Collaboration and Competition: The Future of Research Partnerships

1. Competition vs. Collaboration: what does the future hold? Professor Dave Delpy Chief Executive of Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Research Councils UK Impact Champion

2. Presentation Summary • Research Councils UK context • Importance of collaboration and partnerships • Research Councils working together • Working in collaboration with other organisations • Working in collaboration with international partners • HE sector working together • Support for collaborative research and knowledge exchange

3. Research Councils UK (RCUK) • Partnership of the UK’s seven Research Councils. • Annually invest around £3 billion in research. • Support research that contributes to a productive economy, healthy society and a sustainable world. • Work with a range of partners to support exchange of knowledge from the research base into the private, public and third sectors.

4. RCUK Impact Strategy RCUK: • engage with key stakeholders to encourage partnerships with researchers • maximise research impact by providing support and sharing best practice • deliver highly skilled people by supporting the training and career development of researchers.

5. Importance of collaboration and partnerships Generate new ideas, policies and insights into users’ needs. Break down barriers and allow ideas and expertise to move into practice sooner. Help users and researchers see new opportunities for societal and economic impact.

6. Research Councils working together Productive economy Sustainable world Healthy society • Living with environmental change • Energy • Global food security • Lifelong health and wellbeing • Connected communities • Digital economy • Global uncertainties

7. Working with the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) • Working together in partnership since 2007. • Jointly committed more than £200m in collaborative programmes, with a further £100m investment expected from business. • Ways in which we collaborate include: • establishing collaborative research programmes • encouraging the sharing of knowledge between the research base and industry • developing UK expertise and capacity in innovation research • supporting rapid commercialisation of emerging technologies • promoting business access to UK research facilities.

8. Working with the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) Activities we have jointly funded so far include: • more than 100 collaborative R&D projects. • more than 250 knowledge transfer partnerships. • Six Innovation and Knowledge Centres. • UK Innovation Research Centre and seven connected research projects and exploratory projects.

9. Working with business RCUK works with over 2500 businesses in sectors ranging from engineering to insurance, broadcasting to biotechnology.

10. Working with business New report from RCUK UK research is key to business productivity and economic growth found: • Continued public investment in research is essential for the success of UK business and industry. • The greatest long-term productivity advances come through breakthroughs in basic knowledge. • Publicly funded research raises the productivity of R&D in the private sector. • Research institutions produce highly trained graduates which are an essential resource for UK companies and foreign companies investing in the UK. • The high quality of UK research makes the country attractive for inward investment by international business and industry through collaborations. • Collaborations between firms and universities have a ‘positive and significant’ effect on firm innovation.

11. Working with Government and big society organisations RCUK works with a wide range of organisations to: • enable evidence-based policy making. • help improve the effectiveness and efficiency of front-line public services. • tackle and help understand some of the challenging economic and societal issues faced by the UK. • Identify and co-fund joint strategically important initiatives. • provide researchers with the skills and opportunities to work with policy-makers and practitioners through a variety of collaborative mechanisms.

12. Working in collaboration with International partners RCUK: • encourages UK researchers to work with international partners. • has offices in India, China and the USA to foster these relationships. • helps UK researchers gain access to international research facilities. • promotes the UK as a world-class centre for research.

13. HE sector working together RCUK encourages the sector to work together to strengthen the research and knowledge exchange capacity of universities . There are many benefits of university collaborations: • brings together researchers from different disciplines and research organisation to share ideas, skills, techniques and technologies to address complex problems. • creates a critical mass in research skills, facilities and larger infrastructure. • Efficient utilisation of expensive facilities • opportunity to increase the visibility of work e.g. more pathways for realising economic and societal impact. • rapid and flexible access to new ideas and insights, increased opportunity for funding and higher quality outcomes in shorter timeframes. • shared costs and risks.

14. Support for collaborative research and knowledge exchange We fund a wide variety of accessible and flexible support mechanisms to generate economic and societal benefits from the excellent research, people and facilities we fund. For further information please see: • RCUK Knowledge Transfer Portal http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/innovation/ktportal/default.htm • Pathways to Impact http://impacts.rcuk.ac.uk/content/guidance.htm

15. Research Councils UK Competition vs. Collaboration: what does the future hold?