Private funding a priority as SPRU takes ‘new path’

Johan Schot, who became director of the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex in January, says SPRU will seek more private and European funding to enable it to set its own priorities and research agendas.

Schot, a historian by training, joined from the Eindhoven University of Technology to take over from Gordon MacKerron as the unit’s director. In an interview with Research Fortnight, he says he wants to see SPRU diversify its funding sources, noting that it is very successful at gaining research council grants but receives very little funding from companies or foundations. He says diversification would allow the group to maintain its research quality while building up a pool with which to subsidise areas that fall out of fashion.

SPRU’s main advantage over other, newer science policy research centres is its breadth of research, Schot argues. However, it must work hard to maintain its position as a world leader in the field. “We will develop a sense, within the unit and elsewhere, that SPRU is on a new path and sets agendas,” he says. “Obviously obtaining grants is an important element of our work, but we also need to be able to take a longer-term view and develop some strategic priorities.”