If the Netherlands wants to become a knowledge economy, a clearer distribution of tasks between universities is necessary. With real research universities besides the existing education factories.
That is one of the suggestions in the report 'Of old and new knowledge. The consequences of ICT for knowledge policy of the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR).'
The advisory body of the government concludes that a knowledge society demands more than investments in ICT. In the past years the Netherlands has been buying computers left and right. In the mean time little thought has been expended on the users.
In this way the Netherlands will not become the knowledge Valhalla that it would like to be. For that it is necessary, amongst others, for young talent to want to go into a scientific career. That can be by drawing them with very specialised masters. They may then choose a career at one of the research universities advocated by the WRR. Especially if a scientific career is made more attractive by more diversity at work.
In exchange for all these nice perspectives the modern researcher (m/f) is increasingly expected to be prepared to work with businesses. Those who do not feel like doing that can always go back to fundamental research. The government should continue to guarantee this with basic funding, the WRR feels.
The perspectives are also growing for those who are prepared to look beyond the borders of their own field. On paper anyway, as the WRR has found a snag in practice.
The current rules for funding lead to risk-avoiding behaviour. This is bad for multi-disciplinary research, where a lot of time and effort has to be expended to find your way through those other fields of research, with risks of failure attached. That is why the WRR advocates a new funding structure, which works more to the advantage of multi-disciplinary research.
