The world has been witnessing ground-breaking innovations and it will continue that way. There is no industry that has not witnessed its series of life changing innovations. Some of the innovations are robotic limbs, self-driving cars that will be launched a couple of years from now, space tourism, gene editing, floating farms and several other ones.
The new innovations and ever advancing technologies are geared towards providing convenience to humans and to also tackle man’s greatest challenges. UK has witnessed its own fair share of innovations. First off, there are new energy technologies that have the capacity to reduce carbon emission drastically. A lot of life-saving vaccines have been developed in the UK and these vaccines are being used all over the world. Several innovations in the healthcare industry have also saved human lives and also saved a lot of money.
Now technology advances at breakneck speed that makes it difficult for governments, individuals and even companies to keep up. These innovations take place in several countries that it is difficult for the UK to retain its leadership position in the world of science and technology.
The only aspect that has not witnessed so much change in the UK is the amount of funds allocated for Research and Development. It has remained about 1.7 percent of UK’s GDP. Both public and private sectors have stopped investing heavily in that sector.
Now, plans are in top gear to raise UK’s funds for research and development to about 3 percent. In the bid to achieve this, UK is working on adding an additional £2bn from public coffers per annum to research and development. This will go a long way in ensuring that UK maintains its pace of innovations.
There is no better time to wake up the research and development sector than now. This is the best time to set all machineries in motion towards the achievement of 3 percent of the GDP for research and development. Now is the time to innovate.
The figure was reached after a thorough economic analysis. 3 percent is about the lowest percentage of UK’s GDP that can be spent on research and development to achieve good returns and rapid economic growth. It has been observed that countries that spend far more than 1.7 percent of their GDP enjoy better returns and have stronger economy than that of the UK.
Substantial investment in research and development enhances innovative and enterprising economy. It promotes the creation and retention of high-paying jobs which attracts talented professionals and thereby improves businesses nationwide and also increases the country’s annual GDP.
To underscore this point, the Irish Government currently invests about €730 million annually. This has continuously fostered and promoted a world class innovation system that leads to continuous development of their economy. It also promotes national competitive advantage across the Irish economy.
