4.1 Business spend on innovation including R&D

Successful, innovative new products or processes require not just business expenditure on R&D, but also expenditure on design, training, marketing and equipment.

How does the UK perform?

The Community Innovation Survey (Chart 4.1.1), shows that, as a proportion of turnover, UK services spend more on innovation than their European counterparts;  UK services spend much more on innovation than UK manufacturers; and UK manufacturers spend less on innovation than those in Germany, France, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Austria or the Netherlands. It also shows that (Chart 4.1.2) large manufacturing companies in the UK are relatively less committed to change and innovation than their EU counterparts.