Edition 8
Welcome to the eighth edition of NESTA Innovation Digest (ID), a new intelligence service from NESTA. ID is intended to provide fortnightly information and links on the latest news from the world of innovation policy and research and news of international issues and events. We hope you will benefit from this new service.
We're sifting news and updates from dozens of websites and bulletins for each edition of ID. We're keen to know how we could improve this service, or perhaps you have suggestions for inclusion - please email digest@enews.nesta.org.uk.
Regards,
Richard Halkett - Executive Director, NESTA Policy and Research Unit
Subscribe to our email newsletter version
This issue
On Friday 5 October Lord Sainsbury published, 'The Race to the Top - A Review of Government’s Science and Innovation Policies'. NESTA welcomes the review and responds to the issues and policy recommendations in a policy briefing. Professor John Beddington has been announced as the next Government Scientific Adviser, taking his post from 1 January 2008. BERR has just begun a series of consultations with businesses across the UK, working towards a new enterprise framework. The European Parliament has voted in favour of the proposed European Institute of Technology, but argues for 'innovation' to be included in the title. The OECD has published an Economic Survey of the UK, and at the WTO a panel has been established to investigate China’s intellectual property regime.
Policy
The Race to the Top - A Review of Government’s Science and Innovation Policies, by Lord Sainsbury of Turville 5/10/07
Examines the role of science and innovation in ensuring the UK remains competitive in a globalised economy. Recommendations include a new leadership role for the Technology Strategy Board, more knowledge transfer initiatives, and boosting STEM teaching.
NESTA response to the Sainsbury Review – The End of the Beginning 5/10/07
NESTA welcomes Lord Sainsbury's Review. Its recognition of the compelling need to understand innovation in the UK's service sectors, and to move away from R&D spend and patent production as proxies for innovation performance are particularly welcome.
New Government Chief Scientific Adviser 1/10/07
The Prime Minister announced that Professor John Beddington will succeed Sir David King, with effect from 1 January 2008. Professor Beddington is currently Professor of Applied Population Biology at Imperial College London.
The European Parliament supports the proposal for a European Institute of Technology 27/09/07
A large majority backed the proposals, but called for a name change to include the word 'innovation'.
Conservative STEM task force report - An Innovative Society: Capturing the Potential of Science and Engineering 27/09/07
Offers nine objectives to transform UK STEM performance, such as the creation of a Department of Science and Innovation, a new Innovative Projects Agency, better use of public procurement and better use of the R&D tax credit.
Our NHS, Our future: NHS next stage review - interim report 4/10/07
Sets out a 10 year vision for the NHS. It stresses the importance of innovation within the NHS and includes a proposal to set aside up to £100m to fund the development of hi-tech healthcare.
DCSF – New Diploma for 14-19 year olds 20/09/07
Jim Knight MP announced the Diploma, intended to provide practical and academic learning, as part of the UK’s drive to create high skilled professionals. 40,000 students are expected to register in the first five courses, beginning in September 2008.
Public Accounts Select Committee report – Improving procurement in further education colleges in England 4/10/07
Based on DfES and LSC evidence argues that many FE colleges have been slow to modernise their procurement services. Recommends that if FE colleges better manage procurement, savings of £75m could be achieved by March 2008.
National Skills Academy approved for UK nuclear industry 25/09/07
An employer-led proposal for a National Skills Academy for the nuclear industry has been approved by DIUS. It will assist nuclear employers in tackling the current and future skills barriers and challenges facing the nuclear industry.
DIUS - Simplified Trade Mark law 1/10/07
Lord Triesman announced a new simplified trade mark registration system, intended to help businesses register new products and Intellectual Property.
BERR Feasibility study – The potential of tidal power 25/09/07
John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, announced a cross government feasibility study to examine the potential of generating electricity from the Severn Estuary. The project aims to meet 5% of total UK electricity demand.
DEFRA – Energy inefficient light bulbs to be phased out 27/09/07
Voluntary initiative by retailers and energy suppliers to replace their least efficient light bulbs on shop shelves, over the next four years. The aim is to save up to 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2012 from UK electricity generation.
Carbon Trust – Launch of research programme into solar PV 4/10/07
£5m research programme with the objective of turning solar PV into a cost effective energy source within ten years. The project aims to deploy more than 1GW of organic PV by 2017, which could deliver CO² savings of more than 1 million tonnes per year.
DCMS – Eight Creative Programmers appointed for the Cultural Olympiad 2012 26/09/07
Margaret Hodge MP announced eight regional programmers to enable opportunities for arts and cultural bodies to participate in the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, including Liz Hughes, Paul Brookes, Caterina Loriggio and Richard Crowe.
NERC appoints science 'champions' 28/09/07
Six professors and one doctor have been appointed theme leaders, intended to champion various aspects of environmental science and encourage partnership working, as part of NERC’s new science strategy, due out in November.
Enterprise Week – Make Your Mark Challenge 12-18/11/07
Enterprise Week 2007 is an annual UK-wide week of activities and events, aimed at inspiring young people (aged 14-30) to turn their ideas into reality, including a one-day ‘Make Your Mark Challenge’ for students.
Enterprising Britain 2007 winner announced 01/10/07
BERR’s search to find the most enterprising town, place, city or area in the UK has been won by North Staffordshire, for its achievements in local regeneration.
Launch of Daily Mail’s Enterprising Young Brits awards 02/10/07
The Chancellor launched the Daily Mail’s fourth annual awards for the best young entrepreneurs in the UK. The closing is October 22 2007. Winners in each of the five categories receive £1,000, a trophy and a certificate.
Scottish Government Statistics - Higher Education Graduates and Graduate Destinations 2005-06 02/10/07
In 2005-06, 74,515 students completed a higher education course in Scotland, a rise of 6.6 per cent on 2004-05. Agriculture and humanities saw the biggest losses in student numbers, there were increases in languages, business, engineering and technology.
Scottish Government – Independent Review of Regulation, Audit, Inspection and Complaints Handling of Public Services in Scotland 25/09/07
Chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar, makes 42 recommendations to improve the role of scrutiny within the public sector, including the possibility of one body to oversee audit, inspection and regulation of all public services in Scotland.
Commissioner Potocnik launches the EUREKA Eurostars programme 2/10/07
The European Commissioner for Science and Research launched the EUREKA Eurostars public/private funding programme, aimed at supporting high-tech SME research, offering €800m over six years.
BERR launches a series of consultations with business owners to discuss an intended new enterprise framework 20/09/07
The Chancellor and BERR Ministers met with 20 top UK business owners to discuss the UK’s approach to entrepreneurship in a changing global economy, and how enterprise can be used to close regional and social gaps.
Research
OECD - Economic Survey of the United Kingdom 27/09/07
Recent macroeconomic performance has been strong but economic challenges remain including improving education and skills levels, increasing labour force participation and progression, enhancing productivity growth and maintaining tax competitiveness.
RAENG and ETB study - Public Attitudes to and Perceptions of Engineering and Engineers 2007 18/09/07
Survey of 1,000 people finds 2 in 3 young people know very little about engineering and almost 3 in 4 don't understand what engineers actually do.
ippr report - Public Services at the Crossroads 24/09/07
Sets out a progressive agenda for the next stage of public service reform in the UK. Its overarching theme is the fact that public services are not simply delivered to their users, but instead depend on a relationship of co-production.
Higher Education Policy Institute Report - The academic experiences of students in English universities 25/09/07
Survey focused on various aspects of the amount of teaching and private study undertaken by students, with international comparisons and recommendations for further investment.
NESTA related news
NESTA-Young Foundation Health Innovation Accelerator – call for ideas
Major new initiative supporting social innovation in health. Looking to develop innovative and entrepreneurial ideas that work to transform the way health is managed in the workplace and support individuals back into work.
Will Hutton policy breakfast 20/09/07
Will Hutton, Chief Executive of The Work Foundation, discussed the policy implications arising from the report ‘Staying Ahead: The Economic Performance of the UK’s Creative Industries’.
Provocation - Innovation Technology: How new technologies are changing the way we innovate 18/09/07
David Gann and Mark Dodgson explore emerging technologies that enable firms to innovate more rapidly and accurately than ever before. They include eScience, virtual reality, simulation and modelling techniques, and rapid prototyping.
Forthcoming Events
Higher Education Policy Institute Conference - Skills, vocational qualifications and employer engagement: a new agenda for education, London 10/10/07
This conference will explore the implications of the Government's skills agenda for schools, colleges and universities. Speakers include Barry Sheerman MP, David Eastwood CEO of HEFCE, Stephen Marston, Liz Reid and Deian Hopkin.
Science Oxford - When Should Research Stop? Oxford, 10/10/07
Professor Colin Blakemore will lead discussion on how to prioritise the funding of research in different fields, moral boundaries to research and whether there should be ethical and investment limitations on research.
Cambridge-MIT Institute Partnership Programme – The Role of Universities in Regional Development and Growth 12/10/07
The purpose of this workshop is to understand how information and knowledge is diffused within the business community and transferred between universities and firms, and how these processes might be supported and enhanced.
Campaign for Science & Engineering Annual Distinguished Lecture, 2007, London 17/10/07
David Willetts MP, Shadow Secretary of State for DIUS will talk on science and education, in this event co-hosted by CaSE and the Wellcome Trust.
CBI Manufacturing Dinner, Birmingham 18/10/07
Todd Stitzer, Chief Executive of Cadbury Schweppes will discuss the current challenges facing modern manufacturers, such as globalisation, climate change and carbon costing, regulation, supply chains, distribution networks and brand management.
2007 USA National Conference on the Creative Economy, Virginia USA 24-25/10/07
Will examine the role that a strong, creative workforce plays in the growth and success of businesses and communities in an information-based economy. Speakers include Professor Richard Florida, Thomas Friedman, Anne Fisher and Alvin Toffler.
BVCA -Technology Spin-out Conference 2007, London 29/10/07
Themed ‘The management challenge for spin-outs’. Speakers include Lord Sainsbury of Turville, Wol Kolade BVCA Chairman, David Hunter MD NESTA Investments and Professor Peter Denyer and will explore the challenges of young company development.
International conference on IP and the creative industries, Geneva 29-30/10/07
This conference, run by WIPO, will provide a forum for discussion on the concept and application of creativity in the creative industries, focusing on their intellectual property component.
National School of Government, NESTA and Young Foundation - Public Innovation Conference: Creating the conditions 1/11/07
Aims to generate an awareness of public service innovations and to discuss the role of government in diffusing innovative practice. Speakers include Sir Gus O’Donnell, Jonathan Kestenbaum, Ian Watmore, Sir Michael Bichard and Geoff Mulgan.
Exploring Avenues to Cross-Disciplinary Research, Nottingham 7/11/07
Run by The Cross-disciplinary Research Group at the University of Nottingham, the focus of the conference will be on showcasing ongoing and emerging interdisciplinary research.
Creative Clusters Conference 2007, London 9-14/11/07
Will explore policy and opportunity in the Creative Economy, world creative hubs and the creative crowd. Speakers include: Chris Powell, Chair of NESTA; Margaret Hodge MP; Professor Hua Jian; and Peter Hewitt, Chief Executive, Arts Council UK.
Advantage West Midlands - Festival of Innovation, NEC 15/11/07
Will showcase the most innovative businesses from across the West Midlands region, and how businesses and universities successfully collaborate and transfer knowledge to deliver innovative products and services.
HEFCE - Annual Meeting 2007, London 16/11/07
Will discuss developments in higher education and present the current activities of the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
ESRC conference – Science in Society: innovation culture or anti-science Britain? 16/09/07
Will discuss the role of science in society, including the government's position on public trust and understanding of science and the role of scientists in society. Speakers include Professor Arie Rip, Lord Rees of Ludlow and Phil Willis MP..
Engineering and Technology Board, 2nd annual skills conference - Delivering Vocational Skills, London 10/10/07
Aims to examine how best to ensure a supply of appropriately skilled individuals to meet future SET skills needs of UK businesses and to inform policymaking.
Futurelab’s conference – Why Don’t You…? Supporting innovative approaches in education, London 30-31/10/07
An international panel of speakers will discuss how teachers and policymakers can exploit the developments in digital technologies to encourage innovation in education and inform policymaking in the UK.
Connect Investment Conference, Edinburgh 30/10/07
There will be a debate on the main challenges that the technology sector faces. Technology entrepreneurs will be able to network with investors. The second SEP Technology Leaders Forum will be held as part of conference.
10th European Conference on Creativity and Innovation, Denmark, Copenhagen 14-17/10/07
The opening question is: ‘Is it possible to create a new type of convention on creativity and innovation?’ It will focus on the dynamics between user, creativity and innovation. There will be presentations from more than 30 different countries.
Past Events
European Science Foundation & the US Office of Research Integrity
Researchers, funders and policymakers discussed strategies for harmonising research misconduct policies. Philip Campbell, editor of 'Nature', partly attributed misconduct to the increasing pressure to publish papers more frequently.
The London Design Festival – 15/09/07 to 25/09/07
The hub of the Festival was in the Southbank Centre. The Festival presented over 200 projects created in partnership with museums, educational institutes, creative businesses, trade shows, magazines and international cities.
GEM: Third Research Conference, Washington, USA 01-03/10/07
50 countries presented results from their analysis of GEM data, with a focus on developing countries. Differences in entrepreneurship, level and extent of economic development and public policies were central themes.
Science and Innovation 2007: Competing in the global economy, London 04/10/07
300 delegates looked at how the UK can increase international scientific collaborations, exploit the skills base which women in STEM could provide and look at the Government's recent Climate Bill. Speakers included Professor Sir Keith O'Nions.
NESTA, People into enterprise, Etc… and Create Express - Create to Innovate!, London 26/09/07
Cora Robinson, Jane Shaw and Dr Kevin Byron explored how creative skills can be harnessed to meet the challenges arising in all areas of the innovation process.
RAENG - Engineering Research Forum 2007, London 28/09/07
Annual event to highlight the range of research supported by RAENG funding schemes, with a series of presentations and exhibitions.
International
Microsoft and Kenwood Enter Into Broad Patent Licensing Agreement to Foster Innovation and Collaboration 24/09/07
A new patent cross-license agreement intended to develop each company’s current and future product lines and expand technological innovation in car navigation systems, home entertainment systems, consumer electronics and software.
WTO Panel to investigate complaint by the USA on China's intellectual property regime 25/07/07
The WTO dispute settlement board has established a panel to review China's protection and enforcement measures of intellectual property rights. The USA has alleged that China has failed to tackle counterfeiting, at cost to the USA’s creative industries.
Poland and Norway launch joint research fund 26/09/07
A €15.3 million fund has been launched to strengthen research cooperation between Norway and Poland in the fields of environment and health. The fund’s focus will be on support for large projects.
The US National Science Foundation and Bureau of Economic Analysis study of US 2007 R&D accounts 1/10/07
Argues that GDP would be nearly 3 percent higher each year between 1959 and 2004--$284 billion higher in 2004 alone--if R&D spending were treated as investment in the U.S. national income and product accounts.
Washington Announces First Innovation Partnership Zones 2/10/07
Governor Chris Gregoire has announced the designation of 11 Innovation Partnership Zones in Washington, geographic areas that will promote and develop the state's regional economies.