Ian Pearson, the Science Minister, has highlighted the importance of "economic impact" in social science research and stressed that it must interact with other disciplines. At the annual meeting of the Social Research Association this week, Dr Pearson said: "Many of the challenges that Britain faces are social scientific in nature or require the deep involvement of social science. Interaction with other disciplines is essential to maximising the impact of such research and to contributing fully to economic development and improved quality of life."