Government survey shows spending on R&D for sensing and instrumentation will increase

Citation

(2008), "Government survey shows spending on R&D for sensing and instrumentation will increase", Sensor Review, Vol. 28 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2008.08728aab.009

Government survey shows spending on R&D for sensing and instrumentation will increase

Government survey shows spending on R&D for sensing and instrumentation will increase

UK on track for greater share of £25 billion European market.

Trends show that the need for more industrial/academic partnerships is being addressed:

^• about 57 percent of respondents expected to increase their research budgets during the next 12 months;

^• about 75 percent will outsource R&D. About 71 percent of those organisations expect to outsource to universities in the next year;

^• about 54 percent of corporate research budgets are focused on developing product and services; and

^• about 17 percent of corporate research budgets are focused on blue sky/fundamental research.

The Sensors and Instrumentation Knowledge Transfer Network (SIKTN), the government-backed body representing the UK's sensing and instrumentation community, has released initial results from an ongoing survey being carried out among the industrial members of its 1,500-strong network. It reveals that UK companies operating in the multi-billion pound sensing and instrumentation market expect to increase their spend on research by an average of 10 percent in the coming 12 months. The survey also reveals that much of this money will continue to be spent on outsourcing research to third parties or partnering with them, and that the majority of these are expected to be academic institutions such as universities and colleges. The results demonstrate that the UK sensing and instrumentation community is working to grow its share of this market and expand its role as a source for economic productivity by increasing the transfer of ideas and knowledge between academia and industry.

“This a £25 billion European market of which the UK already holds a 30 percent share. The key to growing this share is how well we can harness the innovative thinking of the academic community and transfer their ideas into real products and services,” explains Simon Aliwell, director of the sensors and Instrumentation KTN. “This survey shows we are moving in the right direction and that companies are pushing hard to grow and develop, but there is always more to do. The KTN is constantly evaluating new ways to deliver successful partnerships across this community to bring academia and industry together. That is one of the reasons this network exists.”

The survey, whose respondents represent more than 10,000 UK employees, was carried out in preparation for a recent KTN workshop in London to identify more ways to achieve successful partnerships between industry and academia, and how to address the different agendas which can emerge.

About 57 percent of respondents expected to increase their research budgets during the next 12 months. About 75 percent outsource this responsibility and 71 percent of these organisations believe that universities will be their partners during the next year.

The survey will now continue and be expanded to involve academic as well as industrial KTN members to broaden the trends identified.