SUMMARY OF COMMITMENTS AND ACTIONS
photograph supplied by Mark Farquhar
This section summarises the ongoing commitments and actions contained in the remainder of this report.
LONG TERM ASPIRATIONS
The following commitments are derived from the original Strategy and will be maintained in the long term.
(1) Maintaining and connecting the science base
We will:
- Maintain excellence in the Scottish science and research base and ensure that it remains globally competitive
- Continue to promote Scotland as a "science nation": a world-class location for science and research and development, with productive international education and research links in both existing and new markets
- Continue to develop our ability to identify new areas of scientific opportunity of strategic importance to Scotland's economy and society
- Develop strategic investment in research, in particular: to generate beneficial collaborations across the science base in Scotland and with overseas partners; in emerging areas where Scottish science has the potential to be world leading; and to inform policy making where scientific evidence can play a significant role
(2) Exploiting science to grow the economy and benefit society
We will:
- Maintain and develop our pipeline of support for innovation and commercialisation of research from the science base
- Place a continued emphasis on the value of commercialising research, and promote a culture that fosters knowledge transfer from the science base
(3) Improving science education and promoting science careers
We will:
- Build, through A Curriculum for Excellence, a continuing cycle of review of the curriculum to keep it updated, refreshed and relevant. The school science curriculum will be part of the ongoing cycle of review
- Ensure a good supply of science and mathematics teachers and provide the means to keep their skills and knowledge up to date
- Ensure that the science and technology facilities in schools support the science curriculum
- Improve the evidence base in relation to supply and demand for scientists, engineers and mathematicians
- Ensure that careers information provides a complete and up-to-date picture of the opportunities available to those who study science, based on career destinations
- In conjunction with a broad range of formal and informal science education providers, including our Science Centres, inspire young people to consider the achievements of science, the place of science in society and the possibility of a future science career
- Improve career development opportunities for scientists and researchers in the science base
- Ensure that publicly funded fellowship schemes are attractive and meet current needs
(4) Promoting awareness and appreciation of science across society
We will:
- Promote understanding, appreciation and engagement with science by all levels of society through informal science education
- Promote better co-ordination of informal science learning and community access activities
- Encourage dialogue between scientists and the public on science issues
- Link in to Science and Society activity at a UK and European level
(5) Developing better use of science and scientific advice by Government
We will:
- Continue to strengthen Scottish Executive structures to manage science and innovation policy, including cross-cutting issues and links to Whitehall and the EU
- Improve communication between scientists and policymakers
SHORT TO MEDIUM TERM ACTION POINTS
Nearly all of the following action points are new since the Strategy, or have been significantly updated. They will be progressed over the next two to three years.
(1) Maintaining and connecting the science base
We will:
- Encourage further research pooling, strategic research funding initiatives and collaborations across the science base which build on Scotland's research reputation
- Promote innovation, science and research links with important economies particularly in the Far East, the USA and Germany, and if feasible, develop measures of international research collaboration in order to track progress.
- Support the policy of Full Economic Costing of higher education research through the Executive, its agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies
- Further develop mechanisms to attract and retain world class researchers
(2) Exploiting science to grow the economy and benefit society
We will:
- Continue to implement the actions outlined in our response to the Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration
- Encourage initiatives to improve the interface between universities, colleges and businesses
- Develop mechanisms to improve co-ordination of funding through the Scottish Funding Council, the Enterprise Networks and the Executive on major research projects of benefit to the Scottish economy
(3) Improving science education and promoting science careers
We will:
- Build on the initial work on the review of science in the curriculum which has begun and is likely to be continued during 2006 through debate, testing, refinement and further consideration of the proposals which emerge
- Provide funding in 2005-06 (and similar provision in future years) for an education programme in the four Science Centres and ensure that promotion of science careers is incorporated
- Support the programme of teacher Continuing Professional Development being organised by the Scottish Schools Equipment Research Centre, and the programme of Teacher Fellowships through the Royal Society of Edinburgh
- Undertake the first Scottish Survey of Achievement in science in 2007, to measure attainment in science 5-14
- Take forward with Future Skills Scotland, a study in 2006-07 on the supply and demand for scientists, engineers and mathematicians in Scotland
- Ask Careers Scotland to ensure that careers material builds in the latest findings from destinations surveys by the Scottish Funding Council
- Use the unique position of our Science Centres in a much more cohesive fashion to communicate the attractiveness of a science career to an increasingly diverse audience
- Work with the Scottish Funding Council and Universities Scotland on task force activity to improve career paths for academics
- Work with the Royal Society of Edinburgh on reshaping the Executive-funded Research Fellowship scheme to ensure optimum relevance to Scottish needs
(4) Promoting awareness and appreciation of science across society
We will:
- Take forward the four-year Scottish Science Centre Network Strategy published in December 2005, which describes the collaborative strategic objectives of the four sciences centres in respect of:
- ensuring that their programmes complement and enhance, and are consistent with developments in Science Curriculum 3-18
- enhancing links between the centres and with further and higher education institutions and with industry, seeking improved collaboration with the science base on appropriate mechanisms for dissemination of scientific knowledge
- encouraging science as a career choice
- Forge synergies and complementarities with other science and society delivery partners
- Ensure that our public dialogue focus is reflected in our programmes in support of public engagement with science and technology
(5) Developing better use of science and scientific advice by Government
We will:
- Appoint a new Lead Chief Scientific Adviser for the Executive in 2006
- Review arrangements for the Scottish Science Advisory Committee for 2007 onwards
- Consider how best to develop and interconnect Scotland's horizon scanning activity