Comment on "Present and Future of the British Schools, Institutes and Societies Abroad"

Abstract

Bill Finlayson has set out the current position of the Academy-sponsored overseas Schools, Institutes and Societies very clearly and accurately. The fundamental issues are the need to maintain and develop the resource base – no organisation would claim that it does not need more, either for refurbishing and developing its physical infrastructure, or for developing its research activities. At the same time, the institutions must demonstrate to the funding bodies, the Council of the British Academy and its sponsor, the Office of Science and Technology (OST), that the research undertaken under their auspices is of the highest quality, equal to or better than that undertaken by comparable organisations in other countries.