It's a harmful myth that UK science can't translate ideas into practice | David Gann and Nick Jennings

Government innovation policy is based on the idea that the UK is poor at commercialising research. But it should reflect reality

Britain's innovators are unfairly tarnished by a tired fable: that the nation's inventiveness is matched by an unworldly lack of commercial savvy. Anecdotes abound of the proverbial inventor tinkering in his garden shed, or the academic unable to see the economic potential of her discoveries. Britons discover, the rest of the world cashes in. But these are self-flagellating myths that should be consigned to the history books.

In fact, if we adjust for the size of our economies, the UK now exceeds the United States in numbers of spinouts formed, disclosures of discoveries, patents and licences. In emerging fields such as low-carbon, the UK is forming twice as many spinouts per trillion dollars of GDP as the US. Employment growth by digital technology companies in the UK is five times faster than for the rest of the economy.