0.4 Research methodology  (Page 5/7)

The objective of a Knowledge Transfer Network is to improve the UK's innovation performance by increasing the breadth and depth or the knowledge transfer of technology into UK-based businesses and by accelerating the rate at which this process occurs. The Network must, throughout its lifetime, actively contribute and remain aligned to goals of the Technology Strategy Board.

Within the overall objective of accelerating the rate of technology transfer into UK business, the specific aims of a Knowledge Transfer Network include the following:

• To deliver improved industrial performance through innovation and new collaborations by driving the flow of people, knowledge and experience between business and the science-base, between businesses and across sectors;
• To drive knowledge transfer between the supply and demand sides of technology-enabled markets through a high quality, easy to use service;
• To facilitate innovation and knowledge transfer by providing UK businesses with the opportunity to meet and network with individuals and organisations, in the UK and internationally;
• To provide a forum for a coherent business voice to inform government of its technology needs and about issues, such as regulation, which are enhancing or inhibiting innovation in the United Kingdom.

The mission of the Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network (NanoKTN) is to accelerate innovation in nanoscale technologies, encouraging and supporting organisations to collaborate and share knowledge with key partners in attractive end user markets to achieve growth of the UK nanotechnology sector. With the end aim of leading to a dynamic, vibrant, application focussed nanotechnology based industry that gains competitive advantage by transferring and sharing knowledge with key end user sectors to develop and commercialise products.

The key objectives of this sector network are to:

• Improved industrial performance through adoption of nanotechnology.
• Increased knowledge transfer between companies and the research base.
• Enabling interactions through networking and event organisation.
• Providing thought leadership and industry input into UK policy and strategy.

The uk position

Within recent years in the UK there has been significant investment into both infrastructure and R&D, through the Government’s Micro and Nano-Manufacturing initiative, with £150m joint investment split approximately 50:50 in micro (including micro fluidics and micro electro mechanical systems) and nanoscale development. The NanoKTN forms part of the Technology Strategy Board's nanoscale technologies strategy for 2009-2012 and plans to build on, and be complementary to, the existing nano infrastructure and knowledge networks (www.innovateuk.org 2009).

Ktn questionnaire

The KTN questionnaire was published on the NanoKTN website for a period of one month, at the end of the month there were 63 respondents all of whom are companies working in the scope of nanotechnology physically located within the United Kingdom. The key component of this questionnaire was what does industry want and perceive to need in regards to driving forward their innovation capacity.