create a much stronger environmental goods and services (EGS) sector, building on the achievements so far of the Welsh Assembly’s EGS support programme-which could also explore the role of our universities’ business, law and environmental departments to provide a strong multi-disciplinary and holistic environmental-advice services to companies.

We aim to enhance Wales’ private and public sector agricultural and aquaculture expertise, the better to exploit long-term sustainable food and industrial crop opportunities: with a strong focus on improving biomass effi ciency; developing alternative crops to substitute for petro-chemical feed stocks (the so-called bio-refi nery agenda); carbon sequestration and other solutions to climate change mitigation/adaptation problems.

We would wish to see our current creative industries and software sector initiatives built upon to develop a stronger community development thrust – with strong creativity, media and cultural overtones: such an initiative could also call on Wales’ other science and/or humanities-orientated expertise.

With the other sciences/humanities, many of our strengths are already used to support Welsh Assembly Government programmes such as those driven by social justice and education/skills goals. There should, however, also be opportunities to build on the business-associated strengths listed above to stimulate economic development opportunities,including at the level of communities andthe empowered individual.

Such a goal is not an easy one. It has eluded national strategies elsewhere. These, whilst recognising the economic importance of the social sciences, have not been able to identify which, if any, to support on an exceptional basis. Similarly, the recent EU key technologies foresight exercise, whilst highlighting the importance of Europe’s social/cognitive sciences and humanities for long-term economic advancement, did not suggest how these soft sciences might practically be exploited. Our Department for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks will work with other community regeneration expertise in Wales to investigate the merits of expanding the current CETICs programme to appropriate social sciences/humanities sectors, and in other schemes such as KTPs.

There should also be opportunities to use our wide range of science/humanities skills to explore new ways of helping citizens both seize the opportunities offered by the internet for greater empowerment and more generally engage with the complexity and technological sophistication of the modern world.

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Science, literally ‘knowledge’, has a modern usage, which attempts to encompass a rational, objective, theoretical but experimentally demonstrable, approach to explaining the way in which the modern world works. This, therefore, includes a full range of applications from understanding social behaviours to ‘hard’ topics such as nuclear physics-echoing this document which adopts a broad defi nition of science including all aspects of the Welsh Assembly Government’s work in which it would be appropriate for physical or social science advice to be sought.

We need to have procedures in place to obtain objective and up-to-date scientifi c advice, in which the public and scientifi c community can have confi dence, and which informs our policy making and spending decisions.

We will build on current capability, quality and processes, to ensure more reliability and resilience in its capacity to apply scientifi c evidence throughout the policy making cycle. Lord May’s note The Use of Scientifi c Advice in Policy Making (OST 1997) contains guidelines concerned with how departments and agencies utilise science and scientifi c advice in policy. The aim was to correct the perceived lack of trust of the public in the transparency and quality of the scientifi c evidence. Subsequently the Guidelines2000 – Scientifi c Advice and Policy-Making (Guidelines 2000) were adopted by the UK Ministerial Science Group and these concentrate on three issues:

■ Identifying issues early

■ Utilisation of ‘best available’ science, and

■ A presumption towards openness

As a policymaking body and a user of scientifi c advice, the Assembly Government has a critical responsibility to apply these guidelines.

It already benefi ts from having well-developed resources to ensure advice in some areas of science. For instance, mechanisms already exist to support our policies in health and the newly-established Chief Social Research Offi cer, along with the Chief Economist and Chief Statistician ensures we can provide professional advice on these wide-ranging subjects.

Departments of the Assembly Government already allocate substantial resources to scientifi c activities. It is not practical or effective to bring all this activity together into a single department. Commissioning of policy-related research and evidence based advice to ministers is best managed within relevant policy areas. In line, however, with Guidelines 2000, it is important to ensure consistency and openness. We also think that integrating analysis is important to ensure the best evidence is applied throughout the policy cycle.

The next stage of our development in this area will, therefore, be to ensure all strands of scientifi c evidence are better integrated and made more resilient, consistent and open.

To ensure “the effective use of scientifi c evidence in policy making”, the Welsh Assembly Government will review current arrangements within the Assembly Government as well as review external advisory mechanisms, taking action to co-ordinate the internal science functions, build upon existing strengths and to ensure consistency in structure and process.

To assist this, we will appoint, on secondment initially, a professional scientist to:

■ Establish an overarching governance framework for scientifi c advice, putting in place mechanisms to ensure best practice, arrangements for quality assurance and procedures to ensure that high scientifi c and ethical standards are maintained, including

Effective Use of Scientifi c Evidence by Government

46

arrangements for reviewing and updating our procedures.

■ Design and implement a ‘call-off’ contract in order to ensure the availability of timely and reliable scientifi c advice in a range of areas prioritised by departmental need and risk and on the basis of horizon scanning. This will build on existing provision of advice and also enable the Assembly Government to be agile in providing timely and good quality scientifi c advice in a crisis.

■ Ensure that the Guidelines 2000recommendations are built into the Assembly Government’s procedures.

■ Ensure the Assembly Government’s advisory arrangements are compliant with the OST Code of Practice for Scientifi c Advisory Committees. Again, this will recognise, and develop greater consistency with, current arrangements for example with the statutory health advisory committees.

■ Maintain contacts and networks with other UK Government Departments and other public bodies and in the rest of Europe, and will make effective use of the UK and European science advisory systems.

■ Take the lead in developing Assembly Government communications about scientifi c evidence.

■ Monitor and review procedures for:

● seeking scientifi c advice

● sharing and disseminating scientifi c information

● providing advice in crisis situationse.g. BSE crisis

● the procurement and use ofscientifi c advice

A Science Policy for Wales – The Welsh Assembly Government’s Strategic Vision for Sciences, Engineering and Technology 2006 is at www.wales.gov.uk/sciencepolicy

Further information on the document or hard copies are available from: The Innovation, Science and Technology lead, Business Policy Division, Policy and Strategy Group, Department for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks, Welsh Assembly Government,Plas Glynd ^wr, Kingsway, Cardiff CF10 3AH:029 2082 8740 email: science@wales.gsi.gov.ukIt can be made available in other formats,if required: contact as above.

© Crown copyright 2006

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Notes