Axe poised over UK R&D budget

Rather than cutting across the board, the government intends to set out strategic priorities to channel R&D spending to areas of basic science where the UK has a reputation for excellence and focus on increasing technology transfer and innovation.

This was confirmed yesterday (September 8) by Vince Cable, Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills in his first speech on science, research and innovation since the formation of the UK’s coalition government in May.

The government’s commitment to science and technology should not be measured by the amount it spends on it, Cable said. “Money is important both for quality and quantity. But it is an input, not an output, measure. The question I have to address is can we achieve more with less?”

In future funding will be rationed by excellence, and mediocre teams will be screened out – regardless of where they are and what they do. The last time the quality of UK research was independently assessed, 54 per cent was defined as world class. “That is the area where funding should be concentrated,” Cable said.

While the government will set out strategic priorities, the choice of which specific projects to fund will remain subject to peer review and at arms length from government.

But the central question for the future of government spending on science is how far policy should be driven by economic impact, Cable said. The old debate about common room versus board room is “tiresome and unproductive”. The UK needs a wide spectrum of research activity, but it is reasonable to ask the question, “How does government spending in scientific research contribute to the economy?”

Although countries including Spain and Ireland that have been hardest hit by recession have cut R&D budgets, in the main governments elsewhere have made R&D spending a key element of economic stimulus packages. So the US is doubling basic science spend between 2006 and 2016, China has seen a 25 per cent increase in central government funding for R&D, Sweden, will increase central government funding for R&D by over 10 per cent between 2009 and 2012. And in 2009, Germany announced it was injecting €18 billion into research and higher education during the coming decade.

But while he acknowledged this, Cable noted that while the 2010 OECD Innovation report said cutting back investment in research will damage the foundations of long term growth, the report also said there is scope to improve the efficiency of government spending on R&D. The way to economise without damaging science is to specialise, Cable said.

Politicians and officials should not be the ones to make choices of where to specialise – in particular given the way in which disciplines interact. But there is a case for identifying broad problems, for example, ageing or climate change. There is also a case for focusing on areas where the UK has a lead, such as stem cells and regenerative medicine, plastic electronics, satellite communications, advanced manufacturing and composite materials.

Transforming research into innovation

Other reforms are needed to achieve more with less, Cable said. One requirement is to break down barriers to collaboration. “International collaboration is an important way for us to stay at the cutting edge of research whilst reducing the cost to the UK taxpayer,” Cable said.

It is critical is to find ways of transforming research into innovation. This will involve building stronger links between the UK’s science and research base and business, to create more spin-out companies and attract overseas investors. “The important point from a national economic perspective is that we continue to increase the level of economic interactions between business and the research base, including spin-outs, licensing, consultancy and commissioned research,” Cable said.

There will also be moves to encourage academics to collaborate with industry to commercialise their research. This will take place in business-driven high technology clusters with academic links. Currently, the UK has over 60 of these centres, and Cable said the government will drive this number down and establish well-funded centres with long-term vision, focused on areas of clear technical leadership and commercial promise.