62/99
14 April 1999
UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF SCIENCE AND MAKE
BETTER USE OF PUBLIC ASSETS, SAYS BARBARA ROCHE
New guidance on Trading Funds' participation in Joint Ventures was launched today by Financial Secretary Barbara Roche to make it easier for some public research establishments and institutes to unlock the potential of science and to commercialise their research through equity joint ventures.
Speaking at a joint Treasury and Arthur Andersen conference at Islington's Design Centre to promote the commercialisation of public sector intellectual property, Barbara Roche called for better use of public assets and for groups of public sector
research establishments to enter into partnerships through selling their services into the wider market place.
"Science is one area that offers huge potential for the development of new partnerships between public and private sectors. We need to develop ways in which they can work closer together to exploit our many under-used public sector resources.
"Links between university research and business are well advanced. But there are many research institutes and agencies run by departments and Research Councils. These institutes and the role they play is less widely understood than that of the universities but potentially very important for the economy.
"By making better use of publicly-funded research and development we can stimulate the development of leading edge British companies and high quality employment. Today's conference marks another important step in the development of our science base."
The purpose of the guidance note is to provide a source of reference on whether and how the operations of Government Departments financed through trading funds can be discharged through joint ventures under the terms of the Government Trading Funds Act 1973. It considers:
- the legal status of trading funds;
- the implications for joint ventures;
- some potential risks and difficulties associated with joint ventures;
- some pointers for minimising difficulties.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The conference was held to widen the debate on the current study looking into commercialising public sector science. It also featured key speeches from international speakers including Dr. Maria Freire, Director of the Office of Technology Transfer for the US National Institutes of Health; and Sir John Chisholm, Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency.
2. The conference supports the Government's Wider Markets initiative and builds on two seminars that the Treasury held last year on making better use of public sector assets through selling services into wider markets.
3. The new Guidance on Trading Funds is available from the Treasury's Public Enquiry Unit on 020 7270 4860/4870.
4. Press enquiries should be directed to Malcolm Graves at the Treasury Press Office on 020 7270 5192.