INNOVATION AND GROWTH SPECIAL SECTION

Spring 2013

by Alan Langlands

In these turbulent economic times, many countries are trying to decide how to extract the greatest value from public investments in research and innovation. Public authorities have to balance funding research driven by curiosity and financing projects designed to tackle real problems. The UK addresses this problem through a twin-track approach to funding research.

The four UK funding bodies, which include the HEFCE as the biggest single research funder in the UK, provide block grants for universities to support their research infrastructure and enable them to conduct ground-breaking research. The second part of the system provides grants for specific programmes and projects. This dual system allows universities to make their own strategic decisions about how to build on their strengths, how to collaborate with global partners, and how to stimulate new or emerging fields of research.

Manchester University is a good example of the global impact such autonomous decision-making can have. Using a block grant from the HEFCE, the university recruited two scientists, Andre Geim and Konstatin Novoselov, who went on to win the 2010 Nobel Prize for their research on graphene. Since then, their work has developed into a national research programme, drawing in substantial additional funding and stimulating further international collaboration.

Another key element of Britain’s policy on research funding is partnership between the state and the private and charity sectors. The government recently invested £300m in the UK Research Investment Partnership Fund, which will attract an additional £700m in matched funding from businesses, charities and universities, adding up to £1bn to develop research facilities within Britain’s universities. The aim is to stimulate innovation and contribute to economic growth through partnerships with research users. New science and engineering facilities will be built for research into areas such as the life sciences, energy efficiency and advanced manufacturing. This provides a platform for developing new knowledge and also supports economic, social and health needs