AIRTO, the Association of Innovation, Research & Technology Organisations, welcomes the publication of CaSE’s briefing on Unlocking the potential of PSREs. It reinforces the messages of previous reports on the role Public Sector Research Establishments (PSREs) from both The Royal Society and AIRTO:

• The Royal Society’s ‘The role of public and non-profit research organisations in the UK research and innovation landscape, September 2020’ ) provided an explainer of the diverse research and innovation ecosystem including universities in the UK, research-intensive businesses and research institutes. Public and non-profit research organisations are an often overlooked but essential part of this ecosystem. They include PSREs, Research Council institutes, Catapult centres and private non-profit organisations such as institutes and charities. Together these organisations deliver substantial benefits to government, the economy and wider society. However, the diversity of these organisations means that they have not always been considered holistically and cuts to science budgets, mergers, closures, constant changes in governance and a shift to short-term project-based funding, have left the UK’s ecosystem fragmented.
• AIRTO’s ‘A Taxonomy of UK National Laboratories, March 2021’ focused on a particular group of these organisations (also including a few in the private sector), termed  ‘National Laboratories’. There are more than 25 of these, each delivering a public mission and playing an important role in the UK economy but are often less visible entities until their expertise is demanded in a time of national crisis. Their role in the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic was no exception.

Improved understanding and awareness of the UK’s National Laboratories, including PSREs could help create a more ‘joined up’ approach by government to utilising these valuable assets, within the context of its plans for national resilience, and to support the growth of the UK economy. AIRTO welcomes CaSE’s briefing as a way of further highlighting the important role that PSREs have to play in the wider call Research, Development and Innovation ecosystem; AIRTO contends that PSREs are a critical asset for the delivery of the government’s Innovation Strategy, so there is much benefit to be derived from ensuring they have sustainable funding, strong governance and closer partnerships with the government’s policy teams.

About AIRTO
AIRTO is the Association of Innovation, Research and Technology Organisations. Its membership comprises approximately sixty of the principal organisations operating in the UK’s Innovation, Research and Technology (IRT) sector. The IRT sector has a combined turnover of £6.9Bn, employing over 57,000 scientific and technical staff (equivalent to the academic staffing of the Russell Group of universities) and, for comparison, it is significantly larger than the network of Fraunhofer Institutes in Germany both in size and its scope of activities. The sector contributes £34Bn to UK GDP. AIRTO’s members work at the interface between academia and industry, for both private and public sector clients.

Members include independent Research and Technology Organisations, Catapult Centres, Public Sector Research Establishments, National Laboratories, and some privately held innovation companies.

For further information, please contact: enquiries@airto.co.uk