Strategy for international engagement in research and development
The overarching objective of the GSIF strategy is for the UK to be the partner of choice for global business looking to locate Research and Development (R&D) activities overseas, and for foreign universities seeking overseas collaboration.
Published 23 October 2006, the strategy fulfils a commitment under the Science and Innovation Investment Framework. It responds to the increasing importance of international science and innovation for the UK and for addressing global challenges.
The strategy sets out, for the first time, a framework of objectives to prioritise and coordinate the UK’s international engagement in R&D:
- Research excellence - collaborating with the highest quality research internationally and attracting the best scientists to work in and collaborate with the UK.
- Excellence in innovation – encouraging UK companies to engage in international research and international companies to invest in UK research.
- Influence – using science and technology to underpin international policy making and as a tool to foster bilateral partnerships
- Development – using research and innovation in support of international development goals
The strategy demonstrates that the UK starts from a position of strength: a world-leading research base and at the forefront of many international research endeavours; highly attractive and open to overseas researchers and to international companies R&D investments; offering a wide range of schemes and programmes to support international collaboration. While the UK performs well, the strategy provides seven recommendations for further improvements in the following areas:
- Ensuring UK researchers and businesses engage with the very best research internationally, through simplified access to public support schemes and consolidating the UK presence in key partner countries
- Developing strategic partnerships, through new schemes to link world class UK universities with counterparts in China and India, and to attract the best researchers to the UK and managing alumni effectively
- Improving coordination to create synergies across government and key non-governmental bodies - in bilateral relationships with priority countries, in marketing and communicating UK strengths, and in promoting scientific advice in international policy making.
- Supporting activities to increase the innovative nature of UK business - ensuring it has the capacity to internationalise and access to the very best science, engineering and technology opportunities worldwide; and increasing the research intensity of the UK by encouraging R&D investment in the UK by innovative multinational enterprises.
Work is now ongoing to deliver on these recommendations.
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