BizResearch

Science, Technology and Innovation in Europe

This publication presents an analysis of Science, technology and innovation in Europe looking at the main statistical indicators in this field. It is intended for both generalists and specialists and is divided into three main parts: Part 1: Investing in R&D; Part 2: Monitoring the knowledge workers; and Part 3: Productivity and competitiveness

Selected highlights from the report:

In 2006, R&D expenditure as a share of GDP (R&D in the EU-27 remained stable at 1.84 %.  Considering the estimates by sector, most R&D expenditure is financed by the business enterprise sector (BES), which accounted for almost two thirds (1.17 %) of R&D intensity in 2006, while the public sector (higher education and government) accounted for 0.65% and the remaining 0.02 % was financed by the private non-profit sector (PNP).

In 2006 the leading EU-27 Member States in terms of R&D intensity were Sweden and Finland, with 3.73 % and 3.58 % respectively. R&D intensity also exceeded 2 % in Germany (2.53 %), Denmark (2.43 %), Austria (2.49 %) and France (2.09 %).

At EU level, high-tech exports grew on average by 0.5 % per year between 2001 and 2006, while high-tech imports declined by 0.1% per year. At country level, Cyprus recorded the highest average annual growth rate in high-tech exports (63.5%), followed by Latvia (32.7%), Slovakia (32.0%) and Bulgaria (31.2%). Over the same period Slovakia recorded the highest AAGR in terms of high-tech imports (26.7%).

In 2006, 1.3 million researchers (in FTE) were employed in the EU-27, which represents an increase of 77 700 over 2004. In the same period the number of researchers increased in most EU-27 Member States. In 2006, Germany employed the most researchers in FTE (282 000), followed by Spain (116 000).

Women are still under-represented in R&D in the EU-27, especially in the business enterprise sector: in 2005, women represented 30 %of all researchers in the EU and only 19 %of researchers employed in the BES. The share of female researchers was generally higher in the new Member States (2004 and 2007 enlargements) and candidate countries.

The report also presents the results from the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) at European and national level, together with a look at the Community Innovation Surveys (CIS) for 2006 and 2008.

The full report can be downloaded from the Eurostat website

Photo from Creative Commons: Flickr: mybloodyself

Beyond Borders: The Global Innovation 1000: Booz & Company study of corporate R&D spending

  This year’s annual Booz & Company study of corporate R&D spending reveals, for the first time, where in the world the money is being spent - and why.

As business becomes increasingly global, corporate innovation strategies are becoming more global as well: Multinational companies are spending a significant - and growing - share of their research and development money outside the countries in which they are headquartered. Booz & Company’s annual Global Innovation 1000 study found that in 2007, the top 80 U.S. corporate R&D spenders deployed an estimated US$80.1 billion of their $146 billion R&D funds overseas. The top 50 European companies spent $51.4 billion of their $117 billion total outside the continent. In Japan, the top 43 Japanese firms exported $40.4 billion of their total $71.6 billion to other countries.

At first glance, observers might think that this represents a loss of jobs, intellectual power, and influence for the home countries of these companies. But innovation spending seems to flow in both directions at once. Even as the companies based in the U.S. performed $80.1 billion worth of R&D in other countries, companies headquartered elsewhere poured $42.6 billion into R&D conducted in the U.S. (See Exhibit 1.) In fact, 40 percent of the money spent on R&D in the U.S. is spent by companies headquartered elsewhere. The total amount of R&D spending in the U.S. is 2.7 times as great as in Japan, whereas the spending generated by companies headquartered in the U.S. is only two times as great. Moreover, companies that invest wisely in a multinational innovation footprint are gaining far better returns on their R&D investment than companies that exclusively keep their laboratories at home — or that fragment them across a wide variety of locations.

The study found that the Global Innovation 1000 companies are spending an average of 55 percent of their innovation dollars outside their home country, demonstrating how international the practice of innovation has become over the past several decades. All the biggest companies are now multinational, and their R&D footprints reflect the need to succeed in the global economy — to compete against nimble and fast-growing local and international operators, win share in unfamiliar new markets, understand the customers in those markets, recruit talented scientists and engineers, and capture the best ideas from around the world. Fully 91 percent of this year’s Global Innovation 1000 already conduct innovation activities outside the countries in which they are headquartered.

To read more click here.

Picture: Creative Commons: FlickR: Mishel Churkin