DEPARTMENT FOR
INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS News Release (Press release
083/2008) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 4 December 2008
First annual
innovation report to hold Government to account on pledge to make
Britain best place in the world to run an innovative business
The world's first national progress report on innovation was
published today by the UK Government as Ministers underlined the
vital role innovation has to play in securing the country's
long term prosperity.
The Annual Innovation Report outlines progress made on innovation
to help transform public services and ensure UK businesses benefit
from the £175billion spent annually through Government procurement.
Launched today at a Downing Street reception attended by the
Prime Minister, Innovation, Universities and Skills Secretary,
John Denham, and Science and Innovation Minister, Lord Drayson, it
draws together information and data against which the UK's
future progress will be judged.
The Report also announces the Government's progress on
delivering the commitments first outlined in the Sainsbury Review
and taken forward in the Innovation Nation White Paper.
Key achievements include:
* The announcement today of a £5m Innovation Research Centre,
which will conduct research to assist Government and businesses
meet current challenges including the economic downturn and
climate change;
* A commitment from every Government Department to use their
procurement budget to encourage innovation in business. Today
guidance has been published to prepare these departmental
Innovation Procurement Plans (IPP);
* A new pilot programme to ensure UK businesses benefit from the
specialist expertise of further education colleges to make
business more innovative and enable them to move into new markets.
Key statistics outlined in the report show signs of improvement
in the UK's innovation performance but that there is more to
do. These include:
* The proportion of innovative businesses has increased from 49%
in 2001 to 68% in 2007;
* Spending by business and Government on R&D increased by 4%
in real terms to £23.2billion in 2006;
* The number of degree level qualifiers has increased by 36,220
and doctorate qualifiers by 2,632 between 2003 and 2007.
Lord Drayson said:
"Publication of this First Annual Innovation Report delivers
on a recommendation first set out by Lord Sainsbury in his 2007
review, 'Race to the Top'. It underlines our commitment
to put innovation at the heart of our strategy, and to ensure the
spread of good practice across government departments and Regional
Development Agencies. "It presents a picture of a nation that
is both good at innovation and getting better at it. However we
need to maintain this progress to cope with the economic downturn
and to emerge stronger from it. "We must continue to invest
in talent, science and innovation. Our future depends on it."
Notes to Editors
1. The Innovation Research Centre is announced today. The centre
will be funded by DIUS, the Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC), the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the
Arts (NESTA) and the Technology Strategy Board (TSB). The funding
partners will contribute a total of £5m over five years. The
centre is expected to commence work in January 2009. For more
details see http://www.esrc.ac.uk
2. Pilot competitions for the reformed Small Business Research
Initiative (SBRI) have been launched by Ministry of Defence
aiming to reduce the dependence of the military on fossil fuel
based energy sources (August) and by the Department of Health on
reducing health care infections (October).
3. DIUS announced five pilots to build direct links between
businesses and experts, facilities and resources in colleges and
the wider FE sector on 1 December 2008. For more details, see http://nds.coi.gov.uk/environment/dius/
4. DIUS has launched a competition to promote the use of the
Forward Commitment Procurement (FCP) model across the public
sector. This will support public sector organisations to use FCP
to encourage the development of innovative solutions that will
improve sustainability.
5. The Annual Innovation Report can be found at http://www.dius.gov.uk/policy/annual_innovation_report.html
6. The following is a list of documents being published alongside
the Annual Innovation Review:
* Guidance to Departments on producing Innovation Procurement Plans
* DIUS' Innovation Procurement Plan
* A checklist to help regulators promote innovation
* 2008 Annual Report on the Government's Ten Year Science
and Innovation Investment Framework
* Economic Impacts of Science and Innovation 2008 - detailed
economic and statistical data on UK innovation science and
innovation performance
* A report on the UK Innovation Survey 2007 (The survey is the
largest and most comprehensive survey of UK business innovation
activities with data from over 16,000 enterprises)
* John Denham's letter to the Prime Minister - outlining the
progress made since Lord Sainsbury's 2007 review
7. For further information about the Annual Innovation Report,
contact the DIUS press office on 0203 300 8105.
ENDS