Written evidence submitted by Professor
Peter Dobson (TIC 18)
SUBMISSION ON THE APPLICABILITY OF THE FRAUNHOFER
MODEL IN THE UK
I write as the founder of a multi-disciplinary science
park that has been created in Oxford to serve the needs of spin-off
companies and provide additional interdisciplinary facilities
for members of the University who undertake research of a more
applied nature.
1. What is the Fraunhofer model and would it be
applicable to the UK?
This model has been developed over a period of around
60 years so it is not something that can be instantly transplanted.
At the outset, it was developed to undertake applied research
that was business driven and it has done this very successfully.
The Institutes are very "sector oriented" rather than
"technology driven"...although there is an element of
the latter.
Recently there has been more emphasis on working
with SMEs, but a large amount of their output has fed into large
German companies.
Continued state funding for the core activities has
always been a component of this model, but with additional funding
from the public sector and EU. They appear to have engaged well
with the various FP programmes. I understand that at least a third
of funding is provided by businesses on a contractual basis.
They offer a very conducive career path for young
scientists and engineers and have become an established tradition
within the State. I believe there has been a fair degree of mobility
between the Institutes and Industry and Universities and this
is a valuable way of transferring skills and knowledge.
2. Are there existing Fraunhofer-type research
centres within the UK, and if so, are they effective?
There are several that come close: The examples that
come to mind are: The Chipping Campden Brewing and Food research
Centre http://www.campden.co.uk/ ; The welding research at TWI
http://www.twi.co.uk/content/welding_research.html ; The Advanced
Materials research Centre at Sheffield http://www.amrc.co.uk/
just to mention three. These cover a spectrum of involvement with
universities, ranging from substantial (Sheffield) to fairly minimal
(Chipping Campden).
3. What other models are there for research centres
oriented toward applications and results?
There are new models emerging in Europe such as the
IMEC in Belgium which is the main centre for electronics and optoelectronics
in Europe; there is a new centre emerging around the Philips labs
in Eindhoven that is serving many new SMEs. The US has a large
number of generously funded national laboratories based on funding
agencies, but it is not certain how effective these are at innovation.
Japan has in the past experimented with setting up transition
centres to do pre-competitive research before transferring back
into their large corporates. China is setting new examples by
having strong applied research in Universities and then setting
up very sector-oriented "manufacturing institutes" close
by.
4. Whose role should it be to coordinate research
in a UK-wide network of innovation centres?
This should be the remit of BIS, administered via
the TSB. There is a wealth of information within the Knowledge
Transfer Networks that are administered by the TSB. These KTNs
already have a lot of business and market intelligence and are
well-placed to know what the "needs" are. Ideally, the
TSB should have a much larger budget, probably 5-10 times its
present level of funding.
5. What effect would the introduction of Fraunhofer-type
institutes have on the work of Public Sector Research Establishments
and other existing research centres that undertake Government
sponsored research?
Care should be exercised in not duplicating these
establishments. However some elements of realism and focus should
be applied to these. It is not obvious that these have fostered
an inventive or innovative culture in the past, and there is a
lot of scope for enhancement, which at the same time could motivate
the "resident" scientists and engineers. One of the
most difficult, and yet fruitful areas could be at the interface
with healthcare.
CONCLUSION
The grave situation facing the UK in falling behind
competitor countries points towards urgent and focussed action.
An enhanced TSB working with business and industry could be effective
in coordinating efforts. The interface between the Research Councils
and the TSB is already showing signs of moving in the right direction,
with more emphasis on impact and "solutions" and this
should be encouraged.
Professor Peter Dobson
Director
Begbroke Science Park
Oxford University
30 November 2010
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