Memorandum 37
Submission from the Association of Marine
Scientific Industries (AMSI)
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN MARINE SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
SUBMISSION TO
THE UK PARLIAMENT
SELECT COMMITTEE
ON SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Commercial Marine Science and Technology
(MST) is predominantly a niche market for specialised products
and services.
2. The majority of the private companies
operating in the sector are SMEs (less than 250 workers) of which
a large proportion are very small (less than 40 workers).
3. Much of the effort to exploit government
funded technology has been inappropriate to the MST sector. Funds
have been wasted setting up internal departments to patent, legally
protect and market products which are not needed in most niche
markets. These small markets are often non-competitive due to
the investment required to place a product. One or two specialist
companies can exist comfortably by establishing the products first
in the market and then supporting them.
4. Although the market for individual products
is small, the return, as a whole, can be significant for the small
companies involved (in terms of % revenue), for the academic centres
(in terms of return for investment) and for the UK (in terms of
business growth).
5. The government should engage more with
existing businesses in the private sector in order to make a true
commercial success of technology transfer from MST. The practise
of setting up "commercial" entities within government
funded bodies (often directed by government employees) can be
damaging to the private sector in terms of unfair competition
and lack of personal accountability.
April 2007
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