Business need

The National Centre for Universities and Business publishes its State of the Relationship report

While businesses have been worrying about how the Omicron Covid variant might affect Christmas parties, it is also worth noting its possible implications for their R&D activity.

The annual State of the Relationship report published today by the National Centre for Universities and Business reveals a sharp decline in university-business collaborations last year as the pandemic began to bite. Even without Omicron, which emerged after the report had been put together, it predicts that next year’s report—the first to cover a full 12-month period affected by Covid-19—will show a further decline “unless there is a significant increase in the UK’s research and innovation investment levels”.