RTOs boost EU annual economic growth by EUR 50 billion

European Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) contribute EUR 50 billion to the EU economy, according to a new study published on October 27. The report, put together by European research organisation the Technopolis Group, reveals that in addition to boosting economic growth, RTOs help tackle key challenges facing Europe, such as the need to develop innovative renewable energy supplies. However, the study said the organisations remain poorly understood and warned that national governments are failing to fully exploit their potential. RTOs received 32% of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6)'s funding, noted the report.

There are around 350 RTOs in Europe, including the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft in Germany, the CEA (France's Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission ), VTT (the Technical Research Centre of Finland), TNO (the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research), and SINTEF (the Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research) in Norway.

These organisations resemble universities in many senses, but distinguish themselves by focussing on applied research, and exploiting any resulting knowledge in industrial innovation and development projects. They are generally funded via a mixture of public subsidies - that let them develop their capabilities - and industrial income, which allows them to exploit these capabilities for the benefit of industry.

The new report, published on behalf of the European Trade Association of the Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO), found that the combined annual turnover for European RTOs was around EUR 23 billion, noting that if they were a European multinational, this impressive figure would place them in the top 100 of the FT-500 Europe, the list of Europe's top 500 companies. The study estimated the total annual economic impact of RTOs at between EUR 40 billion and EUR 50 billion, and said that the organisations benefited more than 100,000 customers annually, including national and regional governments, SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and large companies. Moreover, the organisations are an important European employer with a combined workforce of more than 150,000 scientists, technicians and engineers.

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