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Science Technology and the Economic Future edited by Susan Raymond
"There is no such thing as a fixed policy," noted the eminent British diplomat Lord Salisbury, "because policy like all organic entities is always in the making." Science and innovation represent flows of knowledge. Their impact and implications are, therefore, often difficult to relate effectively to a stock of public policy. Knowledge changes constantly; policy changes only with great deliberation and much effort. Yet it is essential that public policy formulation ensure that the best scientific thinking and technological innovation is reflected in policy, and that policy for science and technology encourages dynamic flows of knowledge. This is an often difficult and controversial proposition. Policy formulation is both a careful and a political process. In turn, science and technology cannot escape things political when it seeks to affect policy nor when it seeks to be supported by policy. As the following essays illustrate, formulating effective and timely policies that have science and technology implications is a complex undertaking.
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