Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.A great deal of debate has taken place in recent years about the changing nature of knowledge production and the increased commercialisation of science. This study focused on research scientists who had moved between public and private sector contexts. In particular, the following groups were examined: university scientists who were engaged in setting up spin out companies; scientists who had moved from the public sector to young, entrepreneurial companies; and those who had moved to large established companies. The objectives of the project were:to contribute to the debate on changing modes of knowledge production by examining scientists' accounts of doing research in public and private sector contextsto develop a model for understanding how scientists experience and manage the interplay between the scientific, commercial and ethical imperatives that they face, including consideration of the role of external stakeholders such as customers, other research establishments, regulatory and legislative bodies, and the general publicto construct a theoretical framework for understanding scientists’ career transitions between the public and private sectorsto contribute to the training and career development of scientists through an exploration of the constraints and challenges of moving across sectorsThe study explored the ways in which scientists with an applied orientiation towards science rationalised their move into the private sector, as a method of taking their science to its natural endpoint. The project demonstrated how scientists negotiated between the various scientific, legal and commercial imperatives impacting upon them, and that these imperatives were not always viewed in opposition to each other. The project developed a model of career transition which takes account of structure and agency in the development of scientific careers. Main Topics:Main topics include:scientific...