SCIENCE POLICY REFORMS - THE NEW-ZEALAND EXPERIENCE

Changes in science policy are taking place in industrialized democraci es throughout the world. This paper is concerned with the implications of these changes for the content and conduct of publicly-funded scien ce and research. We start from the view that science policy changes ar e related to wider changes in the role of government, and in the struc ture, organization and management of the public sector. New Zealand ha s attracted international attention in this context because of its com mitment to a radical programme of public sector reforms. While this re flects similar developments and concerns elsewhere, the New Zealand ex perience is especially interesting because of the rigour with which po licy has been implemented, the radical nature of the changes made, and the relatively short time-span involved. Thus, in focusing on New Zea land, we hope to present material of interest both there and to a wide r audience.