Research & Development spend in NI falls

Research and Development (R&D) expenditure in Northern Ireland has shown a decrease on the previous year, the Government revealed today.

The latest figures released on Friday by Enterprise Minister Barry Gardiner showed that total expenditure on R&D was some £262 million in 2003, of which £121 million was spent by businesses and almost £128 million by the Universities. This represents a 6.6% decrease in expenditure in real terms in 2003.

Mr Gardiner said: "Total R&D expenditure was fairly static in 2001 and 2002. The 2003 decrease was due to a fall of some £40 million in real terms in business R&D expenditure - most of which occurred in the manufacturing sector.

“While this highlights the difficulties that manufacturing continues to experience, it is important to note that R&D expenditure by Higher Education organisations increased by 18% over the same period to £128 million.”

The 10 biggest spending companies accounted for over 45% of R&D in Northern Ireland in 2003, compared with 69% of expenditure in 2001 and 60% in 2002. Companies with more than 500 employees accounted for 35% of R&D expenditure, down from 65% in 2001 and 50% in 2002, while medium sized companies share of R&D expenditure increased from 28% (£44.4m) in 2002 to 43% (£52.3m) in 2003. The Minister called on all companies, irrespective of size, to continue to assess the potential for innovation.

"It is vital that all companies pay attention to developing their future potential by using innovation as an engine for growth, irrespective of the size of the company,” Mr Gardiner said. “It is very encouraging to note that there has been an increase in both the proportion and amount of R&D expenditure by medium sized companies.

“It is equally important that they grasp the opportunities of working with universities and other businesses in developing innovative products and new ways of working,” he concluded.

(MB/SP)