Not just “partnership” but other amorous metaphors abound in this small but dense volume on the relations between science and industry: “marriage” and “dating agency” are two examples. Once upon a time, more accurately before the Second World War, there was said to be a reign of the gentleman‐scientist, the halcyon days of science for science’s sake. But in Francis Bacon’s words to James I, “knowledge is a rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator, and the relief of man’s estate”. Therefore, even in the seventeenth century, Bacon was suggesting that funding of science is a means to the creation of wealth. The conflict between pure (basic) research and applied research is one that has been going on for centuries. This volume aims to establish whether there is indeed a conflict of interest, or whether both camps (academia and industry) can feed off one another to their mutual benefit. The overriding metaphor is that of marriage.
The opening pages take us back to “Interesting times”, tracing the history of research collaboration, the need for research selectivity and increasing competition in knowledge‐based economies, basically the 1950s and 1960s: where pure science rules, boffins are in gold‐rimmed NHS glasses, Harold Wilson is telling us about the “white heat of technology” and the embryo of science ethics is developing fast. But someone is asking, “Are we getting value for money?”.
Father government is finding daughter science too expensive, looks for a dating agency and introduces her to a rich suitor, industry. But are the suitor’s intentions toward pure science honourable? Having the pair hitched, subsequent chapters go on to look at the nature of the marriage: intellectual property, commercialisation, the happy couple’s offspring (they are quite fertile, lots of acronym schemes) and, a bit late in the day, the Foresight programme (the “matchmaker”). Alas, the last chapter belatedly starts to ask ominous questions about the marriage “without reaching any overall conclusion”. Though one conclusion could be that they are staying together for the sake of their children, knowledge, it’s more likely to be for financial reasons, Mammon.
The marriage highlights many points: the nature of innovation and invention, the entry of ethics into the goals of science (for example tobacco sponsorship), the place of science parks, the need to publish results, and secrecy in research. Some science philosophy but a lot of acronym schemes makes this a mixed bag. Rather like a marriage in fact. Co‐operation and conflict between the covers.
