ABSTRACT
Genome mapping is not a single funded enterprise but consists of several national and international programmes conducted in numerous institutions and funded from a variety of sources. While this pluralistic structure allows more flexibility and choice of routes early in the research process, it also creates considerable problems of coordination and collaboration for the various participants. This is further complicated by national, commercial and individual rivalries. While there has been some sociological research on the ways in which governments balance the demands for scientific growth and development with the pressures for accountability and economic productivity, genomic research illustrates the need to integrate these into a wider framework. This is particularly pertinent given its significant social implications for health and medicine, and the very public debate over patenting and intellectual property rights. The key question to be addressed in this chapter is whether any lessons for future policy can be drawn from the different modes of management and organisation currently operating in the UK Focusing on the Medical Research Council’s Human Genome Mapping Project, it investigates the processes of prioritisation of objectives, the linkages between individuals and organisations, the problems of coordination and communication, and the changing bases for funding.
