Data: Innovation surveys
There are various different datasets available to policymakers and researchers looking to assess the UK’s performance in innovation and business R&D.
One of these is the Innovation and Research Caucus’ annual Innovation State of the Nation survey – the 2026 results have been published this week, based on a representative sample of 2,037 UK businesses.
The headline takeaway is that UK innovation activity has recovered from a “dip” in 2024. Three-fifths of firms report undertaking product or service innovation, and around two-fifths described themselves as investing in innovation activities.
The most striking change in the landscape is said to be in the adoption of artificial intelligence, with a rise of eleven percentage points in a year, while other technologies have not seen the same growth:
The survey, which has run for the last four years, detects a strong relationship between innovation and firm size, with larger businesses reporting higher levels. This has also consistently been the case for firms which identify themselves as “frontier”, as well as those which export.
The most common form of innovation-related expenditure is investment in machinery, equipment and software, though this saw a decline in 2026. The survey has also identified a “gradual increase” in collaboration with universities and business support organisations over the four years, which is suggested to reflect “deeper engagement with the wider innovation ecosystem.”
Government data
Aside from the Innovation and Research Caucus publication, there are various other surveys covering UK business R&D and innovation activity. Foremost among these is the UK innovation survey, published by the (as was) Department for Business and Trade.
This is released every other year, and is relatively time-lagged – the 2025 edition was published in summer 2026, covering the period 2022–24. The survey is described as “used widely across government to help improve policy,” and has now been run fourteen times.
The latest survey is based on responses from more than 14,000 businesses (a response rate of 45 per cent) – firms are classified as “innovation-active” if during the period they have introduced a new improved product, are engaged in innovation projects, or have new or improved business processes. A wider “broader innovators” category also includes those which have invested in internal R&D, training, or other innovation-related activities. There has been something of a dip in the last two editions:
Another aspect of the UK innovation survey involves asking firms who they collaborate with for innovation, and what are their most important information sources. For the latter, respondents rate suppliers and other businesses as much more important than public or private research institutions, or journals and trade publications:
Elsewhere, the Office for National Statistics publishes the annual Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) figures, which seeks to use both survey and administrative data to provide an overall figure for business R&D conducted in the UK each year. Adjusting for inflation, there has been a gradual increase over the last decade:
Further afield
Another important publication in assessing the UK’s innovation performance is Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy’s yearly report. This is not based on survey data, but rather amalgamates relevant data sources on topics from skills to funding, in order to provide “rich quantitative representations of the vitality of both the UK’s innovation activity and its industrial performance in an international context.”
The 2026 edition comes to the widely referenced conclusion that the UK’s innovation supply is excellent, but needs to be better harnessed:
“Despite leading internationally in research, startup formation, and spinout activity, the UK continues to fall short on domestic production, export capability, and economic diversification.”
Internationally, the Global Innovation Index – compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organization, a UN agency – is an influential ranking of countries according to their innovation performance. A basket of around 80 different indicators are used, from R&D spend to IP licensing to skilled employment.
The UK has typically ranked highly in this index, achieving sixth place in the recently released 2026 edition, though this is a slight drop on previous years.