Please help the R&D Society and Materials KTN to create an event that is useful to you and your organisation.
Some materials are becoming scarce, or are in danger of becoming scarce in the near future. Some are well-known and frequently discussed - eg oil or natural gas. However, there is increasing awareness that other materials are in danger of becoming scarce, which has challenges and opportunities for future R&D and design.
The R&D Society and Materials KTN are planning to hold an event on this issue, and we would be grateful for your input at an early stage to help us in planning this, by answering a short survey on our website.
We’d be grateful if you could respond at your earliest convenience – preferably by 28 December 2010.
Showing posts with label globalisation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label globalisation. Show all posts
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Thursday, 9 September 2010
R&D Society: Government must maintain support for all areas of UK R&D, from academia to business
In response to Vince Cable’s Science, Research and Innovation speech of 8 September 2010, Sir Richard Sykes, President of the R&D Society comments:
The Government must maintain the support of UK R&D - from academia to businesses large and small - if we are to prosper financially and socially in future. This includes maintaining investment in our world-class science base to attract investment and people from all over the world, and finding ways of encouraging businesses and academia to work together effectively.
Vince Cable asks how to encourage academics to collaborate with industry to maximise the benefit of their research. Universities cannot simply increase the commercial viability of their research by turning on a tap. They need encouragement and support to do so – but they also need businesses who are willing, able and capable of working with them. For academic-business links to succeed, businesses need encouragement too, especially now, when many are having to focus on short-term survival in place of longer-term, R&D-based investment. The commercial R&D sector has been under severe pressure in this recession, and we have seen several commercial R&D labs close or scale back in the UK over the past year.
Though Vince Cable did mention support for the Small Business Research Initiative, he omits to discuss how business might be encouraged to work with academia – for example R&D tax credits, networking support, skills transfer schemes. Businesses want to get on with their job in hand, so Government must be a supporting catalyst, not prescriptive – a midwife, not a nanny. This should not happen at the expense of support for business-business knowledge transfer - the Cinderella largely ignored by successive Governments, but one that powers much of UK innovation, especially around smaller enterprises.
The UK is an attractive place to do R&D, and Vince Cable is rightly proud that many multinational companies locate their R&D operations in the UK. But they will only do so whilst it is in their best interests to. Businesses have told the R&D Society about many different reasons why they choose the UK, and one of the most important is the high quality of UK universities. This provides local access to world-class research, and a regular supply of skilled graduates. We are very worried at the cuts to UK science hinted at in Vince Cable’s speech will have the double whammy of reducing the research and teaching capacity of UK universities and discouraging students from studying research-relevant subjects – resulting in more top performing graduates "heading straight for high finance rather than science and engineering", as Mr Cable laments. In order to maintain the flow of ideas to wealth in the long term, a broad portfolio of high-class 'basic' research must be maintained as the fruits of the future.
The Government must maintain the support of UK R&D - from academia to businesses large and small - if we are to prosper financially and socially in future. This includes maintaining investment in our world-class science base to attract investment and people from all over the world, and finding ways of encouraging businesses and academia to work together effectively.
Vince Cable asks how to encourage academics to collaborate with industry to maximise the benefit of their research. Universities cannot simply increase the commercial viability of their research by turning on a tap. They need encouragement and support to do so – but they also need businesses who are willing, able and capable of working with them. For academic-business links to succeed, businesses need encouragement too, especially now, when many are having to focus on short-term survival in place of longer-term, R&D-based investment. The commercial R&D sector has been under severe pressure in this recession, and we have seen several commercial R&D labs close or scale back in the UK over the past year.
Though Vince Cable did mention support for the Small Business Research Initiative, he omits to discuss how business might be encouraged to work with academia – for example R&D tax credits, networking support, skills transfer schemes. Businesses want to get on with their job in hand, so Government must be a supporting catalyst, not prescriptive – a midwife, not a nanny. This should not happen at the expense of support for business-business knowledge transfer - the Cinderella largely ignored by successive Governments, but one that powers much of UK innovation, especially around smaller enterprises.
The UK is an attractive place to do R&D, and Vince Cable is rightly proud that many multinational companies locate their R&D operations in the UK. But they will only do so whilst it is in their best interests to. Businesses have told the R&D Society about many different reasons why they choose the UK, and one of the most important is the high quality of UK universities. This provides local access to world-class research, and a regular supply of skilled graduates. We are very worried at the cuts to UK science hinted at in Vince Cable’s speech will have the double whammy of reducing the research and teaching capacity of UK universities and discouraging students from studying research-relevant subjects – resulting in more top performing graduates "heading straight for high finance rather than science and engineering", as Mr Cable laments. In order to maintain the flow of ideas to wealth in the long term, a broad portfolio of high-class 'basic' research must be maintained as the fruits of the future.
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
R&D Society PR: Universities need to change if they are to embrace the second phase of World Wide Web, issued 9 October 2009
Press release issued by the University of Southampton, Friday 9 October 2009
Universities need to change if they are to embrace the second phase of World Wide Web
The challenges which face the World Wide Web in its next phase and the need for academics to embrace its further development will be outlined by Professor Dame Wendy Hall next week.
Professor Hall, who is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) will receive the Duncan Davies medal and deliver the 2009 Duncan Davies lecture on the topic of Research 2.0: The Age of Networks at a Research & Development Society event at the Royal Society on Monday 12 October at 6.30pm.
The Duncan Davies Medal is awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution toward making the UK the best-performing research and development environment in the world.
In her lecture Professor Hall will describe how since its inception the Web has changed the ways we communicate, collaborate, and educate and that it has now developed sufficiently to facilitate interdisciplinary research by international teams to tackle the major problems faced by the world today.
‘In a very short-space of time we have come to live in a web-dependent society within a web-dependent world,’ she will say. ‘There is a growing realization that a clear research agenda aimed at understanding the current, evolving, and potential Web is needed.’
She will go on to present the important of Web Science, which embraces the study of these phenomena and she will explore the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing need for interdisciplinary research undertaken by international teams and the role that universities, governments and learned societies can play to facilitate such exciting and necessary developments.
‘The role of government is crucial in setting policies to create an environment in which such research can flourish but in the age of networks, universities may also have to radically change in order to facilitate such exciting and necessary developments and better train people to meet the needs of businesses in the future,’ she will say.
The 2009 Duncan Davies lecture on the topic of Research 2.0: The Age of Networks will take place at the Royal Society on Monday 12 October at 6.30pm at 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
1. Professor Dame Wendy Hall is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and was Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) from 2002-2007. She was the founding Head of the Intelligence, Agents, Multimedia (IAM) Research Group in ECS.
She has published over 400 papers in areas such as hypermedia, multimedia, digital libraries, and Web technologies
In 2008 she was elected as President of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and is the first person from outside North America to hold this position.
She was Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 2005-2008 and is a Past President of the British Computer Society (2003-2004). She is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, a member of the Executive Committee of UKCRC, and Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Diversity Committee. She is a founding member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council.
For further information about Professor Dame Wendy Hall, please visit: http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/wh/
2.For further information about the R&D Society Duncan Davies Medal, please visit: http://www.rdsoc.org/duncandavies.html
3.With around 500 researchers, and 900 undergraduate students, the School of Electronics and Computer Science at Southampton is one of the world's largest and most successful integrated research groupings, covering Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electronics, Electrical Engineering, and IT in Organisations. ECS has unrivalled depth and breadth of expertise in world-leading research, new developments and their applications.
4. The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health and humanities.
5. With over 22,000 students, around 5000 staff, and an annual turnover of more than £370 million, the University of Southampton is acknowledged as one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. We combine academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning.
The University is also home to a number of world-leading research centres, including the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Web Science Research Initiative, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, the Mountbatten Centre for International Studies and the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute.
Universities need to change if they are to embrace the second phase of World Wide Web
The challenges which face the World Wide Web in its next phase and the need for academics to embrace its further development will be outlined by Professor Dame Wendy Hall next week.
Professor Hall, who is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton’s School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) will receive the Duncan Davies medal and deliver the 2009 Duncan Davies lecture on the topic of Research 2.0: The Age of Networks at a Research & Development Society event at the Royal Society on Monday 12 October at 6.30pm.
The Duncan Davies Medal is awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution toward making the UK the best-performing research and development environment in the world.
In her lecture Professor Hall will describe how since its inception the Web has changed the ways we communicate, collaborate, and educate and that it has now developed sufficiently to facilitate interdisciplinary research by international teams to tackle the major problems faced by the world today.
‘In a very short-space of time we have come to live in a web-dependent society within a web-dependent world,’ she will say. ‘There is a growing realization that a clear research agenda aimed at understanding the current, evolving, and potential Web is needed.’
She will go on to present the important of Web Science, which embraces the study of these phenomena and she will explore the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing need for interdisciplinary research undertaken by international teams and the role that universities, governments and learned societies can play to facilitate such exciting and necessary developments.
‘The role of government is crucial in setting policies to create an environment in which such research can flourish but in the age of networks, universities may also have to radically change in order to facilitate such exciting and necessary developments and better train people to meet the needs of businesses in the future,’ she will say.
The 2009 Duncan Davies lecture on the topic of Research 2.0: The Age of Networks will take place at the Royal Society on Monday 12 October at 6.30pm at 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
1. Professor Dame Wendy Hall is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and was Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) from 2002-2007. She was the founding Head of the Intelligence, Agents, Multimedia (IAM) Research Group in ECS.
She has published over 400 papers in areas such as hypermedia, multimedia, digital libraries, and Web technologies
In 2008 she was elected as President of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and is the first person from outside North America to hold this position.
She was Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 2005-2008 and is a Past President of the British Computer Society (2003-2004). She is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, a member of the Executive Committee of UKCRC, and Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Diversity Committee. She is a founding member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council.
For further information about Professor Dame Wendy Hall, please visit: http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/wh/
2.For further information about the R&D Society Duncan Davies Medal, please visit: http://www.rdsoc.org/duncandavies.html
3.With around 500 researchers, and 900 undergraduate students, the School of Electronics and Computer Science at Southampton is one of the world's largest and most successful integrated research groupings, covering Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electronics, Electrical Engineering, and IT in Organisations. ECS has unrivalled depth and breadth of expertise in world-leading research, new developments and their applications.
4. The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health and humanities.
5. With over 22,000 students, around 5000 staff, and an annual turnover of more than £370 million, the University of Southampton is acknowledged as one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. We combine academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning.
The University is also home to a number of world-leading research centres, including the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Web Science Research Initiative, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, the Mountbatten Centre for International Studies and the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute.
Thursday, 10 September 2009
R&D Society PR: Dame Wendy Hall honoured for inspiring role in UK research and development, issued 10 September 2009
Dame Wendy Hall honoured for inspiring role in UK research and development
Web pioneer and leading campaigner for women in science receives nineteenth Duncan Davies Medal from the Research and Development Society for making an outstanding contribution toward making the UK the best-performing research and development environment in the world.
Professor Dame Wendy Hall DBE FRS FREng is the recipient of the 2009 Duncan Davies Medal awarded by the Research and Development Society. Dame Wendy will accept the medal at a lecture she will give to the R&D Society on the evening of 12 October 2009 at the Royal Society, London.
The Duncan Davies Medal is awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution toward making the UK the best-performing research and development environment in the world.
Dr David Kingham, Chair of the R&D Society, commented, "Dame Wendy is a leading academic researcher who is passionate about business, maintaining links and providing expertise to innovative companies large and small. Her work as a role model and advocate of fair opportunities for women in science and engineering careers is benefiting UK R&D well beyond her own subject area of web technology. She’s been an inspiration to both men and women in the UK, and we’re pleased to award Dame Wendy our highest honour."
On hearing of the award, Dame Wendy commented, “I’m deeply flattered by the offer of this award – I can’t believe the company I find myself in when I look at the list of previous recipients. I am pleased that this award recognises my commitment to attracting more women into computer science. I believe my research area of the semantic web will open up a whole new wave of businesses, applications, services and R&D processes in the future, which the UK could lead, if it takes advantage of the talents of the very best men and women. I look forward to discussing this at the R&D Society event in October.”
Dr Duncan Davies was the third President of the R&D Society, and began his presidency in 1982, shortly after retiring as Chief Scientist and Engineer at the Department of Trade and Industry. Passionately concerned about R&D in the UK, he took a very active interest in the work of the Society. His sudden demise in 1986 came as a harsh blow to the Society and to UK R&D. To acknowledge the debt that it owed to Duncan Davies's leadership, the Society decided to establish a medal in his memory. Dame Wendy joins an esteemed list of recipients including Sir David King, Sir Robin Saxby, Lord Kumar Bhattacharya, Dame Bridget Ogilvie and Lord Sainsbury.
Dame Wendy will speak on “Research 2.0: the Age of Networks” on 12 October 2009 at 6.30pm, where she will discuss the development of Web Science, the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing need for interdisciplinary research, and how this may drive universities to radically change.
Notes for Editors
Biography: Professor Dame Wendy Hall DBE FRS FREng
Wendy Hall is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton and was Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) from 2002-2007. She has published over 400 papers in areas such as hypermedia, multimedia, digital libraries, and Web technologies.
She was Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 2005-2008 and is a Past President of the British Computer Society (2003-2004). She is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology and a founding member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council. In 2008 she was elected as President of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and is the first person from outside North America to hold this position.
She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list in 2000, and became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the same year. She was awarded a DBE in the New Year’s Honours list in 2009, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2009.
A longer biography is available at http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/wh/
Synopsis of “Research 2.0: the Age of Networks”
Full event listing at: http://www.rdsoc.org/09L7.html
Since its inception the Web has changed the ways we communicate, collaborate, and educate. In a very short-space of time we have come to live in a web-dependent society within a web-dependent world. There is a growing realization that a clear research agenda aimed at understanding the current, evolving, and potential Web is needed. Web Science embraces the study of these phenomena. In this seminar we will consider what Web Science is, and why it is important, as well as presenting ideas about how we can study the Web as both a technical and social phenomenon. We will use this discussion to explore the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing need for interdisciplinary research undertaken by international teams to tackle the major problems faced by the world today. Researchers are increasingly using the power of social networking tools to undertake their work.
The role of government is crucial in setting policies to create an environment in which such research can flourish but in the age of networks universities may also have to radically change in order to facilitate such exciting and necessary developments and better train people to meet the needs of businesses in the future.
Web pioneer and leading campaigner for women in science receives nineteenth Duncan Davies Medal from the Research and Development Society for making an outstanding contribution toward making the UK the best-performing research and development environment in the world.
Professor Dame Wendy Hall DBE FRS FREng is the recipient of the 2009 Duncan Davies Medal awarded by the Research and Development Society. Dame Wendy will accept the medal at a lecture she will give to the R&D Society on the evening of 12 October 2009 at the Royal Society, London.
The Duncan Davies Medal is awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution toward making the UK the best-performing research and development environment in the world.
Dr David Kingham, Chair of the R&D Society, commented, "Dame Wendy is a leading academic researcher who is passionate about business, maintaining links and providing expertise to innovative companies large and small. Her work as a role model and advocate of fair opportunities for women in science and engineering careers is benefiting UK R&D well beyond her own subject area of web technology. She’s been an inspiration to both men and women in the UK, and we’re pleased to award Dame Wendy our highest honour."
On hearing of the award, Dame Wendy commented, “I’m deeply flattered by the offer of this award – I can’t believe the company I find myself in when I look at the list of previous recipients. I am pleased that this award recognises my commitment to attracting more women into computer science. I believe my research area of the semantic web will open up a whole new wave of businesses, applications, services and R&D processes in the future, which the UK could lead, if it takes advantage of the talents of the very best men and women. I look forward to discussing this at the R&D Society event in October.”
Dr Duncan Davies was the third President of the R&D Society, and began his presidency in 1982, shortly after retiring as Chief Scientist and Engineer at the Department of Trade and Industry. Passionately concerned about R&D in the UK, he took a very active interest in the work of the Society. His sudden demise in 1986 came as a harsh blow to the Society and to UK R&D. To acknowledge the debt that it owed to Duncan Davies's leadership, the Society decided to establish a medal in his memory. Dame Wendy joins an esteemed list of recipients including Sir David King, Sir Robin Saxby, Lord Kumar Bhattacharya, Dame Bridget Ogilvie and Lord Sainsbury.
Dame Wendy will speak on “Research 2.0: the Age of Networks” on 12 October 2009 at 6.30pm, where she will discuss the development of Web Science, the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing need for interdisciplinary research, and how this may drive universities to radically change.
Notes for Editors
Biography: Professor Dame Wendy Hall DBE FRS FREng
Wendy Hall is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton and was Head of the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) from 2002-2007. She has published over 400 papers in areas such as hypermedia, multimedia, digital libraries, and Web technologies.
She was Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 2005-2008 and is a Past President of the British Computer Society (2003-2004). She is a member of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology and a founding member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council. In 2008 she was elected as President of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and is the first person from outside North America to hold this position.
She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list in 2000, and became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the same year. She was awarded a DBE in the New Year’s Honours list in 2009, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2009.
A longer biography is available at http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/wh/
Synopsis of “Research 2.0: the Age of Networks”
Full event listing at: http://www.rdsoc.org/09L7.html
Since its inception the Web has changed the ways we communicate, collaborate, and educate. In a very short-space of time we have come to live in a web-dependent society within a web-dependent world. There is a growing realization that a clear research agenda aimed at understanding the current, evolving, and potential Web is needed. Web Science embraces the study of these phenomena. In this seminar we will consider what Web Science is, and why it is important, as well as presenting ideas about how we can study the Web as both a technical and social phenomenon. We will use this discussion to explore the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing need for interdisciplinary research undertaken by international teams to tackle the major problems faced by the world today. Researchers are increasingly using the power of social networking tools to undertake their work.
The role of government is crucial in setting policies to create an environment in which such research can flourish but in the age of networks universities may also have to radically change in order to facilitate such exciting and necessary developments and better train people to meet the needs of businesses in the future.
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
R&D Society PR: Government must pick winners, issued 4 March 2009
Government must pick winners
R&D Society meeting on "Why choose the UK as a location for corporate R&D?"
With Tony Meggs (Chair); Jackie Hunter, GlaxoSmithKline; Ric Parker, Rolls Royce; Michael Walker, Vodafone
The Government must be prepared to pick winners in its science and innovation policy if it is to get maximum economic benefit out of the excellent research base in the UK, concluded the latest R&D Society meeting, held on Monday night. There was clear support for the Government's new policy to pick winners in areas of high growth potential, where the UK has a competitive advantage and could realistically be number 1 or 2 in the world. However, there was concern about the decision-making process and about whether the Government could be sufficiently "joined-up" to follow through and purchase the results of the R&D.
The meeting was chaired by Tony Meggs, former Group Vice President for technology at BP. In his opening remarks Tony said that the UK needed to improve its cross-disciplinary and inter-university collaborations to be able to tackle major global issues, referring to his experience of this being done much more effectively in the USA. He also picked out new energy technologies for special attention, saying that "it is all very well for the Government to want the UK to be the leader in R&D for sustainable energy, but this needs to be supported by an industrial infrastructure and a strong Government policy to adopt new energy technologies".
Jackie Hunter, Senior Vice President of GlaxoSmithKline welcomed the Government's new focus on picking winning areas to support through its science and innovation policy. Jackie said "the UK needs to focus and to be prepared to seize opportunities" and added that "we need a thriving biotechnology industry supported by intelligent and strategic Government policy".
Ric Parker, Director of Research and Technology at Rolls Royce suggested that the Government should look at President Obama's substantial increases in the science budget and argued that maintaining current spending levels was not sufficient to maintain the UK's international competitiveness. He said that rather than reducing VAT, “the Government should invest in R&D to achieve the same short-term stimulus, but with long-term strategic benefits”.
Professor Michael Walker, Group R&D Director of Vodafone, was critical of short-term thinking in the UK and urged the Government to invest in opportunities with potential to be world leading. “If we have a world-leading position, we should invest in it.” While welcoming the Government's intention to pick winners, he urged that the Government take care to use the right processes. “The science and engineering base, including industry, must be heavily involved – they know where we could be better ”. Mike picked out Mobile VCE, the Virtual Centre of Excellence in Mobile & Personal Communications, supported equally by Industry and EPSRC, as a model for effective collaborative R&D.
The panel and event attendees praised the UK’s international strengths, especially our science base, which produces talented researchers and world-leading “blue skies” research. The UK’s multicultural society encourages and enables companies to bring researchers from across the world to UK-based research departments. Staff in companies and universities were also praised for their ability to accept innovative and creative methods of working together. However, this was tempered by concern that Full Economic Cost (FEC) requirements – where universities recover the full cost of research cooperation from research partners – could hamper university/business collaboration. Businesses appreciated the necessity to cover costs, but thought that an across-the-board requirement for FEC recovery did not recognise the full range of benefits that business-university collaboration brings. The meeting agreed that the Government should offer FEC “top-ups” of around 20% for university/industry collaboration, which would support industry, universities and stimulate economic growth.
Before the meeting, David Kingham, Chairman of the R&D Society said "Globalisation is a critical challenge, and a key opportunity for UK research and development. With companies now operating on a global scale, they can choose to locate their R&D functions anywhere in the world. Countries are competing to attract these high-value, high-skill jobs. The UK has a strong tradition of corporate R&D from British and foreign-owned companies and a world-renowned science base. But is that enough for the future?"
Reflecting after the meeting, David Kingham said: "The purpose of our meeting was to give originally British, but increasingly global, companies based on science and technology the opportunity to express their views on R&D in the UK. We were delighted by the forthright views expressed, but it does raise a concern about whether Government policy makers are really listening and paying attention."
David Kingham continued: "it is clear that while there is strong support for the Government to be bold and pick some winners, this should be extra investment in selected areas and not come at the expense of basic science. Meanwhile there are grounds for concern about the process for picking winners and about whether the Government will then be sufficiently joined-up to then purchase the winning new technologies that it has supported."
Notes for Editors
R&D Society meeting on "Why choose the UK as a location for corporate R&D?"
With Tony Meggs (Chair); Jackie Hunter, GlaxoSmithKline; Ric Parker, Rolls Royce; Michael Walker, Vodafone
The Government must be prepared to pick winners in its science and innovation policy if it is to get maximum economic benefit out of the excellent research base in the UK, concluded the latest R&D Society meeting, held on Monday night. There was clear support for the Government's new policy to pick winners in areas of high growth potential, where the UK has a competitive advantage and could realistically be number 1 or 2 in the world. However, there was concern about the decision-making process and about whether the Government could be sufficiently "joined-up" to follow through and purchase the results of the R&D.
The meeting was chaired by Tony Meggs, former Group Vice President for technology at BP. In his opening remarks Tony said that the UK needed to improve its cross-disciplinary and inter-university collaborations to be able to tackle major global issues, referring to his experience of this being done much more effectively in the USA. He also picked out new energy technologies for special attention, saying that "it is all very well for the Government to want the UK to be the leader in R&D for sustainable energy, but this needs to be supported by an industrial infrastructure and a strong Government policy to adopt new energy technologies".
Jackie Hunter, Senior Vice President of GlaxoSmithKline welcomed the Government's new focus on picking winning areas to support through its science and innovation policy. Jackie said "the UK needs to focus and to be prepared to seize opportunities" and added that "we need a thriving biotechnology industry supported by intelligent and strategic Government policy".
Ric Parker, Director of Research and Technology at Rolls Royce suggested that the Government should look at President Obama's substantial increases in the science budget and argued that maintaining current spending levels was not sufficient to maintain the UK's international competitiveness. He said that rather than reducing VAT, “the Government should invest in R&D to achieve the same short-term stimulus, but with long-term strategic benefits”.
Professor Michael Walker, Group R&D Director of Vodafone, was critical of short-term thinking in the UK and urged the Government to invest in opportunities with potential to be world leading. “If we have a world-leading position, we should invest in it.” While welcoming the Government's intention to pick winners, he urged that the Government take care to use the right processes. “The science and engineering base, including industry, must be heavily involved – they know where we could be better ”. Mike picked out Mobile VCE, the Virtual Centre of Excellence in Mobile & Personal Communications, supported equally by Industry and EPSRC, as a model for effective collaborative R&D.
The panel and event attendees praised the UK’s international strengths, especially our science base, which produces talented researchers and world-leading “blue skies” research. The UK’s multicultural society encourages and enables companies to bring researchers from across the world to UK-based research departments. Staff in companies and universities were also praised for their ability to accept innovative and creative methods of working together. However, this was tempered by concern that Full Economic Cost (FEC) requirements – where universities recover the full cost of research cooperation from research partners – could hamper university/business collaboration. Businesses appreciated the necessity to cover costs, but thought that an across-the-board requirement for FEC recovery did not recognise the full range of benefits that business-university collaboration brings. The meeting agreed that the Government should offer FEC “top-ups” of around 20% for university/industry collaboration, which would support industry, universities and stimulate economic growth.
Before the meeting, David Kingham, Chairman of the R&D Society said "Globalisation is a critical challenge, and a key opportunity for UK research and development. With companies now operating on a global scale, they can choose to locate their R&D functions anywhere in the world. Countries are competing to attract these high-value, high-skill jobs. The UK has a strong tradition of corporate R&D from British and foreign-owned companies and a world-renowned science base. But is that enough for the future?"
Reflecting after the meeting, David Kingham said: "The purpose of our meeting was to give originally British, but increasingly global, companies based on science and technology the opportunity to express their views on R&D in the UK. We were delighted by the forthright views expressed, but it does raise a concern about whether Government policy makers are really listening and paying attention."
David Kingham continued: "it is clear that while there is strong support for the Government to be bold and pick some winners, this should be extra investment in selected areas and not come at the expense of basic science. Meanwhile there are grounds for concern about the process for picking winners and about whether the Government will then be sufficiently joined-up to then purchase the winning new technologies that it has supported."
Notes for Editors
- The Research and Development Society is a UK-based organisation which aims to promote the better understanding of R&D in all its forms and to make the UK the best place in the world for R&D. It is unique in the UK in covering all types of business and industry with an interest in R&D, enabling common issues and solutions to be discovered, shared and solved. With a membership spread across the full range of UK R&D community, it holds regular meetings on a wide variety of topics relating to innovation and R&D management best practice. The R&D Society’s administration is provided by the Royal Society, but the R&D Society is independent, being a company limited by guarantee funded and run by its members through a Board of Directors, chaired by Dr David Kingham.
- Future meetings of the R&D Society in April and May will feature David Willetts, Shadow Minister of Science and Innovatuion and Lord Drayson, Minister of Science and Innovation, respectively.
Thursday, 26 February 2009
2008 R&D Scoreboard published - R&D Society comments "Government must help UK R&D"
Responding to the publication today (26 January 2009) by DIUS and BERR of the 2008 R&D Scoreboard, David Kingham, Chairman of the R&D Society, commented "The overall rise in R&D expenditure by the top 850 UK companies of 6% to £21.6 billion is welcome news, and shows continued confidence in UK companies of the value of R&D to their business. The news that the top 88 UK companies, who also rank in the top 1,400 global investors of R&D, increased their R&D investment by 10.3%, is offset by the Scoreboard’s findings that the remaining companies outside the top 88 grew their R&D by just 1.2% - a fall in real terms."
David Kingham continued, "It is not clear from the Scoreboard whether this reflects cuts in R&D activity or smarter spending by these companies, increasing their R&D efficiency. Given that these figures are from a time period prior to the current recession, we urge the Government to keep a close eye on the R&D activities of UK companies, and maintain and improve their efforts to support UK R&D. "
David Kingham concluded, "We endorse the R&D Scoreboard as a useful tool to enable companies to benchmark their R&D efforts with their peers. Investment in R&D is necessary for the long-term growth of many companies, and now is not the time for the Government to be distracted by short term financial difficulties at the expense of long-term, R&D-based improvements."
Update 27 January 2009: Coverage in Research Fortnight, ScienceBusiness, and The Engineer.
David Kingham continued, "It is not clear from the Scoreboard whether this reflects cuts in R&D activity or smarter spending by these companies, increasing their R&D efficiency. Given that these figures are from a time period prior to the current recession, we urge the Government to keep a close eye on the R&D activities of UK companies, and maintain and improve their efforts to support UK R&D. "
David Kingham concluded, "We endorse the R&D Scoreboard as a useful tool to enable companies to benchmark their R&D efforts with their peers. Investment in R&D is necessary for the long-term growth of many companies, and now is not the time for the Government to be distracted by short term financial difficulties at the expense of long-term, R&D-based improvements."
Update 27 January 2009: Coverage in Research Fortnight, ScienceBusiness, and The Engineer.
Tuesday, 2 October 2007
Events: Chinese and Japanese Innovation, 2 and 3 October 2007
Two events from the Asia Pacific Technology Network:
- How Chinese Cost Innovation Is Disrupting Global Competition, London: 2 October 2007
Professor Peter Williamson, (Judge Institute of Management Studies, Cambridge) argues that the most innovative Chinese companies are leveraging their cheap-labour advantage, and Western companies which decide to re-focus on high-margin, specialist sectors are leaving themselves open to attack. John Frieslaar, Consultant - CTO Office Huawei Technologies (UK) Co will comment from the perspective of one of the companies under discusion. - Industry-Academia Collaboration in Japan : The Search for Innovation, London: 3 October 2007, with Dr Katsuhiko Yamashita, Chief Fellow, Corporate Technology Planning Division, Toshiba, Professor Sandro Macchietto, Professor of Process Systems Engineering at Imperial College London and founder of Process Systems Enterprise Ltd
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