UK falters in global innovation rankings

Mark Elborne
CEO and President at GE UK
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Post date: Tuesday, 31st January 2012

The global economic crisis has had a significant impact upon innovation across the globe. In the UK, many businesses have become increasingly risk averse during the downturn, especially as access to private and public funding has become more difficult, and many others may have seen R&D spending decrease or disappear entirely. 

Centred on the topic of business and manufacturing innovation, the results of GE's second annual Innovation Barometer revealed some very interesting findings, particularly from the UK. British companies see innovation as fundamental to the future health in this country, not just in terms of business, but socially as well. They also feel that sufficient triggers are not in places to stimulate and encourage this innovation, and that the remedy for this must be a renewed sense of efficiency and intensity around innovation – particularly support for small businesses – to ensure that the UK competes.

The results of the Barometer also make it clear that UK companies see collaboration as key to future growth - from government and big business to SMEs and individuals.  Almost 9 out of 10 UK businesses claim that SMEs and individual entrepreneurs can be as innovative as bigger companies, reinforcing the need for funding and support for local innovations and ideas.

We have a proud and distinguished tradition and reputation of innovation and invention in this country. The UK has a unique heritage of successful innovation – from Brunel to Dyson and beyond – which demonstrates our ability to compete with the best in the world. In addition, GE research in 2011 revealed that British engineering students felt very positively about their career prospects in the UK.  It is the combination of this heritage and the passion of the next generation of innovators that needs to be harnessed. GE’s Innovation Barometer demonstrates that more needs to be done to ensure this happens, and whilst we are still up there as a top 30 innovation champion, our research has uncovered some worrying trends. 

The reality is that the uncertain economic pressures everyone is facing are making life more difficult, but it is more crucial than ever to the future growth of British business that we don’t drop any further down the innovation league table. We must harness the exciting talent – both in the existing workforce and in those coming up through graduate and apprenticeship routes – to provide real solutions to our most pressing problems.

Therefore, one of the big positives to come out of the Barometer findings is that young people in the UK overwhelmingly embrace innovation. From the iPod to social media, the so-called Generation Y are surrounded by technology and innovation and consequently experience the benefits of constantly changing technology at their fingertips. These young people are the future of innovation in the UK and it is therefore crucial that we harness their passion and enthusiasm and channel it appropriately.

More widely, the Barometer also looked at the global innovation trends, and there were a number of initiatives that have worked well in other markets which could be adopted in Britain:

• Germany was named by many as an ‘innovation champion’, The government’s robust innovation policy initiatives are regularly reviewed and renewed and the High Tech Strategy 2020 provides a clear vision for where they want to be in the fields of science, technology and innovation by the end of the decade.
• The US has been a centre of innovation since the 1800s. Its reputation as the leading light in this area is the result of years of extensive collaboration between universities, government and corporations made possible by legislation allowing private and university control of federally-funded research projects.
• The Japanese government is committed to maintaining strong levels of funding for innovation, despite the recession, with a boost in R&D spending to over 4% of GDP.

Ultimately, all of us have an important part to play in creating the means for collaboration and effective working partnerships to make sure that the UK once again gets ahead of the game when it comes to being innovative. We have the resources. Government with funding and support; big business by developing and funding projects, as well as creating partnerships and investing in R&D; and SMEs and individuals who continue to push the boundaries of existing technologies.

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