Speech to Westminster Higher Education Forum and Westminster Business Forum Keynote Seminar: The next steps for UK research and innovation Thursday 23rd February 2012, Sixty One Whitehall, London Panel Session: Developing the knowledge-intensive economy - responding to the Innovation and Research Strategy

1. Speech to Westminster Higher Education Forum and Westminster Business Forum
Keynote Seminar:
The next steps for UK research and innovation
Thursday 23rd February 2012, Sixty One Whitehall, London
Panel Session: Developing the knowledge-intensive economy - responding to the Innovation
and Research Strategy
Dr Martin Dare-Edwards,
UK Country Manager, Infineum, and Chair, Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership
Good morning, my opportunity to speak with you today presents a delightful confluence
between my day-job responsibilities as UK Country Manager for a globally leading, UK
incorporated, research intensive company – Infineum, and as Chair of the Oxfordshire Local
Enterprise Partnership.
I am particularly delighted to be invited to speak as Chairman of an „exemplar‟ LEP in
respect of alignment with, and providing a major thrust towards enhancing the „conversion
rate‟ from R&D (ground breaking and more evolutionary R&D) into commercial innovation ….
meaning more high value adding jobs, and resultant national economic wealth.
The Oxfordshire LEP has a fantastic advantage from having its 2 world-class universities
directly participating in the work and stimuli of its Executive Board …. in the form of 2 Pro
Vice Chancellors from our 2 Universities. This feature was highlighted by the Prime Minister
at the launch event for the LEP‟s in Coventry last March.
Much against some „worthy‟ advice Oxfordshire was successful in its bid to establish an
enterprise zone in the so called Science Vale region of our county. Responding to one of
the questions raised for this session to cover, the Oxfordshire Enterprise Zonewillindeed
have clear sector-based focuses based around Oxfordshire‟s Premier league clusters.
All of these clusters have deep linkage and mutual support with Oxford‟s universities.
The first of these is in „Satellite Applications‟, based around the International Space
Innovation Centre (ISIC) at Harwell-Oxford. ISIC‟s activities already have a strong link with
the Saïd Business Schoo,l for exploitation of downstream business opportunities from
Satellite Applications, and a growing relationship with the Oxford Universities‟ internationally
renowned Environmental Change faculties.ISIC is indeed accordingly lead candidate for
hosting the recently approved Satellite Applications “Catapult”.
Oxfordshire‟s Biotech/Drug Development/Clinical Trialling „cluster‟, has clear University spin-
out sourcing and then also direct participation in the implementation evaluation and
exploitation (the latter through the Oxford UniversityHospitals NHSTrust).
Our Cryogenics cluster has a deep-rooted foundation in the University of Oxford, and in the
medical, energy, satellite and fundamental R&D domains cryogenics plays a vital role having
various further contribution from Oxford universities. Regarding the last of these applications,
cryogenic technology is,amongst others, a key enabler for Harwell-Oxford‟s Diamond Light
Source, and Culham‟s fusion research.

2. Oxfordshire‟s burgeoning Advanced Automotive Engineering Sector also has key
collaborations with our 2 universities, including in the ever more important low carbon
transport technologies.
Answering another question set to this panel, Innovation clusters are, and must be the focus
for many of the UK‟s Enterprise Zones – part of making the UK globally competitive, and
leading in the most significant high-return business sectors of the future.I believe it is critical
in our next steps for UK science and innovation, for the UK to focus our limited resources on
our already “Global Premier League” clusters.
In closing, I wish to offeran imperative to this meeting, and beyond:
A key element of future success for UK research and innovation is to maintain both:
1. A critical mass of fundamental research that pushes the boundaries of
knowledge
and
2. Embedding that in a critical mass of entrepreneurial business that can
recognise and exploit areas of that new knowledge
Lose either and it will be difficult to have a local, national or international impact!
Oxford and Oxfordshire are fortunate to have both world class research and a set of
associated high tech business clusters, and there is a great opportunity of growing
both further.
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3. Separate Short Responses to Questions set to panels
How can investment in science-based SMEs, often requiring high-risk long-term investment
before returns, be increased to support commercial innovation; what role should
Government play?
Short answer:
Oxfordshire is already arenowned and highly successful centre of angel and other pooled
venture capital investment in high tech companies. What Government can do to assist this
vital source of funding is to provide(even) more encouragement to high net worth individuals
to allocate more of their investments to the high tech sector.
What will be the likely impact of the Government’s plans to improve the R&D Tax Credit
scheme for SMEs, including raising the credit’s value to 225% from April 2012? Could the
process of claiming R&D Tax Credits be simplified to increase take-up? Will the proposed
‘above the line’ tax credit for large firms achieve its aim of increasing private investment in
R&D?
Short answer:
For SME‟s→ yes this will be of great value, provided that the bureaucracy can be
minimised
For LargerCompanies‟s →the above-the-(bottom)-line benefits are influential on locating
and sourcing more R&D in the UK (and I can say so specifically by relation to my day-job
experience!)
Should the new Tier 1 visa for ‘Exceptional Talent’ be more lenient to allow more lower-paid
researchers from outside the EU to work in the UK?
Short answer:
Yes it is imperative to lower the salary threshold for the “Exceptional Talent” visa (especially
for SME‟s). However at the same time, it is vital for the UK todevote more resources and
stimulus to raising aspirations of UK school students to take up STEM subjects, plus to drive
home the message of the value and durability of career opportunities opened-up through the
apprenticeship routes.