Summer reads: Same country, different worlds

Recent government publications paint starkly different pictures of UK research and innovation, says Sarah Chaytor

Spring was a busy time for UK science. Following the creation of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in February, March saw the publication of the young department’s Science and Technology Framework, which set out the government’s ambition to become a science superpower.

But the same month also brought the publication of Paul Nurse’s government-commissioned review of the UK’s research and development landscape, which painted a far less rosy picture. At the time, University College London director of strategy and policy Sarah Chaytor scrutinised both visions of UK research.