The UK Government's budget preview was an excuse to flood the place with a torrent of papers on science, engineering and technology.
SET and the City: Financing Wealth Creation from Science, Engineering and Technology is the descriptive if clunky title of a report from a bunch of eminent people from the world of science, engineering and technology (SET). We first read about this in a press release on the web site of The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) which has an easily digestible account of the report's recommendations.
The report continues a long running campaign in the RAE and elsewhere to throw the spotlight on the issue of funding for technology ventures. It may be the same old story, the Americans do it better, but there's no harm in that. At least the report has some specific targets in its sites. For example, the people behind the report say that they are:
concerned that in 2004, US pension funds were a larger source for UK venture capital and private equity than their UK counterparts. This is related to the active role US pension funds play in funding their domestic venture capital industry, in sharp contrast to UK pension funds.
This document was the first of a number that set out to support, or to influence, Gordon Brown, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, in what is widely reckoned to be his last "pre-budget statement" before he is crowned prime minister next year. Gordon has pushed science spending in a big way. But he also wants evidence that he isn't pouring taxpayers' money into a black hole from which nothing but academic papers escapes.
Another document that sets out to prove that research really does deliver economic benefits comes from the Office of Science and Innovation. The OSI has assembled a fat volume of case studies Making the most of UK Research, taken mostly from universities, that hopes to convince the Treasury that investing in R&D gives better returns than cutting taxes. Look out for more of this sort of thing as the OSI tries to hammer home the message in its bid to sustain spending on research in the next government spending review.
Reformist approach to medical research
One of the people behind SET and the City , Sir David Cooksey, Chairman of Advent Venture Partners, and a general "grand old man" on technology investment, has his own report in the pre-budget splurge. Sir David added to the paper mountain with his review of the institutional arrangements for the public funding of health research in the UK. The accompanying press release tells us that: "The review argues that considerable progress has been made in some areas, notably NHS R&D, in the last few years and sets out recommendations to ensure that publicly funded health research is carried out in the most effective and efficient way, facilitating rapid translation of research findings into health and economic benefits."
The report itself, A review of UK health research funding, is over on the Treasury's web site, where there is also an invitation to respond.
The review came about after the Government made an earlier announcement that it would put spending on medical research under one umbrella, bring together what the Medical Research Council gets up to and research that happens within the budget of the National Health Service.
It is hard to believe that it is only in the past decade or so that the NHS has started to think collectively about its role as the country's biggest single consumer of science. The NHS is great at taking money intended for one purpose and using it for something completely different. Now the challenge is to ensure that money sent in its direction for research does not end up paying for more consultants – business that is rather than medical.
In the introduction to his document, Sir David writes: "This Review sets out to propose a structure for the funding arrangements for the whole spectrum of health research, with the objective of obtaining the maximum benefit from research success and, where possible, eliminating duplication of effort."
Going all intellectual
A further addition to the pre-budget paper chase with a SET tinge comes in the shape of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property. This too turned up on the Treasury web site. There the press release on the document tells us that:
"Whilst the Review concludes that the UK has a fundamentally strong IP system, it sets out important targeted reforms. The reforms aim to:
- strengthen enforcement of IP rights to protect the UK's creative industries from piracy and counterfeiting;
- provide additional support for British businesses using IP in the UK and abroad; and
One of the issues that Gowers raises is the cost of protecting IPR, especially for smaller companies. To help to tame these expenses, the review recommends:
better provision of IP information to UK businesses at home and abroad. This will extend from greater information provided to firms on how to use IP strategically when they register at Companies House, through stronger support and better information via the Business Link network, to expert advice provided by UK Trade and Investment and the Patent Office for UK firms abroad
The review may not appeal to Cliff Richard and his mates, who want their copyright on their dire warblings to outlive them, but if one result really is to cut the costs for the people who have to put a more more time into their efforts than a few hours in a recording studio, then smaller businesses may well break out in song.
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