Welsh science suffers neglect

Welsh researchers want a coherent science policy for Wales and the creation of a government advisory body to boost the weak research and development base.

Wales has no science policy, and there is confusion over which assembly members are responsible for science. The brief is shared by Jane Davidson, the lifelong learning minister, and Andrew Davies, the economic development minister. But the assembly has no science office or strategy. The effect on science and technology funding is likely to stifle high-tech entrepreneurs and stifle the nascent knowledge economy, researchers have warned.

A study by Dylan Jones-Evans, professor of enterprise and regional development at the University of Bangor, and David Brooksbank, professor of small business economics at the University of Glamorgan, has shown that public and private investment in R&D in Wales is flagging.

Their research for the London Business School's Global Entrepreneurship Monitor found that Welsh universities attract just 3.7 per cent of external UK research funds.