Zusammenfassung:
In this brief essay we shall consider some policy implications which arise from treating scientific expenditure as an investment producing national economic wealth. We shall seek to clarify this investment view, to link it with the question of selectivity in basic science and with the support of strategic areas of scientific activity. The following paragraphs are little more than a thumbnail sketch of an incredibly complex area, and so the first task is to limit the scope of enquiry. Before doing so it is appropriate to summarize the broad conclusions: A) An investment framework for science should be judged by its capacity to ask logically consistent questions of science expenditure. It should not be expected to provide precise quantitative answers, rather it should be the basis for non-arbitrary judgements. B) The investment view identifies certain data requirements for science policy, in particular relating to the productivity of research effort and the likely economic and social impacts of applying research output. It is essential to support an appropriate data gathering process if selectivity is to become a practical policy. C) Investment comes to nought if it is not exploited effectively in the UK interest. The investigation of organizational structures to secure effective transfer of science to industrial application should be a major concern of science policy. The evaluation and monitoring of established structures should also be a permanent feature of science policy support. Numerous detailed recommendations which flow from these broad conclusions are dealt with at appropriate places in the text.