R&D investment needed for small high tech firms

Institute of Physics

27 January 2009

R&D

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) has published figures which show that during 2007 the UK’s leading 850 firms increased R&D spend by six per cent.

The accompanying literature from DIUS acknowledges that the economic climate has changed dramatically since 2007 but stresses that the future commercial success of UK companies and the wider UK economy requires continued investment in R&D.

Much of the six per cent increase in R&D spend is a result of increased investment by large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies which DIUS is congratulatory of but this masks a malaise in other areas of the economy.

John Brindley, director of membership and business at the Institute of Physics, said, “The UK can excel at high value technology, through targeted government spending on R&D programmes, to help speed recovery once the recession softens, if the right support is offered to smaller high technology businesses now.

“The publication of the DIUS scoreboard is an opportunity to remind policymakers that these smaller businesses are the ones that need targeted support during the difficult period we are entering and will also be the companies that catalyse growth in years to come.

“The work already started through the Small Business Research Initiative, which leverages the £150 billion procurement budget, if moved beyond the pilot stage and spread across all government departments, could offer smaller high technology businesses the security they need. We encourage DIUS and all other government departments to make its extension an immediate priority.”

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