universities and growth: the story so far; challenges ahead - mark holmes, deputy director,...
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Universities and Growth: The story so far; Challenges ahead - Mark Holmes, Deputy Director, Innovation, Infrastructure and Impact, BISTRANSCRIPT
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The story so far; the challenges ahead
UUK conference, 3 April 2014:The contribution of UK universities tonational and local economic growth
Mark HolmesDeputy Director, Innovation Infrastructure and Impact
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
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UK innovation performance has improved in recent years
In the Global Innovation Index, published annually, the UK ranks in 3rd place – highest in the G20 – and 2nd for university-business collaboration
12
10
8
6
4
2
02008/09 2009/10 2011 2012 2013
Wo
rld
Ran
kin
g
Overall rank University-business collaboration
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Impact of UK research includes impressive successes
• 80% reduction in the amount of water needed to grow a strawberry
• Developing the genetic stock of 80% of breeding chickens
• Reversing paralysis in dogs by transplanting stem cells from the nose into the spinal cord
• Creating technology used in 90% of smartphone chips worldwide
• Producing 40% of the world's small satellites
• Developing 14% of the top 100 medicines in use today, second only to the USA
• Attracting global investment: a higher percentage of UK R&D funding comes from overseas than in any other G8 country
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We get more bang for our buck: can we sustain that?
Gross Expenditure on R&D as a share of GDP
Finland
France
Germany
Japan
Korea
UK, 1.72%
United States
China
Russia
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.02000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
GE
RD
as
a p
erc
enta
ge o
f G
DP
5
4.60
4.80
5.00
5.20
5.40
5.60
5.80
Can we make more of our strengths?S
core
(sc
ale
of 1
to
7)
World Economic Forum – Global Competitiveness Index 2013/14
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Universities have a vital role – much wider than “impact”
…and today’s new UUK research illustrates the scale of universities’ wider impact on the economy and the knock-on benefits
through direct & indirect
expenditure in local economy
as providers of skills and skilled
workers
as attractors of inward
investment
by supporting student
entrepreneurship
by facilitating the innovation ecosystem
as suppliers of workforce
development services
through start-ups, incubation and
commercialisation
as suppliers of contract research
and knowledge services
through civic leadership
Universities as drivers of the
economy
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Andrew Witty believes better alignment can achieve more
Challenge:
• connect funding for research & application effectively
• preserve principle of funding excellence
• …and simplify funding landscape
Cutting-Edge Research Commercialisati
on
Exploitation
Comparative Advantage
Approach:
• Bring together the experts
• Learn from existing models
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Partnership between Universities and LEPs will be key
• LEPs have an increasingly important economic role in England– putting innovation at the heart of thinking in many areas
– developing multi-year Strategic Economic Plans
– directing significant public funds
• University Enterprise Zones will pilot a new approach:– encouraging universities, businesses and LEPs to intensify engagement
– helping to fund incubator and grow-on space
– attracting inward investment
• Universities are obvious partners to propose innovation projects for EU Structural & Investment Funds
– Expecting £660m of these funds to be spent on innovation in England
– Creative solutions needed on match funding
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Impact is about telling the story too
• Science & Innovation Strategy
– to be published at Autumn Statement
– Long-term science capital plans at centre
– Drawing strands together, e.g. Hauser review of Catapult network
– Strategic case for Government support for science and innovation
• REF impact case studies
– How can universities make the most of these valuable resources?
• Making the case for the system rather than the parts
Mark HolmesDeputy Director, Innovation Infrastructure & Impact
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
020 7215 5819