Publically funded science systems around the world are undergoing considerable change. In part this change reflects society’s wish, manifest through the political process, to see an ever-greater utilitarian role for science. The current systems largely evolved after the Second World War when, while the utilitarian purpose of science was understood, it was not necessarily seen as the dominant basis of funding allocations. More recently, however, the arguments that science can further economic development, assist social and environmental enhancement and contribute to policy formation have been advanced eloquently and effectively by the science community and accepted by the policy community. As the scientific enterprise has expanded and the demand on the taxpayer’s dollar also expanded, it is perhaps inevitable that the utilitarian purpose of public science is now expected to be transparently clear. The difficulty is however that the ways in which science impacts on society and the economy are not always direct, but those that are less direct may be no less important for a society. Elsewhere I have written about the multiple purposes of research – the challenge is to find ways to measure and explain these broader impacts.