Britons lose faith in their powers of invention, survey shows
AstraZeneca's survey, which polled 6,000 people in six countries, showed that America is still viewed as the most innovative country, after Japan and China
Britain once ruled a third of the world and its technological edge allowed it to run rings round its competitors. How different things are today. Britons have scarcely any confidence in the nation's ability to remain as innovative as its rivals, according to a study to be published this week. There is a pervasive fear the UK will slip further down the international league table, as the balance of power shifts from west to east.
Britons expect China to replace Japan and the US as the new global standard bearer for innovation by 2020, a view widely held in other countries. Almost two thirds of Britons feel their country is not as innovative as it used to be, despite government efforts to create a culture where enterprise and innovation can flourish.
Only 7% of us consider the UK to be the world's most innovative nation, indicating an absence of self-belief, according to the research, produced by pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca.
UK entrepreneur and Dragons' Den panellist Peter Jones says: "The government is hoping for what George Osborne has called 'the enterprise-led recovery'. What this means is an entrepreneur and innovation-led recovery.
"It's the right idea, but we have a long way to go before we achieve it. The first thing we need to do is embed the idea of enterprise education into our young people."
Peter Bazalgette, the media entrepreneur behind television's Big Brother, says when you start from scratch, the banks fail to provide enough support and are "needlessly risk averse".
He says business angels, affluent individuals who provide capital for business start-ups, are a better bet. Britain needs to become more like America, where people who fail in business are "encouraged to try again".
The Federation of Small Businesses says much has been achieved by agencies set up to stimulate innovation such as the Technology Strategy Board (TSB). "But more needs to be done, especially in areas such as education."
A TSB spokesman says: "Our aim is to promote, support and invest in technology research and commercialisation. We want the UK to be a global leader in innovation, but we must work hard to achieve our goals."
AstraZeneca's survey, which polled 6,000 people in a number of countries, showed that America is still viewed as the most innovative country, after Japan and China. Just 3% of the respondents consider the UK to be the most creative, with a majority saying China will become "the world's powerhouse of innovation" within a decade.
The report says there is a marked east-west divide in terms of what people regard as the most important scientific achievements and inventions of the last century. For India, China and Japan, the greatest achievements have been instant global communication and the internet. By contrast, Britain and Sweden view advances in medicine as the most important breakthroughs.
Developing countries are confident about their ability to invent and improve their scientific and technological standing. More than half of those surveyed in China and India thought their countries would be the most innovative by 2020.
Americans were also optimistic, with 28% believing their country would hold the top slot over the next 10 years. But just one in 20 Britons believe the UK will hold this title.
Not all British businessmen are downcast. Charles Dunstone, chairman of Carphone Warehouse, believes we are innovative, but as a country "we tend to be self-deprecating. And unlike 25 years ago, it's quite cool these days to want to start your own business – the dotcom boom helped greatly in this respect".
James Caan, another Dragons' Den panellist, says: "We have more than 4.9m small and medium enterprises [SMEs] and it's estimated that half a million new businesses will have started this year. Recession draws out the entrepreneurial spirits in people and the motivation to build their fortunes."
Caan says: "The recent spending review has put more pressure on the education sector; we need to ramp up science and technology throughout the education system.
"If you imagine the world as a high street, and every country had a shop window, what would be in the shop window of Great Britain? We need an identity, we need products and services that we identify with and be proud of."
Caan believes the authorities should make it easier for entrepreneurs to start a business in the first place.
"We should be reducing the amount of red tape and regulation. Particularly in employment law. For example, companies which employ five or even 10 people should be exempt from some of the regulations that apply to large corporates." "The government should introduce a tiered approach so that the regulation is appropriately applied depending on the size of the company."
Nick Badman, chairman of the Peter Cullum Centre for Entrepreneurship at Cass Business School, says research and development at British software and biotech firms is "of a very high order".
But start-ups would be helped by less bureaucracy and more generous tax breaks.
Badman says his former employer, 3i, the stock-market-listed venture capital group, has rejigged its portfolio over the years to make it more international and less UK-centric. But 3i is hardly unique in embracing globalisation.
"No company can afford to ignore profitable opportunities overseas," says Badman. "But that means we have to do more here to keep ahead of the game."
Asked about specific innovations over the past century, respondents to the survey said the internet, computers and electricity were generally seen as the most important.
But people in the US, Britain and Sweden placed greater importance on the invention of vaccines and antibiotics. At present, America is seen as the most innovative country by its own citizens, as well as by people in China, India and Japan; while in Britain and Sweden, Japan is viewed as the most innovative.
But the Chinese believe they will eventually overtake the States. The survey says: "Looking to the future, almost six in 10 Chinese think their country will be the most innovative by 2020."
The Chinese told the pollsters that the internet and computers had had the greatest impact on their lives. Instant global communications is seen by 47% as the greatest achievement of the last century, followed by the eradication of serious diseases (19%).
Of all the countries, only China considers those who work in creative industries to rank alongside scientists and engineers in terms of innovation. And a considerably higher proportion of Chinese respondents consider fashion designers and artists to be particularly innovative.
Indians view scientists and engineers as the most creative professions, and highlight American companies such as Microsoft, IBM and Apple as the most innovative companies. But they also rate Indian firms, such as Tata, Infosys and Reliance Industries.
Britons believe the internet and antibiotics are the greatest innovations of the last 100 years, followed by vaccines. But one quarter of British people consider the internet to be the innovation that has had the greatest impact on their lives.
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