AbstractThe second symposium of the North American and Caribbean Branch of the International Science Policy Foundation (ISPF) (September 1989) confirmed the continuing importance of ‘science culture’ and discussed how its further development could be assisted by governments through public policy. While the participants at the symposium were mainly Canadian, their discussions had an international basis, and measures of improvement were suggested that could be applied in North America and beyond, such as increased funding for S&T, upgrading educational resources, financial support for learned societies and setting reasonable targets for science literacy.