UK pushes businesses to join global research

The government has doubled the number of scientific attaches in British embassies and expanded the International Technology Service to try to foster more collaboration between UK business and foreign scientists.

Science minister Lord Sainsbury said the action was needed to shift the focus of companies from central research laboratories to global research networks.

Lord Sainsbury described the measures in the journal Science . "Public perception can take a long time to change, but no longer is it true to say that the UK is good at scientific research but poor at innovation," he said.