Close to £1m awarded to support commercialisation of research

26 June 2008

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has won nearly £1m to help it support the commercialisation of research in its research centres.

The money comes from the competitive Public Sector Research Exploitation (PSRE) fund run by the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills (DIUS).

Science & Innovation Minister Ian Pearson announced the result of NERC's bid to the fund at an event at the Natural History Museum in London on 23 June 2008.

NERC's Commercialisation Team Leader, Tessa Edgecombe said, "Environmental change is a big issue and one where our world-leading capability can be used to adapt to and mitigate these changes. Now is the time to help the UK benefit from our strong science and research position.

"We will use the £964,680 award to accelerate growth in our commercialisation activity. NERC is keen to build partnerships with the business sector and we look forward to working with the relevant stakeholders to produce an increasing number of spinouts, licence deals and other successful outcomes."

NERC works closely with researchers and technologists at its four research centres - the British Antarctic Survey, the British Geological Survey, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory - to help turn ideas from research into sustainable business opportunities.

The team has a proven track record of commercialising the results of research. In 2007/08, it helped set up three spin out companies, from dealing with waste disposal to producing proteins for the development of new drugs, which involved raising investment of over £2m and negotiating four licence deals.

The income from research commissioned across the four NERC research centres topped £42m in 2006/07, while income from data licensing and the sale of information was over £3m.

Mr Pearson said, "Top quality research is carried out within research council institutes to meet the needs of the UK in areas such as health, defence, environment, agriculture and food. But it's vital that we also maximise the economic impact of this research to meet the challenges of the 21st century. That's why the Public Sector Research Exploitation fund is so important in taking great research and turning it into great business ideas."

Three of NERC's collaborative centres also won awards from the PSRE fund. Plymouth Marine Laboratory, the Scottish Association of Marine Science and the Sea Mammal Research Unit won £998,444, £477,200 and £823,500 respectively.

Further information

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Notes

1. The PSRE was a response to the Baker Report (August 1999) on realising the economic potential of public sector research establishments. The aim of the PSRE is to enable public sector research establishments to develop their capacity to exploit their science and technology potential and to provide seed funding to support the very early stages of business formation from ideas emerging out of research in the public sector science base. Fourth round awards worth over £30m were announced on 23 June 2008.

2. The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funds world-class science, in universities and its own research centres, that increases knowledge and understanding of the natural world. It is tackling major environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity and natural hazards. NERC receives around £400 million a year from the government's science budget, which is used to provide independent research and training in the environmental sciences.

Close to £1m awarded to support commercialisation of research

External links

Press links

Recent press news