Engineering as a Social Enterprise (1991) / Chapter Skim
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Technology and Government
Technology and Government
Pages 58-70
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From page 58... ...
My experience in both the public and the private sectors has led me to some conclusions about the role of government in the encouragement and exploitation of science and technology and its contribution to the collective wealth of nations in three central areas: the interaction between industry and science, the role of government as regulator and major procurement agency, and the influence of financial institutions and economic factors. Moreover, the role of public opinion in shaping decisions in each of these three areas implies responsibilities for scientists and engineers to become better communicators about their work.
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From page 59... ...
Industry has to foster such an attitude by posing academics with fundamental scientific challenges that contribute both to the future success of industry and a better targeting of academic work. Absent this mutually reinforcing process, the academic community will be tempted to undertake work that bears little relevance to industrial commercialization.
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From page 60... ...
In the United Kingdom, outside chemistry and the life sciences, we have a standoff: industry says it cannot rely on academia because of lengthy time horizons and an inability to apply multidisciplinary skills or work to a schedule; academia's reaction is to claim public money to work on every promising field! Within industry conflicting pressures include the tug toward self-sufficiency in technology to protect long-term competitiveness and the temptation to renounce substantial in-house research and license know-how and technology.
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From page 61... ...
Regulation is intended to protect the individual, to ensure effective competition, and to control the social consequences of industrial processes. The control of emissions from large power generating plants or the replacement of polluting processes by cleaner technologies are areas where government influence is seen as positive and benign.
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From page 62... ...
Much of the EC R&D Framework Programme is devoted to establishing common standards in such fields as telecommunication and computing networks, new materials and their routine testing, medical drugs and pesticide testing, and so on. A European Single Market will be achieved only through standards normalization, and the EC is already proving to be a highly effective negotiating forum and enforcement agency in such work.
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From page 63... ...
Religious factors, varying historical experiences, and national concerns make bioethics a minefield. An informed' government, technically literate public servants and an aware public opinion are indispensable.
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From page 64... ...
Government as the Champion of Technology The close coupling between technology, economic performance, and quality of life encourage some to believe that government should go beyond funding basic science to also subsidize industrial product development. So-called enabling technologies are cited as examples where government intervention is justified on the grounds of international competitiveness.
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From page 65... ...
In Germany and Japan, the industrial banks and conglomerates control a wide range of industry acting more as owners or active partners than third-party investors. Whatever the balance of advantage between the two approaches, the need for financial backers to understand the full importance of development work associated with technologies is undeniable.
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From page 66... ...
The British government believes that such benefits far outweigh the downside. There have been calls in Europe for stronger defenses against foreign investment, notably Japanese, on the ground that it constitutes an industrial Trojan horse and merely strengthens the competition facing national companies.
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From page 67... ...
The belief of companies and business executives that the European Single Market will materialize creates something of a selffulfilling prophecy. It has taken strenuous efforts by the EC to convince the U.S.
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From page 68... ...
Growing public unease about science and technology puts an urgent responsibility on scientists and engineers to communicate widely and in terms that can be understood, particularly by the general public, who ultimately hold sway over governments in any democratic society. The creation of a national body within the science and engineering profession to monitor and set professional standards of ethical and moral conduct might ensure the freedom to do good, useful science and push technology forward.
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From page 69... ...
JOlIN W FAIRCLOUGH and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.
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