Science needs to find a different way of doing business

The idea that a single piece of research can lead to a product or service is misguided. Gaining understanding and exploiting it are different processes, says David Bott.

With the increasing political emphasis on innovation-fuelled growth, the question of how to turn the UK’s scientific capability into commercial success is becoming more important. Past efforts have been largely unsuccessful, so what relationship must we build between universities and companies to aid the economy?

Every successful product or service that I have encountered in my career has been based in research. But the time between the research and application can be long, and the provenance of the most successful products or services is often complicated and multidisciplinary.