ECONOMIC IMPACT BASELINE, 2009 UPDATE
BBSRC DELIVERING ECONOMIC IMPACT
“This award is a showcase for how funding by BBSRC is able to provide major tangible
benefits not only to the UK science base but also to the biotech and pharmaceutical
industries”
Professor Stephen Jackson, first winner of the Innovator of the Year Award
ECONOMIC IMPACT BASELINE, 2009 UPDATE: BBSRC DELIVERING ECONOMIC IMPACT
SUMMARY AND KEY INDICATORS
BBSRC is the leading UK public funder of bioscience research which underpins directly or
indirectly key economic sectors, including:
• Food and drink: UK’s largest manufacturing sector, with turnover of c £74Bn, and total exports
of c£11.5Bn [25, 26]; employing over 3 million across the sector as a whole in 2007 [24]
• Agriculture: worth £5.8Bn to the UK economy in 2007, accounting for 1.7% of the UK
workforce[24], including:
¾ Livestock industry: market value of c£8Bn from over 150,000 farm businesses in 2005 [20]
• Biotechnology: the UK industry is one of the most advanced in the world, but this sector is
vulnerable in the current economic climate [27]
• Pharmaceuticals: accounting for exports of over £14.6Bn, employing 73,000 directly and a
further 250,000 indirectly [28], and particularly biopharmaceuticals, a highly bioscience research
intensive sub-sector with potential to grow significantly [27]
• Chemicals: turnover >£50Bn, accounting for 2% of GDP and 11% of UK manufacturing [29]
Research from BBSRC also has wide impact on social well being as it informs policy development
in crucial areas including healthcare, food security, climate change, sustainable agriculture and
land use, and renewable energy.
BBSRC therefore has a vital role encouraging delivery of economic and social impact from the
bioscience research and training it funds; the Council:
• has an excellent track record in establishing mechanisms to facilitate impact
•
is building on its achievements by widening its interpretation of