Nigel Griffiths MP

UK Science Parks

This Conference marks an important moment for all science parks - UKSPA members and non-members alike.

Yesterday, Gordon Brown wrote in The Times "our £1.25 billion science investment is the recognition for today's world that global industrial restructuring demands support for a far more entrepreneurial science community".

I believe that science parks have a crucial role to play in that restructuring, creating a successful knowledge-based economy, helping to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

You have a created 68 science parks…supporting almost 2000 small businesses employing over 42,000 people in over a million square metres of space.

The challenges of globalisation and new technology mean that UK businesses have to become more innovative. Improved knowledge transfer, between business and universities, and from business to business, is the key to improved innovation performance.

We have in the UK a world-class science and technology base that provides a rich source of new projects.

We have made real progress in the last few years, witnessing a remarkable transformation in our universities, which have risen to the challenge of the new knowledge economy.

This Government is committed to raising the level of scientific excellence in order to create a high value added economy. In 1997 the Science budget was £1.3 billion. Now the Science budget is growing by an average 10% a year to reach £2.9 billion by 2006. This is a step change in funding because the Government wants to develop and retain high quality people and to ensure that the UK's Science base matches world-class standards and is properly equipped to foster and support dynamic and energetic new companies.

In today's global economy, Britain simply cannot compete on the basis of low labour costs and cheap materials. Those days are gone. We must compete on the basis of our knowledge, skills and creativity.

We are one of the most creative nations for scientific research in the world. We have seen a sharp increase in the number of British patents filed, up 26% between 1999 and 2001.

My mission is to secure knowledge transfer from the universities into profitable, commercial applications. The work you have already undertaken is beginning to produce impressive results. Last year there were 248 companies spinning out of universities, and increase of over 20% on the year before, and a substantial increase on the 70-a-year average for the five years before that.
This spin-off rate compares very favourably with the United States, as UK Universities identify one spin-off business for every £12 million of research funding in the UK, compared with one spin-off for every $60 million of research funding in the United States.

Of course, there is still more to do to increase the rate of innovation in UK companies. That is why our DTI team is looking at all the Government policies which impact on Innovation, and it will report this autumn. A key issue we are looking at is how we attract more high-tech, high value-added companies to locate their facilities in this country, because we see this as essential to speeding up our rate of innovation.

Last night I attended the Investors All Stars Awards. These people are already investing in businesses like yours and the Government recognises the importance of these venture capitalists to make science commercial.

The research published today at your Conference confirms that Science Parks make a vital and distinctive contribution the UK's economic infrastructure. The accommodation you provide is extremely helpful to tenants, and the overall commercial performance of the companies based on them is better than similar firms located elsewhere.

I look forward to hearing how UKSPA - with its members - will develop the proposals in the report, from strategy into action. It is only through the commitment, support and direction of the member parks that these matters will be effectively addressed.
I wish you a successful Conference.