Individually and collectively the Research Councils fund a range of activities to enable knowledge transfer – that is to encourage the movement of people and ideas between the research base and user organisations be they companies, the public sector, charities or other research bodies. This portfolio of activities supported by the Research Councils includes:
Collaborative research, undertaken in partnership by universities and research organisations working with business, charities, Government Departments and others. Researchers and end users gain many benefits by working together on research problems. This includes access to world class scientific expertise, use of unique or cutting edge facilities, as well providing opportunities to jointly shape the direction of the research such that it meets user need. The Research Councils individually and collectively fund research programmes, consortia and research "clubs" as well as a Small Business Research Scheme.
Collaborative training enables the development of highly skilled researchers, able to undertake excellent research and able to facilitate the exploitation of research outputs. The main vehicle for collaborative training supported by the Research Councils is the CASE PhD studentship scheme which links academic and commercial and other partners in jointly training PhD students.
People and knowledge flow. Individuals are at the heart of knowledge transfer. All of the Research Councils encourage increased levels of university business interaction and all support the exchange of researchers between academia and industry and stimulate partnerships between business and researchers. This includes support for brokering and networking activities, fellowship schemes that enable researchers to work in a commercial environment, and support for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs).
Commercialisation: The Research Councils positively encourage the exploitation of the results of the research they support. The ownership of intellectual property (IP), and responsibility for its exploitation, usually rests with the university or research organisation carrying out the research. To encourage universities to build entrepreneurial environments and undertake the commercialisation of research, the Councils support IP management training and workshops for researchers.
Specific support for proof of concept work is provided a number of Councils through the "Follow on Fund" and a range of Council specific schemes. If commercial potential has been demonstrated, the Research Councils help researchers take their ideas further down the exploitation route via the RCUK Business Plan Competition which provides training and mentoring in the development of business skills.