Science, Society and the University: A Paradox of Values

Abstract

The existence of conflicting messages on the role and status of the university is linked to a wider paradox of values about science in society. Value is attributed to science and assumed by the university in the context of the move to knowledge‐based economies and societies, yet this has not been accompanied by a systematic and balanced debate about the values that should underpin socio‐economic change. Questions are then raised about both the effectiveness of public policy and the role of universities in society. A reconnection between the application and production of knowledge is needed, as well as the reinsertion of a normative framework for guiding and shaping change within universities. Only under such conditions can a meaningful debate on the roles of universities as places of expectation and spaces for reflection be realized.

Keywords:

• Universities
• Science
• Knowledge Economy
• Regions
• Values

Notes

[1] Beth Perry is currently working on a two‐year project funded by the ESRC Science in Society programme, on which the observations in this article are based (RES‐151‐25‐0037). See http://www.surf.salford.ac.uk. The article also draws on discussions at an event on “Governing Science: Towards an Interdisciplinary Narrative of Change?” held at the SURF Centre in November 2005. The support of the ESRC Science in Society programme is gratefully acknowledged.

[2] Between 1997 and 2007 the science budget will have more than doubled, rising to £3.4 billion (see http://www.dti.gov.uk/science/science‐funding/index.html: May 2006).

[3] Further information is available at http://www.surf.salford.ac.uk/BuildingScienceRegions/BSR_ProjectPhases.htm.

[4] Whilst economic performance is seen to have increased since 2000, relative to the previous two decades, GVA per head is still 12% lower than the English average (NWDA 2006).

[5] The North West Science Review was chaired by Dr Bruce Smith, former CEO of the Economic and Social Research Council.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Beth Perry ¹

Beth Perry is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures (SURF). Beth’s research is in the areas of urban and regional policy and governance, particularly in relation to theories of multi‐level governance and the role of universities in regional development and the knowledge economy. She has written and edited contributions to leading journals on the future of urban sociology and universities and regional development.