Big boost in external income for spinouts from public research

A survey of knowledge transfer activities in publicly funded research establishments and research councils has found that external investment in spinout companies was 20-fold higher in 2012-13 than in 2008-9.

External investment in spinouts from public research establishments and research councils in 2012-13 totalled £202.8 million, according to the 7th Survey of Knowledge Transfer Activities in Public Sector Research Establishments and Research Councils. The equivalent figure from the sixth survey, which reported on activity in 2008-9, was just £10m. The number of spinouts almost doubled during the same period, increasing from 83 in 2008-9 to 143 in the most recent survey. 

In total, the research establishments and research councils, excluding NHS regions, are estimated to have spent £2.8 billion on R&D in 2012-13, an average of 44 per cent of their income. The 2008-9 estimate of total spend was £2.5bn, and this included NHS regions.