Research Councils UK
Innovation
and the
Research
Councils
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)
Contents
Innovation
and the
Research
Councils
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
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.
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.
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.
05
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.
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.
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.
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
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”.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.”
Above right: An aerial photo of the Diamond Light Source
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.
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.
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.
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.
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