Science is constantly expanding both in its contributions to national competitiveness and its share of national budgets
- What is the role of national academies of sciences in this rapidly changing environment?
- What do governments, industry and society as a whole now expect from national academies, and how can these expectations be met while balancing academic freedom, public funding and societal pressures?
- How do these new opportunities affect the national academy-government relationship, and how, at the highest levels of national science policy, can the unique long-term contributions of a fully autonomous, objective body of scholars be protected from the clamor of short-term political interests?
- How have various countries, large and small, faced such pressing issues, and with what results?
The workshop was distinguished by the seniority of its participants, who provided a valuable glimpse of the joint challenges national academies and governments face as they promote science, education, industrial competitiveness and social equity in an increasingly interconnected world.