Stop obsessing over 2.4% R&D target, says spin-out expert

Spinout specialist urges next government to turn attention to specific initiatives rather than spending targets

The 2.4 per cent research funding target should be dropped by the next government because it comes with “too much rhetoric”, an expert has said.

Mike Rees, a specialist in start-up commercialisation and the author of a recent Research England report on links between universities and investors, told Research Professional News that targets for specific levels of investment in research and development (R&D) should be replaced by a focus on individual projects.