Policy Statement taken from the Annual Report 1992-1993

The Institute's general scientific policy is determined by the Scientific Steering Committee. From the beginning the intention has been that the programmes at the Newton Institute should be devoted to the mathematical sciences in the broad sense. In this respect the Institute differs significantly from similar institutes in other countries. The range of sciences in which mathematics plays a significant part is, of course, enormous, too large for an Institute of modest size to cover adequately. In making the necessary choices important principles are that no topic is excluded a priori and that scientific merit is to be the deciding factor.

One of the main purposes of the Newton Institute is to overcome the normal barriers which are presented by departmental structures in universities. In consequence, a main criterion in judging the "scientific merit" of a proposed research programme for the Institute is the extent to which it is "interdisciplinary". Usually this will involve bringing together research workers with very different backgrounds and expertise (e.g. topology and high energy physics); sometimes a single mathematical topic (e.g. chaos) may attract a wide entourage from other fields. Although it is undesirable to lay down any rigid guidelines, the following seem reasonable:

  1. the mixing together of scientists with different backgrounds does not per se produce a successful meeting: there has to be a clear common ground on which to focus;

  2. each programme should have a substantial and significant mathematical content;

  3. each programme should have a broad mathematical and/or scientific base.

Research in mathematics, as in many other sciences, tends to consist of major breakthroughs, with rapid exploitation of new ideas, followed by long periods of consolidation. For the Newton Institute to be an exciting and important world centre, it has to be involved with the breakthroughs rather than the consolidation. This means that, in selecting programmes, a main criterion should be that the relevant area is in the forefront of current development. Since the Institute's programmes have to be planned up to two years in advance, it is not easy to predict where the front line will be at that time. Therefore, fields have to be chosen whose importance and diversity are likely to produce results over long time-scales and to choose world leaders in research who are likely to be able to move speedily as ideas change.

Although the novelty and the interdisciplinary nature of a proposed programme provide important criteria for selection, these must be subject to the overriding criterion of quality. With such a wide range of possibilities to choose from, the aim must be to select programmes which represent serious and important mathematical science and which will attract the very best mathematicians and scientists from all over the world. However, the desire for respectability should not deter the Institute from supporting unorthodox developments if these have a strong scientific case.

Although the Institute operates on a world-wide basis and contributes thereby to the general advancement of mathematical science, it must also be considered in the context of UK mathematics. A natural expectation of all those concerned is that each programme will be of benefit to the UK mathematical community in a variety of ways. If the UK is strong in the field, UK scientists will play a major role in the programme; if the UK is comparatively weak in the field, the programme should help to raise UK standards and instructional courses will play a vital role here.

Because of the wide base of support for the Newton Institute in the EPSRC and elsewhere, the Institute's programmes should as far as possible represent an appropriate balance between the various mathematical fields. If the Institute is to retain the backing of the mathematical and scientific community, it must run programmes in a wide variety of fields and, over the years, achieve a general balance. Such considerations, however, are secondary to the prime objective of having high quality programmes. If there are no exciting developments, actual or potential, in a particular field, it would be wrong to run a programme simply to maintain a balance.