National Academy for Mathematical Sciences – IMA Response to DSIT Call for Evidence
Here, you can read the IMA’s recent response to the Call for Evidence by the Department for Science, Innovation and Industry following the Autumn Budget statement which announced that the UK Government would fund a national academy for mathematical sciences. The IMA’s response follows extensive work from volunteers across the mathematical sciences community to create the Academy for Mathematical Sciences, which recently became a registered charity.
Opening comments
“The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) is a learned society and professional body for the mathematics profession with over 5,000 members studying or working across a variety of mathematical fields including business, industry, government, academia and education. In 1990 the Institute was incorporated by Royal Charter and was granted the right to award Chartered Mathematician status. More recently, we have joined the Alliance for Data Science Professionals to support the development of professional standards in data science.
Our activities are varied including grants, conferences and workshops, a suite of journals, the MathsCareers website, Mathematics Matters papers, and public engagement to inspire the next generation of mathematical scientists.
As a member of the Council for the Mathematical Sciences (CMS), we welcome the announcement in the most recent Autumn Statement that the Government will support the establishment of a National Academy focused on the mathematical sciences. The creation of such an Academy was a key recommendation of the 2018 Bond Review. CMS started the process of articulating a vision and the initial priorities that the community wanted from a National Academy, and identifying the structures required before an academy could be established. This process was guided by the CMS societies and by extensive consultation with the mathematical sciences community.
CMS commissioned a Green Paper on the form and functions of a National Academy, followed by a consultation. This led to the appointment of an Executive Committee and Executive Director for the set-up phase of the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences, along with an Advisory Board of more than 80 distinguished mathematical scientists from across the full breadth of the UK mathematical sciences community, including IMA members.
The Academy’s objectives and vision were informed by a community consultation exercise held from April–June 2023. In September 2023, the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences was formally registered as a charity. Since then many members of the IMA and other CMS learned societies have worked together in the interests of the mathematical sciences.
This demonstrates the IMA’s strong support for a National Academy for the mathematical sciences which has the potential to transform the use and perception of the mathematical sciences across UK society, unlocking new collaboration and impact in education, research, policy, business, and industry. Furthermore, we agree that the National Academy must unite the entire mathematical sciences community and speak credibly on its behalf. In this respect, the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences is uniquely well-placed to become the new National Academy.”
Q1. (With reference to the preliminary objectives set out in the call-for-evidence document). Are these the correct objectives for a National Academy focussed on the mathematical sciences to pursue? Are there any other objectives that the new organisation should pursue?
“We agree with the preliminary objectives set out in the Call for Evidence objectives for the new National Academy. They align closely with the vision and objectives set out by the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences, which, as mentioned above, were formulated following consultation across the mathematical sciences community.
We strongly agree that “The National Academy should represent the whole of the UK, meaning England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland”. However, we feel that the preliminary objectives outlined by DSIT should place further emphasis on maths education. It is vital that the National Academy speaks for maths teachers in schools and colleges, as well as those in HE. Specifically, we suggest that education be added to the list in draft objective 4. Draft objective 5 (‘uptake of skills, qualifications and careers in the UK’) should ask the National Academy to act as a convenor, supporting those already working in this area to develop a single voice. The current draft objectives should emphasise further the potential benefits that will arise from a National Academy that represents a broad set of sectors, mathematical disciplines and regions.
Another preliminary objective listed in the Call is for a National Academy “to provide independent and credible leadership to this community, in particular by helping the sector to speak with one voice”. We agree that this objective is essential and will be one of the most important roles of the new National Academy. For this to succeed, the new National Academy must build strong links to the community – including the IMA and other CMS member societies, as well as mathematical scientists and teachers working in education, industry, and government.
This is why, as a community-led initiative, the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences is uniquely well-placed to play the role of a National Academy. Its current vision and priorities represent the culmination of five years’ careful work, consultation and building trust and communication across the mathematical sciences community.
We would add that the preliminary objectives should include a stronger statement on achieving equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in mathematical sciences. The National Academy can work closely with stakeholders to challenge public misconceptions about mathematics which reinforce stereotypes, limiting progression and representation, thus damaging the talent pipeline.”
Q2. HMG is prepared at this stage to provide funding to support the initial establishment of a new organisation, but we are conscious that the future possibilities here are broad. Given this, A) what activities should the organisation specifically focus on in the first 1-2 years of its work, and B) what should it explore developing for the longer term?
A) (short-term): “The IMA agrees with the priorities set out by the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences in their response to this Call for Evidence, arrived at through a process of consultation and engagement with the mathematical sciences community and followed by review and prioritisation by their Executive Committee whose members are drawn from across the breadth of the mathematical community, including the IMA.
In the short-term, in our view developing an effective policy function to create a single voice for our community is a high priority. The Academy for the Mathematical Sciences has already begun work to create an independent policy-response unit, drawing on the success of that developed by the Royal Academy of Engineering, and filling an important gap within the mathematical sciences community; it is already providing agile responses, working closely with CMS societies and leading bodies such as ACME and JMC.”
B) (longer-term): “Medium-term, the National Academy should prioritise work on pilot activities to establish new pathways into the mathematical sciences and to broaden the talent pool. In the future, as the National Academy takes shape, raises further funding, and begins to deliver against its objectives, its priorities will necessarily change and develop. These changes should be guided by a process that ensures the whole mathematical sciences community, including the IMA and other Learned Societies, can provide input.”
Q3. There are a wide range of individual and organisational stakeholders already doing valuable work in this area, ranging from academics to learned societies to the existing National Academies. How should the new organisation work to complement these existing entities and draw together their work?
“To be successful, a National Academy will need to work closely with other organisations in the space. These include: the IMA and other Learned Societies that make up the CMS; HoDoMS, (the representative body for Heads of Departments in the Mathematical Sciences in UK Universities); the Joint Mathematical Council (JMC) (the body which provides a forum for organisations involved in mathematics education); and the Royal Society Advisory Committee for Mathematics Education (ACME). Furthermore, the new National Academy should build strong links with the existing National Academies.
This will require constant dialogue and collaborative working to identify areas of common interest and others specific to mathematical sciences. For example, the new National Academy should work in close collaboration with ACME and JMC, but in a way that complements the education work of the CMS societies. Similarly, the new Academy should work closely with the Knowledge Exchange Hub in a way that complements existing knowledge exchange activities by the CMS societies.
The New Academy should convene fora through which its leadership can discuss, consult, and co-ordinate with representatives from the CMS societies and other organisations such as HoDoMS and UKRI. This will ensure that these organisations can contribute to evolving Academy policies and priorities, and help the Academy reach out to broad communities and harness a diversity of views and expertise. The new Academy should draw on experiences and best practice from the other National Academies, such as the Royal Academy of Engineering, which have built similar structures.
The new National Academy should focus on activities which complement, not duplicate, existing activities in the mathematical sciences community and on amplifying the impact, and increasing the reach, of such activities. For example, the National Academy should not seek to become a mass-membership organisation which would compete with and duplicate the existing Learned Societies. Similarly, the National Academy should not embark on scholarly publishing, or duplicate or intrude upon the professional accreditation activities of the Learned Societies. However, it can uphold the professional standards offered by CMS societies to ensure parity of esteem of mathematical science professional competency frameworks with those in other sectors, such as engineering and finance.”
Q4. The UK is home to many of the world’s best scientific institutions, some dating back centuries and some much more recent, what lessons can the new institution learn from the experience of these organisations?
“We agree that the most important lesson, embodied by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Academy for the Medical Sciences, is that a new National Academy can have a major positive effect on society. By building and maintaining strong and collaborative links with existing organisations and learned societies, uniting our community and enabling it to speak with a unified voice, a new National Academy can have great impact on the development and public perception of mathematical sciences, amplifying its engagement with and influence on policy, the economy, and civil society. Over time, the new National Academy can promote the success of UK mathematical sciences at global level, facilitating reciprocal agreements and international partnerships. The existing Academy is well placed to achieve this given the strong links it has built with the learned societies and national organisations across mathematical sciences in such a short time.”
Our thanks to all those who contributed to this response including CMS, particularly Tom Coates, and members of the IMA Academy Liaison Group: Andrew Osbaldestin, Helen Wilson, Howard Haughton, Peter Rowlett, Chris Chipperton, Noel-Ann Bradshaw, Paul Glendinning, Emma Bowley and Jenny Macey.
Rosalind Azouzi
Executive Director
