Enabling innovation to flourish
By Dr Graham Spittle, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President, IBM Software Group Europe
The role of universities in the developing economies is seen as pivotal in providing a basis for economic growth. The same is true for the mature economies who are seeking to gain economic momentum in a challenging environment When we look at universities in the UK we must do so in their wider global context to understand the challenges and also the key role they could provide in becoming economic integration points as well as places of learning.
The financial crisis of the late 2000s, which was triggered by a liquidity shortfall in the United States banking system in 2008, brought sharply into relief what many observers had begun to suspect: that we were seeing the breakdown of the old order and its systems and processes, coupled with a global shift in power. This in turn led to a rethinking of how institutions and Governments should work, the way jobs could be created or sustained and the changing nature of society.
In the private sector this placed great strain on many businesses worldwide and indeed, many did not survive. Those that did however had undertaken a root and branch examination of their structure and processes and refocused around their core business and reengineered accordingly. Most businesses chose to focus on skill and agility to address a market that values speed and real sustainable value.
In the public sector, governments struggled and continue to struggle with the massive structural debt, high unemployment and the urgent need to restructure processes and public services. The first natural reaction was a programme to address the deficit and raise taxes. Then the key question became how do you create wealth again by stimulating growth? Two types of response have emerged. The first being targeted expenditure to stimulate key industries or infrastructure projects and the second being a longer term focus on skills and innovation.
So if we focus on the UK, where should we look for innovation? The three traditional sources are universities, private sector companies and individual entrepreneurs. I would contend that we need all three and we need far greater mobility between all three sources as we seek to compete in a more competitive world.We need to achieve integration that provides new ideas and a new speed to market for goods and services.
When we look at universities in the UK we must do so in their wider global context to understand the challenges and also the key role they could provide in becoming economic integration points as well as places of learning.
If we focus on just one of these, universities, we are endowed with an excellent platform here in the UK. Our universities have an enviable reputation for excellence and innovation, consistently “punching above their weight” in global league tables of citations and publications. Whilst they have long been recognized as a source of innovation and creative thought, universities have not been leveraged sufficiently to drive economic change in the economy. They sit in a unique place in both the public and private sectors and are well placed to engage and stimulate both. They also have a very strong regional significance and are often the major employer in an area and a powerful force for the mobility of labour.With their teaching and research staff, universities attract skills from all over the world and increasingly, the same is true of the students.Yet somehow we just accept this and fail to exploit this concentration of skill for the longer term.We should consider how to anchor as well as attract this top talent .We need to foster the integration capabilities of universities that have always brought people together to learn and to research. Why should it not be the same to build businesses and drive economic growth? Not just as a byproduct or a spin-out but part of the fundamental ethos, attracting funding and skills accordingly.
Historically this has been seen as the failure of the UK; with a need identified to further exploit our inventive capability in commercial terms and create wealth through innovation. Indeed this was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Technology Strategy Board (TSB); to harness the great ideas and technologies that are produced and “priming the pump” with funds to stimulate the commercial development of ideas or very early stage prototypes. During its short existence, the TSB has created many thousands of jobs and facilitated the start up of businesses and the development of others. Clearly fulfilling a need. This model being further developed with the creation of the newly formed Technology Innovation Centers or TICs.
There is widespread agreement on the conditions/activities that are necessary for innovation to flourish such as, the sharing and dissemination of knowledge, allowing and promoting free movement between industry and university, investing and trusting in people and skills, and a supportive fiscal environment. So what then is missing and how should we address it?
Fundamentally we have all the pieces of the puzzle but we continue to avoid putting them together and creating the fluid exchange that is needed between public and private sectors, regions and countries, industry and academia and enabling this continual linkage rather than individual actions.We must seek to value each other’s contribution rather than defend our own. Until this behavior becomes second nature we must incent this interaction. Hence tax incentives for business to work with universities may change behaviour, as would rewarding and recognising academics who work with industry in the same manner as publishing a paper. A tax regime that stimulates the creation of jobs and that encourages individuals to remain in the UK. Linking together existing economic incentives to add focus around high value sustainable activities. Making explicit use of universities as regional hubs to catalyse local economies as well as drive national growth.
This continued interchange between institutions and individuals must be accelerated if we are to increase the tempo of our economy and use the resources at our disposal.We must also learn that creating the conditions for innovation is not the same as funding R&D. Both are needed but are quite different in nature.We must seek ways to find new markets and products.
The universities have a unique opportunity to embrace the new world in which they find themselves but at the same time become powerful integrating forces for economic growth both regionally and nationally.
Graham Spittle is the Chief Technology Officer and Vice President, IBM Software Group Europe. He is also Chair of the Technology Strategy Board Governing Board.
