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University of Manchester Centre for Service Research22 April 2009
Innovation in services: the contribution from Engineering and Physical Sciences
Vince Osgood, Associate Director, Economic Impact
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Presentation to cover:
• Role of EPSRC
• Our approach to working with businesses
• Examples of service sector investments
• Examples of research projects
• Future Opportunities
• Issues/challenges
• Questions
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EPSRC Purpose: Charter
Support high quality basic, strategic and applied research, and related postgraduate training
Advance knowledge and technology to meet the needs of users and beneficiaries
Thereby contribute to the UK’s continued economic competitiveness and quality of life
“Excellence with Impact”
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The Whole EPSRC Picture
“Other cross council themes”Living with environmental change (£9M)Global Uncertainties: security for all in a changing world (£6M)Ageing: life-long health and wellbeing (£11M)
Commitments 2008-11
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Working with Businesses
•Aerospace, Defence and Marine
•Transport Systems and Vehicles
•Electronics, communications and IT
•Creative industries
•Manufacturing
•Medicines and healthcare
•Infrastructure and Environment
•Energy
•Cross cutting themes
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Distribution of Collaborative Funding by Sector
£-
£20,000,000
£40,000,000
£60,000,000
£80,000,000
£100,000,000
£120,000,000
£140,000,000
£160,000,000
£180,000,000
Electro
nics
Power
No re
levan
ce to
Und
erpin
ning
Secto
rs
Health
care
Aeros
pace
and
Def
ence
Man
ufac
turin
g
Chem
icals
Trans
port
Constr
uctio
n
Enviro
nmen
t
Comm
unica
tions
Pharm
aceu
ticals
and
Biot
echn
ology
Softw
are
Wat
er
Financ
ial S
ervic
es
Med
iaOth
er
Food
and
Drink
Retail
Val
ue o
f the
Col
labo
rativ
e P
ortfo
lio b
y S
ecto
r
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o To develop a shared research and training vision between businesses and the research base
•Technology Strategy Board: Innovation Platforms/Integrated Development Programmes; Collaborative R&D; IKCs; KTNs; ICASE; KTPs
•EPSRC £50M: TSB £54M – 128 projects
oCompany Partnerships: range of sectors, organisations in the public, private and third sectors.
•Wellcome; Cancer Research UK; BAE Systems; Proctor and Gamble; Mobile VCE; NPL;Microsoft
Strategic Partnerships
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•Digital Economy Programme - £103M over 3 years
• HACRIC: Salford, Imperial College, Loughborough, Reading- £10M over 5 years
•IMRC at Loughborough on retail and logistics - £18M over 5 years
•Advanced Institute of Management Research – jointly funded with ESRC
•Strategic Partnerships with key organisations (e.g. Technology Strategy Board, Proctor and Gamble; Mobile VCE)
Focused “service” investments
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9
Digital Economy ProgrammeCross Research Councils (EPSRC, ESRC, MRC and AHRC) programme, aimed at realising the transformational impact of ICT for all aspects of business, society and government.
• Ubiquitous Computing
• Rural UK
• Changing Business models in the Creative Industries
• Doctoral Training
£120M over 3 years, 2008/9 – 2010/11 research and training:
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• To significantly increase UK capability in management research and to impact on management practice
• Warwick Business School and Cambridge University (+ others)
• Jointly funded by EPSRC/ESRC
• Fellows, scholars, collaborative research
• Dissemination and best practice
• Strong links to UK businesses and public policy makers
• Productivity and performance; sustainable innovation; public services; promising practices; services
• Contact : Prof Andy [email protected]
Advanced Institute for Management Research (AIM)
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Fundamental Physics into Services
Fibre Optics: original work in 1800s, more recently (1955 onwards photonics) applications in service sectors such as communications, entertainment, healthcare, virtual and remote networking
Lasers: principle originally conceived by Einstein, but only in the past 40 years have they been applied to rapid communication through broadband network, fast data storage through CD/DVD technologies, medical diagnosis and treatment;
Liquid Crystals: origins in early 1900s , from the 1950s simple displays in watches, calculators, now more complex displays in mobile devices, phones, computer screens, TV, advertising;
GPS: moved from military to civilian usage and from tracking to satellite navigation and internet-based tracking of stolen cars. Courtesy of IOP
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Case study example from research DAME (Distributed Aircraft Maintenance Environment) e-Science programme:
York, Leeds, Oxford, Sheffield Universities; Rolls-Royce, Data systems and Solutions, Cybula
Use of grid technologies to implement a distributed decision support system for deployment in maintenance applications and environments
In-service engine health monitoring
Enables company to offer “power by the hour” service
Service aspects: safety and reliability; cost reduction; early-stage monitoring; greater in-service availability
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Case study example from research VALID (Value in Design) Construction Project:
Loughborough Innovative Manufacturing research Centre with construction companies and professional institutions
Aims to help the sector create buildings which better meet customer aspirations
Build in expectations of relevant stakeholders through the design evolution and construction process
Outcomes have been development of training courses for companies, application of the approach by the Dutch Government Building Agency, and an EngD project in collaboration with Manchester City Council
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Case study example from research Quantitative financial risk
Quantitative Financial Risk Management Centre, Imperial College:
funded through an EPSRC Strategic Partnership with the Institute of Actuaries with additional funding from ESRC
Aim to develop tools for understanding and controlling risk in the retail banking sector by developing enhanced models for individual customer risk, through to models which incorporate macroeconomic factors
Looking at how banks can analyse risk in retail banking and reduce bad debt
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Case study example from research
SSME Network, University of Manchester (Prof L MacAulay)
Involves 6 other universities
Founding member companies (IBM,HP, BT, Uxonline, Abacus Billing Ltd)
Aims to develop the wider services, management and engineering research agenda
Develop a shared understanding of goals and opportunities
Cohesive research and education programme to enhance UK capacity in services science research and education
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Training in services science: DTCs44 New Centres for Doctoral Training £280M:
Digital Economy Innovation Centre
Digital Music and Media for the Creative Economy
Web Science
Financial computing
Urban Sustainability and Resilience
Technologies for Sustainable Built Environments
Digital Media, Special Effects and Animation
Systems Integration
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Funding opportunities: Current and future
• Designing effective research spaces (with AHRC and British Library)
• Digital economy – research in the wild
• Cold water cleaning (with P+G)
• Science and heritage (with AHRC)
• Information Infrastructure Protection (with TSB, CPNI)
• ICT Discipline hopping
• Ideas factory: Detecting terrorists at a distance
• TSB Collaborative R&D Calls
• Carbon capture and storage (with NERC)
• Next Generation Healthcare
• Fellowships
• Innovation and Knowledge Centres (with TSB)
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Some Issues/Challenges
Many service companies are new and have little previous interactions with the science base or research councils
Existing sectors/companies becoming increasingly “customer focused” rather than technology/product push, but need help to achieve the transformation
But this transformation itself requires new research and skills development – how best can this be provided
So how best to improve the absorptive capacity of businesses to adapt to the new service environment ;
How to influences changes to existing business models/sectors/businesses
Role of regulation and procurement in stimulating innovation, commercialisation and growth in service sectors
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Questions
Is it any longer meaningful to distinguish between service and other sectors (e.g. manufacturing)?
With continued fall in UK manufacturing output/exports, can services realistically make up the “Trade Gap”?
With continuing increase in productivity in manufacturing (output/no of employees) can services realistically make up the “employment gap”?
How best to bridge the skills divide in the service sector (jobs at both low skill/low wage and high skill/high wage) elements in the sector and economy?
To what extent do HEI IP policies help/hinder innovation in the service sectors?
