28/02/06 Peter Cotgreave attended the launch of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Archives for Africa scheme.

27/02/06 Investing in scientific personnel
As a group of Scottish postdoctoral researchers join the Campaign for Science & Engineering, a report published today by CaSE highlights the need to invest in scientific personnel if the Government is to deliver its economic ambitions.
The report summarises the views of organisations that support CaSE about priorities for the Government's next policy review.

read the report
read the press release

24/02/06 Peter Cotgreave met with Dr Alison Hodge, University Partnerships Director at QinetiQ

22/02/06 Mathematics teaching
CaSE's work was today used to highlight the problems with maths teaching in schools. An article in the Daily Telegraph uses an example from CaSE's newsletter to show demonstrate the low standard of numeracy among parts of the education system. "CaSE brought to public attention the example of a child who was taught that 9 divided by 0 equals 9, but that's rubbish; the answer is infinity," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of CaSE. When the parents complained, the school said it was the right answer, and so did the Numeracy Bureau. Undeterred, the parents went to the Department for Education, where the Chief Mathematics Adviser finally admitted it was wrong. "The difficulty is that there are not enough properly trained maths teachers," said Peter Cotgreave, "and unless the Government does something really serious about it soon, this problem is only going to get worse."

22/02/06 Support for innovative blue skies research
CaSE today criticised proposals to limit Government research funds solely to work that has obvious practical application. In comments in Research Fortnight, CaSE points out that if a proposed new system is adopted, in which Research Council grants would be given on the basis of contributing to "at least one delivery area, such as economic growth or policy advice," truly fundamental research will become almost non-existent. "We need good science for policy advice, and that should be done by the relevant Government Departments," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of CaSE, "and we know that science feeds into the economy in many ways. But none of that is possible without the blue-skies research base on which it all rests. If this new bureaucratic nighmare comes into force, any potential Einstein, Newton, Darwin, Watson or Crick had better book their ticket to emigrate because they will stand very little chance of being funded in the UK."

22/02/06 European research
CaSE today urged European authorities to think again about pouring millions of euros into a new European Institute of Technology, but to concentrate instead on making Europe a competitive place for industry to invest in science. In a letter to the Financial Times, CaSE argues that rather than inventing a new Institute, the EU should focus on other priorities. The substantive text of the letter is given below:
Lord Patten’s comments about research and development in Europe (“Oxford chancellor warns institute of technology will be waste of EU funds”, February 17) are absolutely right.

In 2002, European leaders committed themselves to investing three per cent of the EU’s gross product in research and development by 2010. They claimed to have understood that we must match the scientific and technological ambitions of the Americans and the emerging Asian nations if the European economies are to compete. Realising that the target date of 2010 was a fantasy, the UK Government subsequently revised its ambition downwards, to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2014. The EU’s mechanism for distributing research funds – the Framework Programme – has been widely criticised for a variety of reasons, not least the confusion over whether the money is supposed to be directed towards the best science or into transferring money and skills from richer to poorer countries, to help the latter build their scientific capacity. Both are admirable aims, but neither can be effectively achieved by current confused policies.

Rather than inventing a new institute, the EU should focus on driving up levels of investment by creating an economic climate in which industry sees Europe as a competitive place to do business. That means investing in the excellent research being undertaken in existing institutes like Chris Patten's own, ensuring that our education system is delivering a highly skilled workforce, and keeping down taxes and other costs involved in carrying out research and development in Europe.

20/02/06 Peter Cotgreave met with Professor Ian Leslie, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Cambridge.

20/02/06 Peter Cotgreave met with Stephen Emmott, head of external research and Microsoft in Cambridge.

17/02/06 Independent advice to Government
CaSE today called on the Government to do more to bring scientific expertise into the civil service. In its response to an inquiry by the Science & Technology Committee of the House of Commons, CaSE pointed out that, although the Government's own high-level advisers had advised that more scientists be brought into Departments of State on secondments, most Departments either had no idea how well they were doing in this area, or had appalling track records. "The Department for Education & Science, which is responsible for science in schools and for university research, had not brought a single person with a scientific background in, five years after the Government accepted the Council for Science & Technology's recommendation," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of CaSE.

read CaSE's written evidence

17/02/06 Peter Cotgreave met with Bob Kirby-Harris, Chief Executive of the Institute of Physics

16/02/06 Peter Cotgreave and Matthew Freeman met with biotech entrepreneur Alan Munro

15/02/06 Peter Cotgreave and Caroline Holland met with Bob Campbell, Chairman of Blackwell Publishing

09/02/06 Peter Cotgreave attended a meeting of the Science Board of the Institute of Physics

09/02/06 HEFCE
CaSE today met with senior staff at the Higher Education Funding Council for England to address the deficiencies of the Council's funding method for teaching science in universities. "HEFCE persists in its failure to fund science teaching on a level playing field with other subjects," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of HEFCE, "CaSE has demolished HEFCE's arguments several times, and will continue to press for a change so that the Government's official policy of supporting science will actually be implemented with the billions of pounds of taxpayers' money that HEFCE distributes".

read CaSE's written evidence

08/02/06 CaSE's pharmaceutical report
A report published today by CaSE highlights the need for policy changes if British scientific expertise is to be harnessed to greatest social and economic effect

read the press release

03/02/06 Peter Cotgreave met with Caroline Wallace of the Institute of Biology

02/02/06 Treasury
CaSE today discussed its members' agenda with senior figures in the Treasury. CaSE met with Caroline Barr and Ilona Blue, senior members of the Chancellor's Science & Industry team to discuss issues ranging from recruiting science teachers for secondary schools, funding science in the universities, and the reasons behind the failure of sections of British industry to invest in research and development at internationally competitive levels. "Like the Chancellor, CaSE wants the UK to be the most competitive place in the world for investment in science," said Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of CaSE, "and with lots of extra public money being put into science and engineering, the coming Spending Review needs to focus on the barriers to making that happen."

02/02/06 Caroline Holland met with Jonathan Flint, Chief Executive of Oxford Instruments.

Oxford Instruments website

01/02/06 Prime Minister's Policy Unit
CaSE was today delighted to take to 10 Downing Street the agenda of issues of relevance to its members. In a meeting with the Prime Minister's Policy Unit, CaSE raised issues of recruiting science teachers, further education and training, financing science teaching in the universities, adapting the science base to new funding mechanisms, and encouraing more investment in research and development by the private sector. "This was a really positive meeting," said Professor Richard Joyner, Chair of CaSE, "our membership wants us to make the case on these issues and we did so. We also believe Number 10 listened to us, as it has in the past."