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ANNEX A: DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCEPT FOR A NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTRE - THE JURA REPORT

In November 2003 Jura Consultants were appointed by the Scottish Executive to review all the operations of the science centres with a view to considering their future and whether a National Science Centre concept was feasible. Alongside this, consideration was given to possible ongoing financial support from the Scottish Executive, and how the centres could best support the Executive's science objectives.

Looking at commercial and general operations, as well as the educational provision highlighted in the HMIE report, the Jura Report, Development of the Concept for a National Science Centre identified several areas of concern, including:

• a trend of falling visitor numbers, with a direct correlation to drop in income;
• high costs;
• unexploited opportunities for collaborative activity; and
• missed commercial, education, marketing opportunities

Critically, the Jura Report concluded that the four centres would not be able to operate without long-term continued revenue funding - and that a National Science Centre would bring minimal efficiency savings and would lead to poorer performance from the four centres if 'merged'. ²²

Instead, like HMIE, it suggested an intermediary organisation be established to fund and oversee the centres.

In the meantime it also recommended fundamental changes be made to the operations of the centres, including the physical infrastructure, to enable them to move towards being part of a more financially sound, collaborative, network.

The cost of these proposed transitional arrangements at each site are set out below, and include a number of alterations to the existing operations, investment in some of the exhibitory, and investment in some building modifications.

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