A quick look at the Scottish science base

Scotland, with 8.7% of the UK population has 14% of the UK academic science according to a 1996 report from Scottish Enterprise and the Royal Society of Edinburgh (Technology Ventures: Commercialising Scotlandís Science and Technology). Other statistics in the same report that demonstrate Scotlandís strength are the 12% of the UK academic full-time equivalent (FTE) staff associated with Scots universities and that as the 16th ranking nation in the world 1% of all scientific papers published between 1981 and 1993 have a Scottish author (3rd ranked nation per capita in the SE/RSE study).

The table summarises some 1996/1997 statistics about science and technology funding in Scotland and the UK presented in the Royal Society/ Royal Society of Edinburgh report into the implications of devolution for Science (April 1999).

Scotland

UK

Population1 (million, %)

5.1 (8.7%)

59

Public spending on R & D2 (million GBP, %)

per head of population (GBP)

per FTE researcher2,3 (thousand GBP)

511 (10.5%)

99.8

38.0

4862

82.4

43.9

Business spending on R & D (million GBP, %)

per head of population (GBP)

357 (3.8%)

69.7

9 300

157.6

Total spending on R & D (million GBP, %)

per head of population (GBP)

868 (6.1%)

169.5

14 162

240.0

  1. Figures from GRO(S) and ONS

  2. Figures from HESA estimates and ONS statistics in RSE/ RS report: "Devolution and Science"

  3. 13 450 FTE researchers in Scotland, 12% of the 110 850 in the UK

Since Scotland derives 1.4 times the expected amount of Academic funding and 0.9 times the expected amount of other governmental funding (compared with population share) public funding of science in Scotland under the present system seems equitable, at least to Scots' eyes! These statistics argue that the formation of a research council for Scotland would likely be bad for Scots academic science.

However Scotland has much less successfully translated this into commercial funding of applications and the much larger sums available for industrial research are not flowing to Scotland. Much activity involving the Scottish Executive, Scottish Enterprise and others is currently centred on ameliorating this deficit in technology transfer.

Any changes to the current arrangements for science funding must take note of the fact that the Scottish Executive will control only a small fraction of the science budget. Changes that they envisage making should not therefore prejudice funding from other sources.

To comment please contact Alastair Valentine Philp. Last revised on 4 December 1999