mele kX-me) mmQe olaalaalelars sYol=}ale=¥-]ale MmK ral alate) (oleh’s Committee Research Council Support for Knowledge Transfer Dia ligems<-) ele) ame) mt-1-1(-0J) a W40oo0n 0 1) Volume | M 21769 HC 995-1 cemniiiie n 2 General ?Co llections || 22502915959 House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Research Council Support for Knowledge Transfer Third Report of Session 2005-06 Report, together with formal minutes Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 6 June 2006 20 JUN 2006 HC 995-1 Published on 15 June 2006 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited The Science and Technology Committee The Science and Technology Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Office of Science and Innovation and its associated public bodies. Current membership Mr Phil Willis MP (Liberal Democrat, Harrogate and Knaresborough)(Chairman) Adam Afriyie MP (Conservative, Windsor) Mr Jim Devine MP (Labour, Livingston) Mr Robert Flello MP (Labour, Stoke-on-Trent South) Dr Evan Harris MP (Liberal Democrat, Oxford West & Abingdon) Dr Brian Iddon MP (Labour, Bolton South East) Margaret Moran MP (Labour, Luton South) Mr Brooks Newmark MP (Conservative, Braintree) Anne Snelgrove MP (Labour/Co-op, South Swindon) Bob Spink MP (Conservative, Castle Point) Dr Desmond Turner MP (Labour, Brighton Kemptown) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental Select Committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No.152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at www.parliament.uk/s&tcom A list of Reports from the Committee in this Parliament is included at the back of this volume. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are: Chris Shaw (Clerk); Celia Blacklock (Second Clerk); Dr Hayaatun Sillem (Committee Specialist); Dr Anne Hicks (Committee Specialist); Ana Ferreira (Committee Assistant); Robert Long (Senior Office Clerk); and Christine McGrane (Committee Secretary). Research Council Support for Knowledge Transfer 1 Contents Report Page Summary 1 Introduction 2 Background The current situation Government action The Research Councils The External Challenge Panel 3 Promoting knowledge transfer Introduction Government support for knowledge transfer Role of the Research Councils Co-ordination of UK support for knowledge transfer 4 Research Council strategy 17 Introduction 17 The Research Councils view of knowledge transfer 17 Technology push and pull 18 Vision for knowledge transfer 19 Engagement with stakeholders 20 Improving links 20 SME engagement 21 Balancing priorities 22 Allocation of resources 22 Basic versus applied research 23 Embedding a knowledge transfer culture 24 Performance measurement 26 Cross-Council co-ordination 28 5 Research Council support for knowledge transfer 30 Introduction 30 Knowledge transfer schemes 30 Full economic cost 32 Capacity for knowledge transfer 33 Research Council Expertise 33 In-house structure 34 Performance management ahe Scheme evaluation 35 External Challenge 36 Further encouraging exploitation 38 Business skills development 38 Intellectual Property 38 2 Research Council Support for Knowledge Transfer 6 Conclusion 40 Conclusions and recommendations 41 Formal Minutes 45 Witnesses 46 Written Evidence 47 Research Council Support for Knowledge Transfer 3 Summary This inquiry represents the first thematic scrutiny of Research Council activity. We found that the Research Councils have an important role to play in adding value to research supported across the UK and that there is general support for the knowledge transfer schemes they have implemented. We remain convinced that the main priority of the Research Councils should be in the support of basic research and that their knowledge transfer agenda, whilst important, should not detract from this. We found weaknesses in Research Council strategies for promotion of knowledge transfer. The view of knowledge transfer taken by some Councils is too narrow, with a focus on technology transfer and little attention paid to the wider issues, such as_ policy development. There is also a perception that the Research Councils are not closely attuned to research user requirements and that their attention is focused on informing stakeholders rather than consulting on stakeholder needs. In addition, there is a particular need for the Research Councils to enhance communication and engagement with the Regional Development Agencies and Small and Medium size Enterprises. We found little evidence of Research Council co-ordination or sharing of best practice in knowledge transfer. Also, despite their clear remit to co-ordinate and harmonise, we have not seen that there has been any added value from Research Councils UK in this area. Whilst some Councils have a simple funding structure for knowledge transfer, in other cases, a high level of confusion has been created since there are so many schemes in operation. Also, whilst in some cases, the Research Councils have taken a strategic approach to increase the number of their staff with skills and expertise in knowledge transfer, others have not done so. The Research Councils have published a set of performance assessment metrics. However, there is a danger that activity rather than output will be measured and that the activities of the research community may be influenced. Whilst we welcome the recent External Challenge of Research Councils knowledge transfer activities, this review failed to evaluate individual Research Councils knowledge transfer schemes due to lack of resources. Since the Research Councils conduct little internal impact analysis of their knowledge transfer schemes, it is difficult to see how they can effectively allocate funding to different knowledge transfer activities. rs a "0y 6a” - Vi d ; a eae , : x. . y : . 2 mes a is.= *. ot Pa a ae, eases! siete sna x _— one = J ;* Comattgarton TT ‘ia i" aa", a . ; ‘ psa a Hie “rei it room ;. bel OVE. Vtga e aa ai ah oe rs " eS GF UY goalh ive al rely of ali i ey. 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The Science and Technology Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Office of Science and Innovation (OSI)' and its associated bodies. In the last Parliament, the Committee scrutinised Research Councils by a series of inquiries into each one. We have taken a different approach in this Parliament and this inquiry represents the first scrutiny of the Research Councils thematically. This inquiry, which was launched on the 1st December 2005, focused upon the effectiveness of the Research Councils’ knowledge transfer activities with particular respect to: promotion of collaborative working between researchers and partners in industry, including in the creative industries and in Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs); stakeholder engagement and communication; results and performance management and; co-ordination between the Councils and the role of Research Councils UK (RCUK). 2. We were grateful to receive written evidence from a range of representatives from UK academic and industrial sectors. We also appreciated comprehensive memoranda from the Government, setting out policy for knowledge transfer, and from RCUK, who set out evidence in response to the main topics and questions identified above. The RCUK memorandum also contained supplementary views from each of the Research Councils. 3. We held three oral evidence sessions during this inquiry: i. On the 15th March 2006, we took evidence from the Director General of the Research Councils, Professor Sir Keith O’Nions and from a separate panel representing the academic sector: Professor Christopher Snowden, Vice- Chancellor, University of Surrey; Professor Diana Green, Vice-Chancellor, Sheffield Hallam University; and Dr Bob Bushaway, University of Birmingham, representing the Association for University Research and Industrial Links (AURIL); ii. On the 29th March 2006 we took oral evidence from an External Challenge Panel established by the Research Councils to examine their knowledge transfer activities: Professor John Murphy, Head of University Partnerships, BAe Systems (Panel Chair); Ms Barbara Doig, Scottish Executive; and Professor Richard Brook OBE, ex-Chief Executive of the Sira Group of Companies. We heard from a separate panel representing the industrial sector: Sir John Chisholm, Executive Chairman, QinetiQ Group plc; Dr Malcolm Skingle, Director, Academic Liaison, GlaxoSmithKline; Tony McBride, Confederation of British Industry (CBI); and Dr Ian Ritchie, Technology Entrepreneur, Coppertop; and iii. On the 19th April, we held an oral evidence session with Professor Philip Esler, Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC); Professor Ian Diamond, Chief Executive of the Economic and Social Research 1 The Office of Science and Innovation (OSI) was created on 3 April 2006, by merging DTI's Innovation Group (IG) into the previous Office of Science and Technology (OST). 6 Research Council Support for Knowledge Transfer Council (ESRC) and Chair of the RCUK Executive Group; Professor John O’ Reilly, Chief Executive of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); and Professor Keith Mason, Chief Executive of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC). We are grateful to all those who gave oral evidence during the inquiry. Transcripts of the oral evidence sessions are published alongside this report, together with written evidence submitted to the inquiry.