[Forwarding from Alma Swan. --Peter Suber.]
Dear friends, The Danish Ministry for Research & Innovation has just published the report of a study carried out by John Houghton and ourselves (KPL) on access to scientific & technical information by innovating SMEs in Denmark. The report (in English) is here: http://www.fi.dk/publikationer/2011/adgang-til-forskningsresultater-og-teknisk-information-i-danmark<http://www.fi.dk/publikationer/2011/adgang-til-forskningsresultater-og-tekni sk-information-i-danmark> The press release (Google's translation from Danish) is: Small and medium enterprises constitute a substantial part of the national economy and the importance of innovation and growth. It is therefore important that they have access to and use of research findings. This report examines the needs and use of scientific and technical information among knowledge-based SMEs in Denmark. It turns out however that it is difficult to access research articles, patent information, scientific and technical standards, technical information and market intelligence. Entry barriers and delays cost money. It takes the report says on average 2.2 years longer to develop or introduce new products without the use of academic research. For new products will be a delay of 2.2 years mean that an average company loses about 36 million DKK in revenue. The report concludes that there is a need for easier and cheaper access to research articles, patents, laws and regulations and market information. The report is in English with Danish summary. Background: The survey was done by John Houghton of the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University, Alma Swan and Sheridan Brown from Key Perspectives Limited for Research and Innovation and Denmark's Electronic Research Library. The study is based on 98 responses of a quantitative questionnaire and 23 qualitative interviews
