Curiosity-driven scientific research, without a clear practical goal
Blue skies research
(also called
blue sky science
) is scientific research in domains where "real-world" applications are not immediately apparent. It has been defined as "research without a clear goal"
[1]
and "curiosity-driven science". It is sometimes used interchangeably with the term "
basic research
".
[2]
Proponents of this mode of
science
argue that unanticipated scientific breakthroughs are sometimes more valuable than the outcomes of agenda-driven research, heralding advances in
genetics
and
stem cell
biology as examples of unforeseen benefits of research that was originally seen as purely theoretical in scope. Because of the inherently uncertain
return on investment
, blue-sky projects are sometimes politically and commercially unpopular and tend to lose funding to research perceived as being more reliably profitable or practical.
[3]
Terminology
[
edit
]
The term blue sky research comes from Comroe's retrospectoscope in 1976 on the research done in 1869 on why the sky is blue. This research was initially thought to be of no value but led to many other discoveries of much more direct use.
[4]
History
[
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]
Support for blue skies research has varied over time, ultimately becoming subject to the political process, in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom,
[5]
and India.
Vannevar Bush
's 1945 report,
Science: The Endless Frontier
, made the argument for the value of basic research in the postwar era, and was the basis for many appeals to the federal funding of basic research.
[6]
The 1957 launch of
Sputnik
prompted the United States
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
to sponsor blue skies research into the 1960s.
[7]
By the 1970s, financial strains brought pressure on public expenditure on the sciences, first in the UK and the
Netherlands
, and by the 1990s in
Germany
and the United States.
[6]
In 1980,
BP
established a blue skies research initiative called the Venture Research Unit, headed by particle physicist
Donald Braben
. Braben controversially challenged
peer review
as the mechanism for establishing funding, emphasizing the selection of researchers whose proposals "could radically change the way we think about something important."
[8]
In 2005,
Mark Walport
, director of the
Wellcome Trust
and former Professor of Medicine at
Imperial College, London
warned that excessive emphasis on agenda-driven research could jeopardise serendipitous advances in science:
The Government is right to recognise the importance of science and technology, but I think it is a mistake to try to
ring-fence
funds. There is a serious danger that we will spend money on projects that are less good. It is absolutely key that funding is used to support the best scientists with the best ideas.
[3]
When UK
research councils
introduced a requirement that grant application include a 2-page statement on the economic impact of the proposed work, 20 scientists, including 1996
Nobel laureate
Harold Kroto
, wrote a public letter to
Times Higher Education
condemning the requirement and calling for peer reviewers to ignore the additional documentation.
[9]
Grants and conferences
[
edit
]
Until 2020
The Royal Society
granted up to 1 million
pounds sterling
annually in
Theo Murphy Blue Skies awards
. The award was to fund "research which is considered to be original and exciting but lacks a sufficient evidence base in the literature to be supported by traditional grant schemes."
[10]
The UK-based
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
(EPSRC) operates a program called the IDEAS Factory, intended to promote "blue sky, curiosity-led research."
[11]
The international
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) holds a "Blue Sky Forum" every decade.
[12]
Subjects
[
edit
]
Owing to its radical nature, blue sky science may challenge accepted
scientific paradigms
and introduce entirely new fields of study.
[2]
It has been the inspiration for numerous works of
science fiction
. It has sometimes been concerned with topics such as unexplained phenomena and the impact of future technologies upon society, asking questions such as "How would a spacecraft traverse a
black hole
and where would it arrive upon leaving it?" and "Will the universe end, or will it just expand ever outwards for eternity?"
[
citation needed
]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Bell, David (2005).
Science, Technology and Culture
. McGraw-Hill International. p. 33.
ISBN
978-0-335-21326-9
.
- ^
a
b
Linden, Belinda (February 29, 2008).
"Basic Blue Skies Research in the UK: Are we losing out?"
.
Journal of Biomedical Discovery and Collaboration
.
3
(1): 3.
doi
:
10.1186/1747-5333-3-3
.
PMC
2292148
.
PMID
18312612
.
- ^
a
b
Henderson, Mark (September 19, 2005).
"Politics clouds blue-sky science"
.
The Times
. Retrieved
April 26,
2010
.
- ^
Comroe J. Retrospectroscope ? What makes the Sky Blue? American Review Respiratory Disease. 1976;113:219?22.
- ^
"To what extent should UK funding for science and innovation be focussed?"
.
Foundation for Science and Technology
. Retrieved
February 21,
2009
.
- ^
a
b
Smith, C.H. Llewellyn
(1997).
The use of basic science
. CERN.
- ^
Jeffrey, Richard C. (1990).
The Logic of Decision
. University of Chicago Press. pp. xiv.
ISBN
978-0-226-39582-1
.
- ^
Fedoroff, Nina (January 27, 2005).
"Peering out of the box (Review of 'Pioneering Research: A Risk Worth Taking')"
.
Nature
.
433
(7024): 361.
doi
:
10.1038/433361a
.
- ^
Travis, John (February 12, 2009).
"Is the (Blue) Sky Falling in the U.K?"
.
ScienceInsider
.
Science
. Archived from
the original
on February 18, 2009
. Retrieved
February 23,
2009
.
- ^
"Theo Murphy Blue Skies awards"
. The Royal Society
. Retrieved
November 21,
2023
.
- ^
"IDEAS Factory"
(Press release). UKRI. August 17, 2021
. Retrieved
February 6,
2024
.
- ^
"Blue Sky II 2006"
.
Statistics Canada
. Archived from
the original
on 2009-01-16.
Sources
[
edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Braben, Donald W. (2014).
Promoting the Planck Club: How defiant youth, irreverent researchers and liberated universities can foster prosperity indefinitely
. John Wiley and Sons Inc.
ISBN
978-1-118-54642-0
.
- Braben, Donald W. (2004).
Pioneering Research: A Risk Worth Taking
. John Wiley and Sons Inc.
ISBN
978-0-471-48852-1
.
- Braben, Donald W. (2008).
Scientific Freedom: The Elixir of Civilization
. John Wiley and Sons Inc.
ISBN
978-0-470-22654-4
.