ENGINEERING A CONSENSUS: FROM THE FINNISTON REPORT TO THE ENGINEERING COUNCIL

It is now widely accepted that British governments find radical policy change difficult to Secure – especially where such change threatens to disturb a well-developed interest group network. The Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Engineering Profession (19801, chaired by Sir Monty Finniston, Engineering Our Future, was interesting because it proposed a very radical change in the way in which the engineering profession was organized and regulated. In essence, Sir Monty wished to displace the established engineering institutions. A study of the long and complex saga following the publication of the Finniston report is a good test of the system's capacity for policy innovation as well as an illustration of the common conflict between state intervention and professional self-regulation. What finally emerged, The Engineering Council, can be seen as the outcome of a process of bargaining, which preserved the power of the professional institutions.