Research

Written by Malcolm Bruce MP and published in Science Parliamentary Monitor on Wed 7th Jul 2004

At the heart of a successful economy is a belief that performance today matters only as much as what is invested for tomorrow.

In a world where the shelf-life of a product is short and the thirst of consumers for 'even better' is unquenchable an economy that continues to develop, nurture and efficiently takes to the market new ideas will undoubtedly succeed. Economies which sit on their laurels enjoying today's success will be punished as they struggle to compete; this manifests itself as the more talented are lured away and inward investment from business that need to 'feed off' a formidable innovative base take their money to faraway shores.

Before proceeding it is also important to recognise that public goods (e.g. health or education products) in a world hungry for life enhancing improvements can be as valuable as purely commercial private commodities

It is wrong to say that total responsibility for encouraging and creating the culture where research and innovation are rightfully placed at the 'top table' of both the public and private sectors lies with the Government. However it is certainly the Government's role to create an environment where innovation thrives and the importance attached to research and continual improvement in the UK is recognised globally.

Within its March 2004 consultation document proposing a Ten Year Investment Framework for public and private sector investment in Science and Innovation the Government acknowledged that investment by UK business in Research and Development was well below that made by US, Germany and Japan. Indeed the Government has set itself a target that by 2010 approaching 3% of GDP will be invested in Research and Development by private and public organisations. This is an extremely ambitious target as the UK (at 1.9%) is also below the average GDP spend on this activity in comparison to the EU average.

Businesses have competitive forces exerted such that they have to remain at the forefront of innovation and therefore they gravitate to locations that provide the infrastructure, particularly human capital, to remain ahead of the game. In an era where global mobility is no longer an obstacle a lack of investment in this area can be fatal for established economies.

Therefore at a basic level the Government needs to ensure that all school/university students are trained in ICT skills. This will require increased funding, over and above existing levels to provide the resources to deliver this fundamental requirement. Undergraduates should be actively encouraged to work within industry and should be granted credit for gaining such experience. It is also important that University academics have a right to secondment opportunities such that they constantly remain alive to the needs of industry. Countries such as India have shown the benefits of a workforce that are in tune, and comfortable, with technological advancement.

Government is using tax credits as a mechanism to stimulate R&D activity - however any such measure is likely to have a short term impact as business, as a matter of routine, factors such 'breaks' into its budget. Such encouragement needs to be supplemented by reinforcing the importance to business of placing a continued emphasis on R&D and training within an organisation. Government should therefore experiment with two-tier boards for industry with the 'supervisory' level responsible for overseeing R&D and training within a firm.

Another area that a country can set itself apart is the ability, or inability, of business to leverage off from a strong academic base. For a country whose achievements include more Nobel prize winners for Science than any other, apart from the US, the Government's acceptance that UK business lags behind competitor economies in innovation, demonstrates that the link between the academic and business communities needs to be significantly improved. The Government invests several billion pounds per annum in academic research, as does the private sector. However much of this effort is in isolation and does not take advantage of pooling the resources that not only adds efficiency but would also render greater volumes of research more relevant to industry. I believe that the establishment of Regional Technology Transfer Centres would be an important step in the right direction allowing Universities, local business and Government laboratories to work together, exchange best practice and reduce the time taken to economically realise the benefits of innovation.

The Government will undoubtedly continue to invest increasing amounts in Research; however it is not a question of throwing money indiscriminately and hoping that it will make the UK more innovative. It is more about developing an environment that delivers real returns on investment by making sure that the basics have been properly addressed.