My Bit: How the UK is handling innovation
BYLINE: Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid
My article that appeared in netv@lue2.0 on Feb 26 elaborated on innovation best practices in the US. I would now like to highlight the situation in the UK.
The UK defines innovation as the successful exploitation of new ideas. It involves investment in new products, new processes or services and new ways of conducting businesses. It is the key to maintaining a competitive edge in an increasingly competitive global economy and is necessary to maintain economic growth and prosperity. Measures to develop the skills and creativity of the workforce have been identified as necessary prerequisites.
Focal department for driving innovation
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI ) of the UK is the focal point for driving innovation in government and encouraging industry to put innovation at the heart of all long-term economic plans.
According to the DTI, evidence has shown that businesses that continually create, evaluate and successfully exploit their new ideas are more likely to survive and prosper. Furthermore, the UK recognises that innovative businesses benefit the UK economy, delivering added value, high quality jobs, successful businesses, better products and services for customers, and new, more environmentally friendly processes.
It is within this context that the DTI is working to create the conditions for business success and help the UK respond to the challenge of globalisation.
Innovation report
An innovation report, "Competing in the Global Economy: the innovation challenge" was published in December 2003, after wide stakeholder consultation. This report sets out a clear strategy for improving innovation performance in the UK and outlines the following specific action plan involving all key stakeholders aimed at improving the UK's relative economic performance:
a. A technology strategy to concentrate government funding on key technologies identified through consultation with business and other stakeholders;
b. New procurement guidelines designed to make government a more "intelligent customer" by using its huge £125 billion (about RM855.5 billion) a year purchasing power to drive innovation through public procurement;
c. Tailored help for small businesses to innovate, including advice on intellectual property (IP) and design, with greater access to R&D grants, university research and public procurement opportunities;
d. Enhanced support and encouragement for women in entrepreneurial activities, by ensuring that every region has a network of targeted women's initiatives as part of their regional plans;
e. Steps to deliver and reinforce the skills strategy as a major contributor to improving levels of innovation and productivity;
f. Research councils to accelerate knowledge transfer and boost their interaction with business; and
g. A new regional focus on innovation - with every region to have a Science and Industry Council or equivalent; regional selective assistance to be redesigned to focus on creation of sustainable, high value-added jobs; regional companies to be given improved access to the national science base.
Technology strategy
The UK has a vision for the nation to achieve global leadership in innovation. The government has decided to pursue a strategy to focus on the areas where the UK has the greatest capacity to develop and exploit technology, harness research effectively and putting in place an ecosystem to ensure that the UK business is best placed to take advantage of market opportunities.
The strategy identified seven key technology areas which underpin the UK's economy:
* Advanced materials;
* Bioscience and healthcare;
* Design engineering and advanced manufacturing;
* Electronics and photonics;
* Emerging energy technologies;
* Information and communications technology (ICT); and
* Sustainable production and consumption.
Innovation in procurement
An interesting but strategic view adopted by the framework involves establishing innovation in procurement. The justification and urgency for this stems from the fact that the public sector (local and central government combined) purchased £125 billion worth of goods and services in 2002/03. The innovation report had challenged government to "think innovation" and to identify how to use its enormous purchasing power to deliver better value for money, better public services and, at the same time, stimulate innovation from businesses.
Ensuring availability of skills
Four specific programmes have been developed to enhance skills to promote innovation.
These include:
* DTI and DES jointly leading the skills alliance to implement the skills strategy;
* Regional development agencies developing regional skills partnership with their key players;
* DTI co-sponsoring the skills for business network;
* DTI developing curriculum material with business schools to aid teaching of skills for the management of high-tech, fast-growth businesses.
10-year Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014
The UK holds on to the principle that in order to deliver the government's overall ambition for wealth creation and productivity growth, sustained business investment in innovation will be necessary. For its part, the government is investing in the UK science base and interventions that support and encourage innovative companies to invest in R&D and collaborate with each other and with academia to turn ideas into profit. The government's 10-year Science and Innovation Investment Framework sets out the key issues - what the government intends to do and how the UK measures the success of its actions.
This framework, a testimony to the UK's commitment in pushing its innovation agenda, sets out the government's ambition for science and innovation over the next decade, in particular, the contribution to economic growth and public services, and the attributes and funding arrangements of a research system capable of delivering this.
Through this 10-year framework, the government has set a new target for the UK to invest a proportion of national income from its current level of 1.9% of GDP to 2.5% of GDP (in R&D) by 2014 over the next decade. It is envisaged that success in meeting this target is dependent on competing globally for research investment and the government has set itself the aim "that the UK should be a partner of choice for global businesses looking to locate their R&D and for foreign universities seeking collaboration with the science base or business".
To help achieve this, the government established the Global Science and Innovation Forum (GSIF) and tasked this forum with developing an overarching national strategy for international engagement in R&D.
Ministerial Team on Science, Innovation and the Knowledge Economy
Recognising the innovation challenge facing the UK, the prime minister has directed the secretary of state for Trade and Industry to chair a ministerial team to lead the innovation agenda across government and drive forward the implementation of the innovation report. This team has met quarterly since November 2003. Following from the publication of the Investment Framework for Science & Innovation 2004-2014 in July 2004, the role of this ministerial team was expanded to include oversight of this framework.
Science and Innovation Cabinet Committee
Recognising the increasing significance of innovation in establishing economic growth and prosperity for the UK, a proposal for the ministerial team on Science, Innovation and the Knowledge Economy to be merged with the cabinet committee on science policy, SCI (POL) was made. This cabinet committee is imbued with the mission "to determine and oversee the implementation of the government's policies in relation to science, innovation and wealth creation". The Science and Innovation Cabinet Committee serves as the lead committee for the innovation agenda across government which drives forward the implementation of the Innovation Report and the 10-year Science and Innovation Framework.
Global Science and Innovation Forum
The GSIF, established in January 2005, is chaired by the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser. Managed by the Office of Science and Innovation, it brings together the main UK players in international research, including the Research Councils, the Foreign and Commonwealth's Office network of science and technology attachés, the Department for Education and Skills, the Royal Society, British Council, HM Treasury and UK Trade and Investment.
GSIF is a cross-departmental forum for discussion and exchanges of information and ideas to improve coordination of the UK effort in international science and innovation collaboration, as well as provide strategic guidance and scan the horizon for new and emerging issues.
The Science and Innovation Framework has charged GSIF with the design and implementation of the UK's Global Science and Innovation Strategy for international engagement in science and technology. This is a key element of the current activity of GSIF. The fundamental objective of the GSIF strategy is for the UK to be the partner of choice for global business looking to locate R&D activities overseas, and for foreign universities seeking overseas collaboration. The strategy was published on Oct 23, 2006.
Innovation stakeholder group
Recognising that successful implementation of the Innovation Report requires partnership with the UK's key stakeholders, an innovation stakeholder group was set up. The group aims to participate actively in the rollout of the Innovation Report action plan, and to spread the message to others about the importance of innovating and what help is available, by using members' established networks. This is crucial in order for the innovation message to reach as many businesses as possible. The group has formal meetings once a quarter in addition to taking forward specific areas of work in subgroups.
Living Innovation
Aiming to draw attention to and increase awareness of a large community in the UK regarding the business models and practices adopted by dynamic innovators, the DTI's Living Innovation section displays video and text content of the highly regarded series of innovation programmes that were broadcast, via satellite, to regional business audiences from 1997 to 2005. Successful entrepreneurs, including Sir Richard Branson and Sir Jackie Stewart, together with innovative companies, such as Innocent Drinks, have presented practical tips to share ideas and insights from which that can be applied by other community members. Each programme focused on a different aspect of innovation, making this series a valuable learning resource for company leaders and their staff.
The DTI had articulated that the UK government is committed to increasing the prosperity of all regions while narrowing inter and intra-regional disparities. Aligned to this mission, the devolved administrations (DAs) and regional development agencies (RDAs) of England - all of whom have published regional economic strategies that include innovation -are putting an increasing focus on innovation as a key driver of economic development.
This innovation report recommended the following proposals to influence regional innovation performance:
* A closer working partnership between DTI, the RDAs and DAs;
* New public service agreement targets reflecting the contribution which innovation can make to achieve the economic goals of the regions;
* DTI to assist RDAs to set up science and industry councils as regional advisory bodies that bring together science, technology and business representatives;
* Criteria for the new DTI product supporting investment in the assisted areas to enable the RDAs to attract high value-added businesses.
Central to the recommendation of the Innovation Report is the need for clear understanding on the respective roles and responsibilities of central government and the regions. Effective partnership between central government and the regions has been promoted at the strategic level through policy agreements, and at operational level, to ensure integrated delivery.
Additionally, the DTI has now established a National Regional Partnership Programme, that aims to embed the regions and regional issues much more deeply in the DTI's policies and processes so that:
* RDAs are much more involved in policy formulation;
* Policy is led at the appropriate level (that is, at national or regional level); and
* Decisions are taken on both policy and delivery informed by national, regional and sub-regional needs.
It can be seen how thorough the UK is in putting in various mechanisms and processes and trying to coordinate the various activities across the nation. It is no easy task but many hands are putting their shoulders to the grind to make it work for the UK.
Sheriffah Noor Kamseah Al-Aidid is a biotech advocate with a government agency