Making and implementing foresight policy to engage the academic community:health and life scientists' involvement in, and response to, development of the UK's technology foresight programme

Successful implementation of research policy that is intended to impinge, a t least partially, on universities often requires the engagement of the aca demic community. This article provides a detailed analysis of the formulati on and operationalisation of the technology foresight programme in the UK, particularly in relation to the health and life sciences (BLS). The backgro und and objectives of the policy are scrutinised, as well as the attempts t o implement it through specifically created structures in addition to exist ing research and funding councils. Such an investigation enables a thorough assessment to be made of the academic response to technology foresight. Th e analysis also reveals: the mixed government objectives for science policy ; the practical problems created by the size of the HLS field and the compa ratively small amount of resources put behind the policy. Consequently, des pite the careful policy analysis and the commitment of some academics to th e policy development and implementation, the conclusion reached is that the further down the system one looks the more limited the response from the a cademic community. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.