Research Councils UK. Innovation and the Research Councils

Transcription

1 Research Councils UK Innovation and the Research Councils

2 02 Innovation and the Research Councils Research Councils UK is the strategic partnership of the UK s Research Councils. We invest annually around 3 billion in research. We nurture the highest quality research, as judged by international peer review providing the UK with a competitive advantage. Global research requires we sustain a diversity of funding approaches, fostering international collaborations, and providing access to the best facilities and infrastructure, and locating skilled researchers in stimulating environments. Our research achieves impact the demonstrable contribution to society and the economy made by knowledge and skilled people. To deliver impact, researchers and funders need to engage and collaborate with the public, business, government and the third sector. The seven UK Research Councils are: Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Medical Research Council (MRC) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

3 Innovation and the Research Councils Contents Summary 02 RCUK and Innovation 03 Partners in Innovation 04 Knowledge in Innovation 06 Knowledge Infrastructure in Innovation 07 Stimulating Innovation Through Infrastructure 08 Case Studies 09

4 02 Innovation and the Research Councils The role of the Research Councils in the UK Innovation System Summary Innovation is the application of knowledge or ideas for the development of products, services or processes whether in business, the public services, or non-profit sectors. The UK innovation system is multi-faceted, with a wide variety of actors, both publicly and privately funded. RCUK and the Research Councils play a vital role in it through investment in knowledge creation and its translation to application. We contribute to innovation in partnership with many others, in particular universities, the TSB, the funding councils, business and government departments. We take a variety of approaches to supporting innovation and delivering impact from research. Significant activities include training of skilled people and supporting their movement within the economy, development of collaborative research programmes, investment in major research capabilities, and support of impact-related capabilities such as Innovation and Knowledge Centres and Research and Innovation Campuses. Our role is recognised by government, partners and users as being essential to innovation in the UK.

5 03 RCUK and Innovation RCUK, and the individual Research Councils, have a vital role within the UK innovation system. We invest in knowledge creation in universities and research institutes; support knowledge translation to business, policy and wider society; and enable knowledge generation, innovation and impact through our policies and delivery mechanisms. Through investment in research careers and postgraduate training we ensure that the UK has world class skills for both business and academia. In particular all Research Councils seek to ensure that the outputs and outcomes of their funded research have significant short- and long-term benefits for the economy and society. RCUK recognises that impact the measurable positive difference achieved from the outputs and outcomes of research takes many forms, and therefore is achieved through many different routes. These can involve a wide range of partners such as: business and industry including attraction of overseas investors; government at all levels; charitable and voluntary organisations; and the public itself. Alongside the opportunities afforded by these partners in their own right, the Research Councils support a variety of approaches to enabling research outputs and outcomes to achieve impact, including through the skilled people we support. These partnerships and initiatives seek to ensure that the Research Councils make a wide and valuable contribution to the UK innovation ecosystem. The approaches adopted by the Research Councils to supporting and delivering innovation reflect the nature of the opportunities offered by the research outputs and outcomes as well as: The research mission of the Council The nature of the user sectors and the needs of users The ways in which Councils invest, including the centres of excellence they focus on, which reflects the differences and similarities between individual Councils.

6 04 Innovation and the Research Councils Partners in Innovation Research Councils work with a wide variety of partners in the UK innovation system. There are some key groups and organisations that are particularly important to us including: Universities and research institutes the research base: are principal partners in our investment in research to deliver impact and innovation. We work with them to support long-term and short term fundamental and pre-competitive research. We also support, influence and encourage their approaches to knowledge exchange and the translation of their research into practice. Business and industry: we work with business and industry in order to support their engagement with the research base thereby enhancing their innovation potential. In addition, we ensure that the needs of business and industry are reflected in our forward strategies, including training and research translation. Research Councils also develop strategic relationships with companies and industry sectors, enabling us to build aligned and complementary R&D programmes and enabling a dialogue that influences all parties, to the benefit of business, the Research Councils and the UK. The Technology Strategy Board (TSB): is an essential partner for the Research Councils. We have distinctive and complementary roles. In particular we work with the TSB to enable the research base to engage with the TSB in its primary aim of accelerating economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation in particular through adoption and response to technology developments and opportunities. The UK Funding Councils: are essential partners with the Research Councils in delivering the dual support system for research funding in the UK universities, which combines relatively stable, underpinning research support based on overall quality and impact, with more selective and strategic Research Council funding for high quality research programmes, projects and centres of excellence. The dual nature of the UK research funding system is one of the acknowledged strengths of the UK research and innovation infrastructure. Government departments: as key policy-making organisations and providers of public services, government at all levels seek evidence to inform policy development and improve front line delivery. Research Councils work to facilitate access to evidence from the research base, in a form that is useful and timely to policy and delivery. They help translate the needs of government into research programmes which address the key strategic problems. This can be through the Cross Council Programmes, such as Global Uncertainties; Living with Environmental Change; or Lifelong Health and Wellbeing, or through partnership working and co-funding. This helps policy departments tap into UK expertise to provide innovative solutions to policy problems.

7 05

8 06 Innovation and the Research Councils Knowledge in Innovation Knowledge, its creation, sharing and translation into application, is a central component of innovation. Individuals and organisations learn new things from existing knowledge, and apply this to achieve innovation and business transformation, be it through new products and services, improved processes and practices. Research Councils, through collaboration and cooperation with our various partners, invest in the creation, translation and application of both the generic knowledge base, relevant across many businesses and industrial sectors, and industry-level knowledge bases that have a focus on knowledge shared by all businesses within an industry or sector. Major approaches to ensuring that generic, underpinning knowledge and industry-specific knowledge is absorbed by users include: Recognising that people are the single best way of moving and sharing knowledge. We therefore Train people, at every level, with the needs of users in mind, Support the movement and exchange of people, in particular with a focus on movement between users and the research base, Supporting and influencing the development of appropriate knowledge exchange approaches within universities, major research centres and institutes, Developing research and translation programmes in conjunction with users, such as the EPSRC strategic partnerships and the Research Technology Clubs, Working with TSB, universities, the Funding Councils and other partners to develop approaches to accelerating the outcomes of research to application, for example the Biomedical Catalyst, Innovation and Knowledge Centres, Follow-on Funds, the Rainbow Seed Fund.

9 07 Research Infrastructure in Innovation The UK innovation eco-system is complex and non-linear, and includes a variety of actors and capabilities that have benefitted from long-term investment from the public sector. The Research Councils provide, directly or indirectly, a variety of significant and important components of the system. These include: National research facilities such as ISIS, Diamond, the Pirbright Institute Research Institutes and major research centres such as the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge, the NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the EPSRC Centres for Innovative Manufacturing, the John Innes Centre, Major data sets, collections and public participation in resources such as BioBank, birth cohort studies, as well as geological and hydrological data Research and Innovation Campuses, such as those at Babraham (Cambridge), Daresbury, Harwell and Norwich Centres embedded within universities that bring together research and business activities such as Innovation and Knowledge Centres (IKCs) The supply of highly trained researchers, equipped to contribute to the wider economy as well as for on-going research. Some of these components of the innovation system are supported by Research Councils in partnership with other organisations: for example BioBank (with the Wellcome Trust), the IKCs (with TSB), Diamond (with the Wellcome Trust). Whether in partnership or not, a distinguishing feature of all of these capabilities is long-term Research Council commitment to influence the capability on behalf of the UK. This is delivered through leadership and substantial investment so as to ensure that the capability is developed to the benefit of the UK, contributing to national strategy and impact in research and innovation. Research Councils focus on excellence in all of their investment and funding activities, and thus do not have a direct regional agenda. However, the focus on excellence in research and impact assists in driving up standards in research in those associated with, and co-located with organisations and activities in receipt of RCUK-funding.

10 08 Innovation and the Research Councils Stimulating innovation through infrastructure: the research and innovation campuses Within the RCUK contribution to the UK innovation system, the research and innovation campuses represent both a particular achievement and opportunity for delivering impact. These are substantial campuses based around major, internationally leading and long-term investments in research capability, developed and sponsored by a Research Council, such as the STFC Harwell facilities, or the BBSRC supported Babraham Institute, with significant business and commercial activity on site, in part attracted by the research capabilities at the campus. Research Council commitment in these campuses includes investment to support impact from research, through ensuring that there is: Excellent access for users to research-led facilities and capabilities Appropriate and sufficient infrastructure to support business presence and use of research and other facilities Very early stage company incubation Amenity provision (catering, business interaction space, landscaping and social facilities etc) that enhance the attractiveness of the location to users. Through these and other investment in the research and innovation campuses, RCUK seeks to ensure that there is immediate and long-term impact from research. In particular this is achieved through, for example: Advances in specialist facilities design and the creation of jobs in construction Creation and support of high value jobs Spill-over effects in job creation and economic activity. Research and innovation campuses are just one of the many routes through which RCUK delivers impact and innovation from research for the UK.

11 09 In the complex innovation system of the UK, Research Councils have a vital role individually, together and working with a wide variety of other partners. Building partnerships, investing in the creation, application and sharing of knowledge, support of significant innovation infrastructure, are amongst the major contribution that the Research Councils can make. This is made both as individual and distinctive organisations, but also as the collective RCUK. The following case studies demonstrate this innovation in action. Case studies: Innovation in Action

12 10 Innovation and the Research Councils From creative innovation to new products Researchers funded by the AHRC work with business to generate innovative ideas with real-world applications and commercial potential. Researchers at the University of the West of England working with Denby Potteries have developed new methods of creating ceramics using 3D printing technology. Through this method, ceramics are built up layer by layer using a speciallycreated and now patented ceramic powder. They are then fired and glazed in the usual way. Printing ceramics in this way means that highly intricate ceramics can be created much more easily than by traditional methods, opening up commercial potential through quicker manufacturing processes and new design options. Gary Hawley, Senior Designer at Denby, praised the partnership between his company and researchers, saying that the new process is pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

13 11 Conformetrix Spin-out company Conformetrix, created by a University of Manchester researcher with funding from BBSRC, is helping pharmaceutical companies speed up their drug discovery pipeline and identify potential new drugs. Drug discovery is expensive and time-consuming. The platform technology developed by Dr Andrew Almond and Dr Charles Blundell at the University of Manchester collects and uses Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) data in a novel way to study small molecules in solution, making the process of drug discovery faster, more accurate and, as a result, cheaper. The development of the technology into a commercial product was supported throughout by several complementary BBSRC funding mechanisms, beginning with a David Phillips Fellowship. Towards the end of the fellowship we made a discovery in the lab that we realised could be used for looking at drug molecule shapes. We realised that was going to have a big impact on the pharma industry, says Almond. Almond patented the process, produced analytical software and established Conformetrix to develop and market it to pharmaceutical companies. This was followed by two Follow-on Funding grants to refine the technology, and an Enterprise Fellowship. The Enterprise Fellowship allowed Almond the time to commercialise the technology. The main idea of the Enterprise Fellowship was to look at the commercial angle, to think about the best way to commercialise the technology, and also to get it ready for investment. He says. At the end of the Enterprise Fellowship I d managed to raise venture capital funding to get the company off the ground. The main idea of the Enterprise Fellowship was to look at the commercial angle, to think about the best way to commercialise the technology. Dr Andrew Almond Almond s company, Conformetrix, has recently signed a research collaboration agreement with global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to use Almond s technology across their pre-clinical drug discovery programme. Conformetrix has also worked with other pharmaceutical companies from around the world.

14 12 Innovation and the Research Councils Partners of choice In 2011 EPSRC was named Partner of Choice by the world s largest consumer products company, Procter and Gamble. The award is in recognition of EPSRC s globally best-in-class support by a government body. Around 40 per cent of EPSRC s portfolio is collaborative with industry and other users of the research it sponsors. Much of this research has the potential to be turned into new products or processes, and EPSRC has enjoyed a strong strategic partnership with Procter & Gamble since 2006, co-investing in a range of strategically important areas of science and technology. Over half of Procter & Gamble s product initiatives involve significant collaboration with outside innovators, and the company s strategic partnership with EPSRC has helped push the boundaries of how it can engage with top-class industrially relevant research. It has also has increased the company s understanding of the UK research landscape, supporting projects in areas such as botanical extracts and co-developing solutions for effective cleaning of clothes using cold water. The relationship between EPSRC and P&G has also led to important joint training initiatives for UK doctoral students and has fostered partnerships in two Centres for Doctoral Training. istockfoto

15 13 Adding value to the Oil and Gas sector NERC s British Geological Survey (BGS) in partnership with the oilfield services company, Halliburton, has gained a longstanding commercial income from Interpolation In-Field Referencing (IIFR) service first developed and patented in the 1990s. It is now a standard technology used in oil and gas exploration, extending the longevity of mature fields, maximising the recovery of reserves and helping to manage environmental impacts. BGS has also for many years provided a value added service to Shell, Total, Statoil, Schlumberger, Chevron and BP in the form of annual updates to the global geomagnetic model, enabling accurate directional drilling. BGS estimate the cumulative value added by all in-field referencing services over the past 15 years to be of the order of 500m. In addition, such services were used to accurately drill a second borehole down to relieve pressure during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

16 14 Innovation and the Research Councils Driving costs out of the food supply chain A study led by Bangor University has helped major UK retailers to go green, reduce supply chain costs and explain their sourcing choices to consumers. The environmental, community and nutritional impacts of sourcing fruit and vegetables at home or from abroad were compared, taking a holistic view on the entire lifecycle for each product. The analysis showed that local fruit and vegetables are not necessarily less carbon intensive than those grown further away (eg heated greenhouses versus in season in Africa). The results of this Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) project, jointly supported by ESRC, NERC and BBSRC, were presented to technical directors at Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury s, the Co-operative Group, Morrisons and Waitrose, changing their thinking about their supply chains. It specifically helped Marks & Spencer justify its decision to source produce from Africa rather than Europe. David Gregory, formerly Technical Director at Marks & Spencer Foods, noted: At the time, Defra, parliamentarians and the press were backing local over imported food because of its lower food miles. What this particular research did was to provide scientific evidence that showed the issue was broader, and that the whole lifecycle of food had to be taken into account. It showed that a holistic approach was essential in assessing all the impacts: on the environment, health, employment and business. The RELU project was thus a useful element in a range of information we used to develop a more thorough weighing up of our options. The research provided scientific evidence showing that a holistic approach was essential in assessing all impacts on the environment, health, employment and business. David Gregory Former Technical Director, Marks & Spencer Foods

17 15 Driving international collaboration for increased investment in the UK RCUK does not just focus on the UK innovation eco-system but also how the UK can be a leading part of the global innovation eco-system. By ensuring that the people we invest in have world-leading skills and by investing in world-class facilities and infrastructure we are ensuring that the UK is seen as a competitive place to invest in and collaborate with. Our investments in UK research alongside our cutting edge Research and Innovation campuses are also ensuring that the UK is an attractive place to locate global businesses. To maintain the UK s global research position we offer a diverse range of funding opportunities, foster international collaborations and provide access to the best facilities and infrastructure around the world. Our teams located in China, India and the US work to bring together the best researchers to develop high quality, high impact research partnership. For example, since RCUK India opened in 2008, the value of co-funded research partnerships between organisations in the UK and India has gone from less than 1 million to over 100 million and is still rising. Because of this joint investment global issues are being addressed through ground breaking research including areas such as renewable and other forms of energy, food security, climate change, water management, advanced engineering. These are key areas to the future prosperity of both countries.

18 16 Innovation and the Research Councils Advanced Training through Partnership BBSRC Advanced Training Partnerships (ATPs) provide postgraduate level professional development in the area of agriculture and food production for a large number of industry specialists across the UK. Scientific and technical staff working in the UK s agri-food sectors will be supported to develop the skills necessary to ensure the UK continues to make significant contributions towards national and global food security. Around 100 individuals will undertake Professional Doctorates under these schemes and several thousand Masters Level CPD modules will be undertaken, with many students building up to a full Master qualification. For example, the ATP for Sustainable and Efficient Food Production is in discussion with one of the large probiotic companies working in the UK to run a module on ruminant gut microbiology for both their own sales force and for customers in the feed compounding industry. The module driven by research on-going at Aberystwyth will explore the anatomy and environmental conditions of the rumen, covering the negatives and positives of rumen digestion on productivity. This innovative scheme has been created in response to a clear need from industry and will help the agri-food sector engage with cutting edge research related to food security. istockfoto

19 17 Efficiency drive Innovative Manufacturing Research Centres (IMRCs) were established in 2001 to provide a focus for EPSRC investment in innovative manufacturing. The programme has created over 1,300 doctoral level manufacturing engineers. It has also created 160 new jobs, safeguarded a further 230 jobs and brought 20 new technologies to market. For example, 3D computer software that can create and test automation systems before they re even built is set to save manufacturers millions of pounds, while increasing their competitiveness. The software, which builds up a virtual representation of the automated system, allowing engineers to get their fingers dirty in 3D, was developed by an EPSRC-supported team at the EPSRC Innovative Manufacturing and Construction Research Centre (IMCRC) at Loughborough University. The tool is aimed at helping manufacturers save money, increase efficiency, improve prototype safety and accelerate the process of getting their products to market. Software developed as part of the Business Driven Automation (BDA) project, a collaboration between the IMCRC, Ford Motor Company, ThyssenKrupp Krause System Engineering GmbH and Schneider Electric gives a quick, accurate, virtual 3D prototype view of assembly machine behaviour before the machines are physically built. The system was piloted for use in the virtual build of Ford engine assembly line stations; it was also trialled with Airbus for aerospace manufacturing systems. Such new manufacturing capability is seen as vital in the transforming powertrain industry which will be worth an estimated 460 billion by 2030.

20 18 Innovation and the Research Councils Helping to support UK business The Science and Technology Facilities Council operates several world class research facilities in the UK and provides access to others abroad. UK industry makes use of these facilities to develop their products and processes. Our synchrotron and neutron facilities form a critical part of R&D in industry for companies ranging in size from FTSE 100 multinational organisations to SMEs, underpinning the product development of many economically critical industrial sectors such as aerospace, energy and pharmaceuticals. This is a unique offering to the UK s industrial community because these facilities are beyond the financial reach of any one company or university. Diamond Light Source is the UK s national synchrotron facility operated by STFC in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust and is located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. An example of the industrial usage of Diamond involves Heptares, a Herfordshire-based biotechnology SME, who solved the structure of a protein involved in Parkinson s disease and other neurological disorders. The team used Diamond to show how drugs such as caffeine bind to their target. Their findings, published in the journal Structure, could pave the way for a new generation of targeted drug treatments. Dr Fiona Marshall, Chief Scientific Officer at Heptares, explains the structural data we collected at Diamond is enabling us to develop highly optimised next-generation drug candidates for Parkinson s disease and other neurological disorders. This is a unique offering to the UK s industrial community because these facilities are beyond the financial reach of any one company or university. Above right: An aerial photo of the Diamond Light Source

21 19 Innovative data Long-running surveys, funded by the ESRC and the MRC, such as Understanding Society, the Millennium Cohort Study and the new Life Study provide invaluable data for research when it comes to tracking changes in a population over time. For instance, the Understanding Society household survey collects general health data as well as physical measurements and blood sampling from a smaller sample of participants. This information enables researchers and companies to explore the links between biology and behaviour in much more detail. As well as increasing the understanding of diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity or Alzheimer s, the survey data can provide unprecedented opportunities on immediate and pressing issues around ageing, lifelong health and wellbeing in turn leading to innovations in health provision and policies. Another area where longitudinal survey data can support crucial research and innovative interventions is social mobility. The data can help identify the drivers of socio-economic inequality by revealing the links between family background, a child s educational achievements and later outcomes. The Department for Education s Review of Vocational Education (2011) drew on research evidence including data from the 1958, 1970 and 1991 birth cohort studies in order to examine issues such as the development in young people s access to the labour market, educational participation and attainment, the amount of available jobs and apprenticeships, and young peoples aspirations and experiences.

22 20 Innovation and the Research Councils Norwich Research Park Norwich Research Park (NRP) is a major UK asset. It has internationally recognised research expertise and facilities which focus on the biosciences to realise opportunities to grow the bio-economy whilst addressing global challenges such as sustainable food, healthy ageing and renewable energy. The commitment of the NRP partners (BBSRC, University of East Anglia, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, John Innes Foundation, John Innes Centre, Institute of Food Research, The Genome Analysis Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory) is to jointly develop the whole of the current Norwich campus as a UK Research and Innovation Campus, in order to maximise the potential available from the existing world-class research base and associated capabilities, provide a strong and vibrant platform for growth, and to deliver impact for the benefit of society and the UK economy. The plan is to generate 2800 new, high value added jobs on the NRP by 2026 and that these, in turn, will generate a further 2000 jobs in the wider community. The 26m investment project delivers the first building blocks for the delivery of this long-term vision, and has also already leveraged an additional 12m of funding for the NRP Enterprise Centre, 2m in IT infrastructure funding, and a major investment by a private developer in bringing forward an additional 70 acres of land which is being integrated through a public private partnership to form part of the greater NRP. The plan is to generate 2800 new, high value added jobs on the NRP by 2026 and these, in turn, will generate a further 2000 jobs in the wider community.

23 21 Delivering impact through the Science and Innovation Campuses STFC is a major partner in delivering the two National Science and Innovation Campuses, Sci-Tech Daresbury in Cheshire and Harwell Oxford in Oxfordshire. In 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that both Campuses were to become Enterprise Zones. Companies within the Enterprise Zones enjoy lower taxes, less stringent planning restrictions and access to superfast broadband. Both Campuses are world-class hubs for science, technology and business, providing a unique environment for innovation and business growth. The proximity to STFC s facilities and expertise, together with the provision of first-rate accommodation and business support services, has proved to be a compelling combination, attracting spin-outs, SMEs and large blue chip industries alike. Sci-Tech Daresbury has been in operation since 2006 and over 100 companies are based there, employing 437 people, of which 72% are educated to bachelor degree or above. Despite the challenging economic climate the success of the Campus continues, with low failure rates, strong growth, high-value job creation, high levels of collaboration and strong innovation performance. In addition to the The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt. Hon George Osborne MP visiting Sci-Tech Daresbury in February 2013, to announce a 30 million investment into the Campus 62 high tech jobs which have been created since its inception, companies located on the campus see an average sales growth of 37% per year, have attracted 75 million investment and have developed 125 new products. The Campus management team are exploring opportunities to build on these successes. These include the development of collaboration programmes with blue chip companies such as IBM and Siemens, and further work with UKTI to boost export sales.

24 Research Councils UK Polaris House, North Star Avenue Swindon, Wiltshire SN2 1ET United Kingdom