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Taylor: to theme or not to theme?

The British government has announced that John Taylor, director of Hewlett-Packard's European research centre in Bristol, will be the new Director General of Research Councils (DGRC). Taylor will take over on 1 January 1999 for a three-year term of office.

Taylor, who is also president-elect of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, has worked for Hewlett-Packard since 1984. His appointment continues a tradition set by the previous, Conservative government of choosing a scientist from industry rather than academia for the job of DGRC. The present incumbent, Sir John Cadogan, was formely with the oil company BP.

Peter Mandelson, newly-appointed Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and cabinet minister with responsibility for science, said he was “delighted” to see someone of John Taylor's stature as DGRC. “I passionately believe science is the bedrock to economic success,” he said last week.

The move underlines the government's commitment to Foresight, an initiative to improve links between science and industry, set up by the previous government to harness science in the service of wealth creation and quality of life. Taylor is committed to Foresight as chair of the expert panel on information technology and communications.

One of Taylor's responsibilities will be to advise on the next phase of Foresight. Consultation is already under way on plans to put more emphasis on using science to enhance quality of life. One suggestion is to reduce the numbers of expert panels and concentrate on getting science to focus on ‘themes’ such as ageing, crime control and the future of cities.

Taylor has criticized this approach (see Nature 393, 8; 1998), arguing that it is too early in the process to make such a change, particularly as many sectors of industry have yet to fully exploit the wealth-creating potential of better links with science.

Taylor's appointment completes a string of significant changes to the administration of British science, including the arrival of the industrialist Lord (David) Sainsbury in a newly-created junior ministerial post for science (see Nature 394, 511; 1998).