NI Business Expenditure In R&D Continues To Rise
The 2017 Research and Development Statistical Bulletin on R&D expenditure by businesses shows a 4 per cent rise on 2016, and 20 per cent on five years ago.
The report also shows an increase in the number of businesses investing in R&D, which has risen to 900 companies [1].
Welcoming the positive figures released by NISRA, Alastair Hamilton, CEO, Invest Northern Ireland said:“Increasing business expenditure on research and development (BERD) is one of our three Business Strategy outcomes.
“These figures released today are our first measure of progress towards this output. The £18.9m increase in BERD [2] from 2016 to 2017 represents nearly 12 per cent progress against our five year target. While the increase is positive we clearly still have some way to go to realise the £160m increase we are working towards.”
The report also shows positive increases in expenditure by SMEs, up £43m. Even more impressive is that this investment has increased by 75 per cent since 2012. This is where support programmes, such as our Innovation Voucher, are helping smaller businesses invest in innovative practices that will improve their business’ competitiveness.
Alastair Hamilton, CEO, Invest NI.
“The report also shows positive increases in expenditure by SMEs, up £43m. Even more impressive is that this investment has increased by 75 per cent since 2012. This is where support programmes, such as our Innovation Voucher, are helping smaller businesses invest in innovative practices that will improve their business’ competitiveness.”
The NISRA report also showed that nearly 83 per cent of businesses engaged in R&D in 2017 were locally owned, and that expenditure by these businesses increased by nearly 11 per cent between 2016 and 2017.
