SCOTLAND is falling behind its international competitors in the amount of public funding it spends on vital university research, according to a new report.
A new study found Scotland spends just 1.6 per cent of its GDP on research - "substantially less" than leading European companies such as Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
The report also found that businesses in Scotland only contributed 3.1 per cent of the £24.1 billion invested in business research and co-operation between universities and business which is lower than other parts of the UK.
The report by the National Centre for Universities and Business made nine recommendations including the need for more cooperation on skills and a requirement that businesses take responsibility for their own innovation.
Rob Woodward, chief executive officer of the STV Group, who co-chaired the task force which compiled the report, said: "To maintain Scotland’s competitive edge at the forefront of global innovation, it is vital the country move quickly to adapt.
"Scotland must harness the creativity and inventiveness of its universities to bring about transformational change in all aspects of its business ecosystem, processes, services and technologies, have a relentless focus on entrepreneurship and business skills and realign its policies and investments to make this vision a reality."
John Swinney, the Education Secretary,described the report as a "valuable contribution" to the debate on innovation reform in Scotland.
He said: "I welcome the recommendations from the report which complement the Scottish Government’s plans on innovation reform, by simplifying the Scottish innovation ecosystem and maximising collaboration between higher education institutions and business.
"Scotland has a comprehensive range of higher education institutions. The research they undertake, combined with our high quality workforce, means we clearly have many of the tools that will allow us to succeed in delivering greater prosperity in Scotland’s economy."
Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, which represents principals, said it was clear from the report that support for universities was vital to bring about transformational change in innovation.
He said: "The report recognises the many and strong activities our universities are delivering for Scotland and calls on the Scottish Government to restore funding for research to 2014/15 levels as part of a proposed new innovation funding system.
"This proposed new funding system, which includes public funding for knowledge transfer activity between universities and business, merits further consideration.
"There is real enthusiasm in Scotland’s universities to engage on the innovation agenda so as to be drivers of the country’s economy and we welcome the report’s focus on talent as a driver of innovation."
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