NESTA urges UK to harness innovation in all sectors

19/06/2007

"It's clear we need to develop policy that supports innovation beyond its traditional home in science and technology, and be more sensitive to other contributing factors."

'Hidden Innovation' takes an in-depth look at how innovation occurs in six sectors that are not traditionally perceived as innovative and perform poorly against traditional indicators such as spend on R&D and the number of patents produced: oil production, retail banking, education, construction, legal aid and prisoner rehabilitation.

The danger, according to NESTA, is that where innovation is not being measured, it may be overlooked and its potential will go unrealised. It cites 'modern methods of construction' (MMC) as one example - this innovative approach is only used in 4% of new builds despite the potential it has for improved standards and cost-savings.

From the seismic sensors which promise to increase recovery from oil fields by one billion barrels to the gas fitters training programme at Reading prison which has cut the number of young people re-offending from 70 to just 10 per cent, the report makes the benefits of hidden innovation clear and suggests how it should be taken into account.

Next steps for UK innovation

Recognising the positive impact to date of the government's focus on investing in science innovation, NESTA highlights the need to widen innovation policy moving forward to reflect the changing make-up of the economy.

To this end, the report urges government to call for more evidence on how innovation happens in all sectors that are critical to the UK economy. At the same time it stresses the proactive role industry must play, arguing that to develop a full innovation strategy requires a level of sectoral understanding that only industry can provide. NESTA is exploring ways in which it can work with individual sectors to maximise their potential for innovation.

Highlighting the changing nature of innovation, the report stresses the way in which the government's non-innovation policies can be used proactively to enhance our capacity to innovate, citing the positive effect of intelligent regulation on financial services in the City of London. It underlines that any investigation of innovation in a sector must take these external factors into account.

NESTA's report will be launched alongside a DTI report on 'Innovation in Services', which presents a series of papers from leading academics in the field. The papers bring diverse perspectives to the study of innovation including analysis of 'experiential services' (entertainment, flights) and new research on how firms across the UK interact with the knowledge infrastructure. Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Alistair Darling, commented:

"Innovation is key to Britain's future and at the centre of our approach is creating a climate where innovation can flourish. Innovation in the wider economy, including in our services sector, has been too often a well-kept secret and we have a chance to change that. It is a vital driver to ensure we're a world-leading economy. It's the way we'll stay in front in the future."

According to NESTA CEO Jonathan Kestenbaum, it's time we caught up with the realities of innovation in all areas of today's society:

"It's clear we need to develop policy that supports innovation beyond its traditional home in science and technology, and be more sensitive to other contributing factors. This change should be driven not just by government but by business leaders across all UK sectors who must also commit to recognising, measuring and promoting innovation".

Collaboration vital

The NESTA report heralds Constructing Excellence, a scheme which brought together major companies, clients, different levels of government and the research community to identify, develop and diffuse innovation, as a good example of the way in which industry leaders and government can collaborate to the benefit of all. Government gets the right people together, while the sector leaders themselves drive change.

At the same time, NESTA lays out a clear blueprint for government to facilitate this broader innovation agenda. This, it suggests, should see:

• Innovation policy explicitly extended beyond the historic bounds of science and technology policy.
• All government departments given a brief to be innovative themselves and to act to stimulate or be hospitable to innovation elsewhere in the economy.
• A senior departmental home for innovation within or closely linked to the department primarily responsible for the productivity of the economy.

 

According to Kestenbaum, recognising 'hidden innovation' and taking steps to improve upon it will be vital to our future success:

"Too many people still see innovation as the exclusive reserve of scientists and in doing this they overlook our broader capacity for innovation in the UK. Without the right kind of support 'hidden innovation' will remain just that - one teacher in one classroom pioneering a new approach or a bank making incremental improvements that might ultimately lead to a new service. The challenge for all of us is to harness and stimulate this innovation for social and economic gain".

Download our Hidden Innovation Report.

NESTA spokespeople are available for comment and interview. Please contact our press office on 020 7438 9608.

NESTA
NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. With endowed funds of over £300 million, its mission is to transform the UK's capacity for innovation. It does this in three main ways: by working to build a more pervasive culture of innovation in this country; by providing innovators with access to early stage capital; and by driving forward research into innovation, with a view to influencing policy.