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The Innovation Review: response from Research Councils UK

December 17, 2003

A government report examining the contribution that innovation makes to closing the nation's productivity gap has been welcomed by the UK's Research Councils.

The DTI's Innovation Review, published today, recognises that the UK's Research Councils have significantly increased the rate of knowledge transfer from their research activities in recent years.

The seven UK Research Councils and the Arts and Humanities Research Board manage a combined annual budget of £1,611 million. The formation last year of a knowledge transfer group under the umbrella partnership of Research Councils UK (RCUK) is enabling the Councils to review their contribution to knowledge transfer and to share best practice.

Director General of the Research Councils, John Taylor acknowledges that while the purpose of research is to extend knowledge and fill gaps in understanding, its benefits are only realised when knowledge gained is put to good use:

"The translation of research into new products, processes, services or business practices is critical to the UK economy. RCUK is producing its own knowledge transfer strategy next year to maximise opportunities for joint working with industry. We are also developing guidelines for best practice to be shared with the research community and will continue to run thriving entrepreneurial support schemes such as the RC Business Plan Competition and the Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES)," he commented.

Future interactions between the Research Councils and business will continue with strong research collaborations with industry and the movement of trained researchers from universities into industry. The Councils will build on out-reach schemes already in place such as the Economic and Social Research Council's Connect Club, which has more than 200 members drawn from government, business, non-governmental organisation and the voluntary sector.

However, the Councils are keen to emphasise that user bases for research can be broad. For Councils interacting with research intensive sectors such as pharmaceuticals and bioscience, there are clear mechanisms for knowledge transfer and more practically for technology transfer. For those addressing non-traditional sectors, the challenges are more complex:

"We believe we must find new ways to respond to industry where markets may be unconventional. For example, the Physics and Particle Astronomy Research Council is looking at responding to the drive from industry for a long-term approach in the UK to supply future research facilities such as satellites, synchrotrons, particle colliders and telescopes," Dr Taylor said.

"Knowledge transfer can be both an intentional and intrinsic feature of research or separate and serendipitous. The Research Councils' challenge is to ensure that it has the mechanisms in place, both through direct and indirect means, to ensure the exploitation and take-up of all kinds of research," he concluded.

Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)