27 February 2004
The £245m government fund set up to encourage innovation across the arts and sciences is weighted too heavily in favour of London, and access to one of its three programmes is too narrow, according to government auditors.
A National Audit Office report published on February 25 found that the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts had developed sound approaches in selecting projects to support. Its Invention & Innovation and Learning Programmes had done well to generate interest and applications for funding, but the fund's third programme – the Fellowship Programme – had been less successful, the report said.
The NAO also found that London had received almost three times the number and value of awards than would be expected for its population, while many other regions were under-represented.
Public Accounts Committee chair Edward Leigh said he was worried by the London bias and the 'cliquey' nature of the awards.
'These fellowships go mainly to individuals fortunate enough to have been put forward by a member of Nesta's own exclusive group of nominators.
'There is nothing wrong with Nesta using established experts who know talented individuals that might merit a fellowship, but at the moment there is sadly little hope for equally deserving individuals who happen not to be so fortuitously connected,' he said.
NAO head Sir John Bourn added that there were lessons to be learned about funding public bodies through an endowment. Falling interest rates had forced Nesta to approach Parliament for additional funds, the NAO noted, while financial restrictions prevented it from protecting itself as well as it might.
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