Save British Science

What is it famous for? It's not really, but whenever science policy is discussed in the UK media, government, or in industry, it's a fair bet that Save British Science (SBS) will be in the fray. SBS is the leading lobby group for science in the UK. The 'science' it aims to save includes any activity that develops and applies scientific understanding, including medicine, mathematics, engineering, technology, and so on. How did SBS start? A handful of British scientists, among them the eminent physiologist Dennis Noble, got together in autumn 1985 to discuss their concerns over the neglect of science by the then Conservative government and, more specifically, the lack of research funding. They decided to make their opinions known by placing an advertisement in the Times newspaper. Their concerns clearly struck a chord with others, because donations flooded in, and in early 1986 they placed an advertisement entitled 'Save British Science'. The remaining money was used to found the society of the same name. How does SBS think science could be saved? The society promotes a range of policies aimed at halting the decay in the academic infrastructure, promoting innovative university research (to reverse the push towards 'safe' science), encouraging better relations between university-based research and industry, and broadening the school science curriculum at high school level. (For more details, see the SBS web site at How successful has it been? For a fairly small group (1700 members from all levels of science and engineering), run on a shoestring, SBS makes an extraordinarily large splash in the mainstream media. Although it's done its share of rabble-rousing, SBS has a reputation for providing balanced, no-nonsense facts on science policy. SBS met with the present Prime Minister, Tony Blair, before his recent election victory, and has regular meetings with the cabinet minister responsible for science. Many of the new government's science policies overlap with key aims of SBS, and the society was delighted at Blair's recognition of the " decay in academic infrastructure " and desire to " reinvigorate the university science base. " But SBS won't be getting too cosy with Labour. It urged Tony Blair to block cuts in science funding planned by the previous government, but no block was evident in Labour's first budget. What is the prognosis for academic science in the UK? The recently published Dearing Committee Report — the broadest inquiry into British higher education …