Research spillovers may exist when research by one organisation creates increased output for other organisations that operate in the same or another sector of the economy.  Both the mechanisms and the ultimate value of this transfer of ideas, knowledge or know-how still are not fully understood and virtually all such research on spillovers has been focused outside the UK.  Given current constraints on public, charitable and private research funding, enhancing spillovers may become an important objective in UK science and technology policy.

This OHE Occasional Paper discusses key aspects of spillovers and identifies top priorities for policy research that could help bring spillover effects more explicitly into UK policy decisions.