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.

R&D Society events: Open Innovation afternoon seminar and keynote evening talk, 19 February 2008

On 19 February 2008, the R&D Society's events examine Open Innovation - what it is, and how it can benefit your business and the UK economy.

In the afternoon seminar, Perspectives on Open Innovation - New approaches to the management and exploitation of R&D, four speakers, chaired by Dr Andrew Mackintosh, will focus on Open Innovation and different organisational perspectives. Between them, Richard Halkett, Executive Director, Policy & Research Unit, NESTA, Dr Neil A MacGilp, Group Technical Director, SABMiller, Professor Colin Whitehouse, Deputy Chief Executive of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, Dr Treve Willis, Director of the Innovation Advisory Service South East will introduce the concepts of Open Innovation, explain the approaches being taken to successful open innovation, and discuss the important role that Open Innovation has to play in future innovation policy,

The seminar will be followed by an evening talk and discussion dinner on "Philips and the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven - Opening up corporate innovation" with Dr. Ronald M. Wolf, Senior Business Development Manager, Philips. He will discuss Philips' Open Innovation and internal venturing structures, which are widely considered to be world-class.

The meeting fee for the afternoon event is £25 for R&D Society members, or £50 for non-members, including refreshments. The meeting fee for R&D Society members is £20 for the event only; or £65 for the event and dinner. For non-members and guests the meeting fee is £40 for the event only, or £85 for the event and dinner. Book by completing the online form and follow with payment online or by post.

Funding: RCUK Business Plan Competition, cd 14 Sep 2007

The Research Councils UK (RCUK) Business Plan Competition provides researchers who have ideas with commercial potential the skills, knowledge and support needed to develop a first-rate business plan. This is provided through expert trainers, coaches and mentors.

The competition is open to researchers based in UK Higher Education Institutions or Public Sector Research Establishments that are eligible to hold Research Council grants from across the whole spectrum of academic research within the remit of the seven Research Councils – from the arts and biosciences, to environmental physical and social sciences to technology.

Postgraduates, postdocs and academic staff who have a business idea arising from research and want to develop this further are encouraged to participate. Prizes of up to £25,000 will be awarded to the business plans judged to have the best potential to help turn business ideas into reality. Closing date 14 September 2007.