Witthaya Prasongsin/Getty Images
To ensure the continued excellence of the UK’s research and innovation (R&I) base, the existence and continuity of funding is key for translating research and driving innovation.
Additionally, numerous interacting conditions are required, such as the existence of knowledge, talent and capital; infrastructure and the formation of networks; and institutional culture and internal structures that shape the environment in which translation and innovation take place. However, there is no ‘magic formula’ for these conditions to be implemented.
As the UK government works towards its commitment to increase investment in research and development to 2.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2027, there is a need for better evidence to inform decisions about how and where that investment is made.
In light of this, the National Academies have recognised the need to better understand the range of benefits that research and innovation (R&I) bring to the UK, and the conditions needed to ensure the continued excellence of the UK’s R&I base.
RAND Europe was commissioned by the National Academies to examine the evidence on the conditions needed to translate research and drive innovation. The researchers’ goal was to provide an overview of the existing evidence in the following areas:
This study was based on a rapid evidence assessment of the existing literature on the conditions that support translation and innovation in the UK economy. The literature review drew on evidence from four distinct sectors: pharmaceutical and life sciences, defence, financial technology and creative economy. The sectors were chosen because they each make important economic and social contributions to the UK in different ways. To complement the literature review, the researchers conducted an expert workshop and interviewed ten key sector experts.
For research to be developed into innovations that can deliver benefits to society there needs to be an effective research translation and innovation system in place. Essential conditions for this process include:
Each of these conditions is required in different forms across the innovation pathway. For example knowledge, talent and capital are necessary at all stages, however their interaction through enablers such as networks and infrastructure is particularly important. Likewise, cultures and associated institutional structures can have an impact on innovation at all stages, and affect how widespread its adoption is.
Not all interventions are evaluated, while those that are often use metrics that focus on the economic impacts of the intervention, rather than measuring broader social outcomes. This makes it hard to determine whether interventions have been effective, since evaluations are not capturing the full diversity of benefits from innovation.
Funding and continuity of funding is important for the translation of research and innovation, the absence of which can prove to be a barrier. Access to capital is often most challenging during the middle stages of the translation pathway, which tend to present more risk for private investors, such as venture capitalists. There are also relatively few demand-driven measures to stimulate innovation, such as public procurement policies or innovation inducement prizes.
