Science Funding (Hansard, 15 January 2003)

§ Ms Hewitt

[holding answer 17 December 2002]: The Government believes that investment in science research generates substantial benefits for society and the economy. The main vehicle for Government investment in basic and strategic research is the Science Budget. The metrics that are used to measure the performance of the UK Science and Engineering Base as a whole at present are:-

(a) Quality: measured by the UK's ranking in terms of citations.
(b) Relevance: the proportion of HEI funding from non governmental sources.
(c) Cost-effectiveness: measured by the UK's ranking in terms of the number of papers published per £1 million of public expenditure on science.

One mechanism through which investment in the Science Base is translated into economic benefit is through the knowledge transfer activities of the Science and Engineering Base. Metrics in this area include:

(a) Trends in numbers of patents applied for
(b) Trends in the number of licensing agreements
(c) Trends in income from licensing Intellectual property rights
(d) Metrics of spin-outs
(e) Trends in RC income from the UK private sector
(f) Trends in co-publication with industry

In addition Government Departments, including DTI, fund scientific research programmes in support of their objectives. This type of research will be evaluated primarily in terms of its contribution to the achievement of the relevant departmental policy or regulatory goals, rather than its overall economic impact as such. The Government is keen however to see that any economic benefits flowing from such research are properly exploited. To that end the Government's science, engineering and technology strategy, "Investing in Innovation" published in July 2002, made recommendations for strengthening departmental mechanisms for ensuring appropriate knowledge transfer.