Technology foresight : first report. Volume II, Minutes of evidence and appendices / Science and Technology Committee.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Science and Technology
Date:
1995
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Technology foresight : first report. Volume II, Minutes of evidence and appendices / Science and Technology Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    24 October 1995] [Continued 6. RESOURCES 6.1 Table 1 below gives details of the staff resources in DTI devoted to the Foresight Programme. As recommended by the Steering Group there has been a strengthening of the OST core team. This partly meets the need to devote more clerical resources to the Panel Secretariat; but also reflects the need for a secretary to assist the new Marine sector panel and some temporary assistance with work on the Foresight Challenge. 6.2 There has also been a strengthening of resources within DTI divisions, where a number of officials in regional offices and sector divisions are working to carry forward the dissemination and implementation of Foresight (see Table 1). Mr Alistair Macdonald, Deputy Secretary and head of DTI’s Industrial Command, has overall responsibility for ensuring that Technology Foresight is implemented within DTI, other than OST. This is part of his responsibility for seeking to identify the needs of UK business through a close dialogue with individual sectors and an understanding of what influences competitiveness at home and abroad. 6.3. Expenditure by OST on the Foresight programme over the years 1993-94 and 1994-95 amounted to £2.33 millions. The following table provides details of spending to date and over the remainder of this financial year: £ millions 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96 0.38 1.94 1.91 OST will keep under review such spending in order to ensure that the objectives of the Programme can be delivered while seeking to obtain maximum value for money at all times. The above figures represent spending on OST core team staff, core team general administrative expenditure, Foresight panel secretaries, and the Foresight panel budgets (for travel and subsistence, publicity, building hire, consultancy fees, etc.). 6.4 In addition (as noted in paragraph 5.17), DTI Ministers have also set aside resources to help disseminate Foresight to industry and encourage networking activities. These sums amount to £2 million over the two years 1995-96 to 1996-97. Government Offices in the regions and DTI sector divisions will be the main channel through which these supplementary networking resources will be put to use. TABLE | DTI staff resources devoted to foresight Grade level 1994-95 1995-96 OST G3 0.3 0.3 G5 0.5 1.0 G6 1.0 0.5 G7 9.5 10.5 Other grades 4.0 7.0 Sub-total S13 19.3 DTI G3 0.1 0.1 G5 0.1 0.1 G7 0.5 0.5 HEO 0.5 0.5 Sub-total 12 1.2 Total 16.5 20.5 Note: In addition, 11 regional offices and five sector divisions are devoting approximately one to two man years each to Foresight activities between 1995-96 to 1996-97. 7. FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS 7.1 Each of the Foresight panels has developed a forward diary of commitments to present their findings to a wider community. There will be an opportunity to review these and take stock of achievements later this year. Some events which will be important for all panels over the coming months are as follows: