Translating research into commercial application

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee is to conduct an inquiry into how the government and other organisations can improve the commercialisation of research.

The inquiry is timely given that the government has recently published:

• an Innovation and Research Strategy for Growth, setting out how it will work with business and the knowledge base to underpin private sector led growth
• its strategy for the life sciences, outlining how it will take action to make the UK a world-leading place for life sciences investment.

The inquiry, called ‘Bridging the “valley of death”: improving the commercialisation of research’ has invited written submissions around the following questions:

• 1. What are the difficulties of funding the commercialisation of research, and how can they be overcome?
• 2. Are there specific science and engineering sectors where it is particularly difficult to commercialise research? Are there common difficulties and common solutions across sectors?
• 3. What, if any, examples are there of UK-based research having to be transferred outside the UK for commercialisation? Why did this occur?
• 4. What evidence is there that government and Technology Strategy Board initiatives to date have improved the commercialisation of research?
• 5. What impact will the government’s innovation, research and growth strategies have on bridging the valley of death?
• 6. Should the UK seek to encourage more private equity investment (including venture capital and angel investment) into science and engineering sectors and if so, how can this be achieved?
• 7. What other types of investment or support should the Government develop?

Each submission should: be no more than 3,000 words in length; be in Word format with as little use of colour or logos as possible; have numbered paragraphs; and include a declaration of interests.

Submissions should be sent by e-mail to [email protected] and marked “Bridging the “valley of death””.

Written evidence must be submitted by noon on Wednesday 8 February 2012.

An additional paper copy should be sent to: The Clerk, Science and Technology Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank London SW1P 3JA