QinetiQ is a leading international provider of technology–based services and solutions to the defence, security and related markets.
Independent Study
Oxford Economics, the highly respected independent specialists in economic impact assessment, has carried out a survey of the UK's Intermediate Research and Technology Sector and the impact that its work in innovation and the exploitation of research and technological change has on the UK economy. The report was commissioned by airto.
There are a significant number of Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) that operate in this Intermediate Sector - the majority of them members of AIRTO. The work of the Sector has a clearly beneficial effect on UK innovation and Industry. However the role of the sector, and the independent RTOs within it, is often poorly understood in the context of the UK's innovation infrastructure, unlike many of their overseas counterparts who are linked to national innovation strategy.
The report concludes that the work of the sector is vital in helping to raise the productivity of UK companies and in connecting businesses, government and academia to the resources needed for the successful uptake of new technology. The sector contributes £3bn to UK GDP, supports over 60,000 jobs and makes a catalytic contribution to UK GDP that runs into many tens of billions of pounds.