R&D IN INSTITUTIONS
OF HIGHER LEARNING
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
7
R&D EXPENDITURE
Figure 36 : Expenditure by Type of Cost
Expenditure by Type of Research
Figure 37 : Expenditure by Type of Research
R&D IN INSTITuTIoNS oF HIGHER LEARNING (IHL)
In nominal terms, there has been a steady increase in the total R&D expenditure by the IHLs since 1996, totaling RM513.3 million in 2004.
However, the total expenditure in 2006 dropped by 29.7%
to RM360.8 million. This is reflected in the substantial decreases in Labour, Operating, Land & Building, and Machinery & Equipment (Figure 36).
In 2006, the most was spent on Applied Research (RM179.9 million). This was followed by Basic Research (RM133.7 million) and Experimental Development
Research (RM47.2 million) (See Figure 37). The same pattern can be seen in 2000, 2002 and 2004.
250.0 200.0 150.0 100.0 50.0
0.0 2000 2002 2004 2006
Year
RM Million
Basic Applied Experimental Development
104.0 147.0 35.3 111.3 135.2 113.9 162.6 237.2 113.5 133.7 179.9 47.2
600.0 500.0 400.0 300.0 200.0 100.0 0
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Year
RM Million
Labour Operating Land & Building Total
22.9 11.3 1.1 5.0 40.6 61.7 22.2 9.1 113.8 30.2 61.3 80.8 113.8 30.2 61.3 80.8 267.6 133.6 20.5 91.6 216.2 89.2 13.2 42.2
Machinery & Equipment 40.3
133.6
286.1
360.4
513.3
360.8
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
8
Figure 38 : Proportion of Expenditure by Type of Research
Expenditure by SEO
Figure 40 : Expenditure by SEO In terms of proportion, the amount spent on Basic
Research was 37.1%, Applied Research (49.8%), while Experimental Development Research (13.1%). As shown in Figure 38, the proportion of expenditure in basic and applied areas has increased since 2002.
Expenditure by FOR
Figure 39 : Expenditure by FOR
The top five FOR expenditure for 2006 were (See Figure 39):
1. Medical and Health Sciences (12.9%) 2. Engineering Sciences (12.8%),
3. Applied Sciences & Technology (10.2%) 4. Social Sciences (9.1%)
5. Chemical Sciences (8.0%)
The top five expenditure by SEO in 2006 were (See Figure 40):
1. Natural Sciences, Technology & Engineering (46.7%) 2. Manufacturing (8.5%)
3. Health (7.4%)
4. Social Sciences & Humanities (4.5%) 5. Education & Training (4.3%)
100 80 60 40 20 0
Proportion (%)
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Basic Applied Experimental Development Year
45.6 18.6
35.8
24.0 7.7
68.3
51.4 12.3
36.3
37.5 31.6
30.9
46.2 22.1
31.7
49.8 13.1
37.1
Medical & Health Sciences
Applied Sciences &
Technologies Chemical Sciences
Engineering Sciences Social Sciences Others
47.0%
12.9%
12.8%
10.2%
9.1%
8.0%
Natural Sciences, Technologies &
Engineering Manufacturing Health
Social Sciences & Humanities Education & Training
Others
46.7%
7.4% 8.5%
4.3%4.5%
28.6%
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
SOURCES OF FUNDS
Figure 41 : Sources of Funds in 2006
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT By Headcount
Figure 42 : Research Personnel Headcount
In 2006, the IHLs relied heavily on their own funds as their main source of R&D funds, amounting to RM239.3 million (66.3%). Federal Government Funds fall second, with RM112.0 million (31.1%). Other sources of funds
were Other Funds in Malaysia (RM5.1 million), Foreign Funds (RM2.7 million) and State/local Government Funds (RM1.8 million) (See Figure 41).
300.0 250.0 200.0 150.0 100.0 50.0 0.0
RM Million
Federal Government Funds
Own Funds Other Funds
(Malaysia Foreign Funds State/Local Govt Funds 239.3
112.0
5.1 2.7 1.8
Sources of Funds
16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0
Headcount
Researchers Technicians Support Staff Headcount
1,377 143 237 1,975 237 523 8,909 808 1,522 10,527 913 1,098 12,805 679 1,325 12,152 335 520
1,757
2,735
11,239
12,538
14,809
13,007
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Year
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
0
In 2006 (Figure 43), there were 13,007 researchers, technicians and supporting staff involved in the R&D activities in the IHLs. This 2006 figure shows a drop of 12.2% from a figure of 14,809 in 2004. In 2006, 93.4%
of the total headcount comprised of researchers. The
fact that researchers make up the bulk of R&D personnel has been a salient feature of Malaysian R&D since 1996 (See Figure 43).
Figure 43 : Proportion of Research Personnel Headcount
By FTE
Figure 44 : R&D Personnel FTE
The total FTE for researchers, technicians and support staff in 2006 was 5,438.0, which is a drop of 29.7%
from the total FTE 7,738.1 in 2004 (Figure 44). Since 2000, there has been a steady increase in the FTE for
researchers (Figure 44). In 2004 the FTE peaked at 6,434.4 before it fell by 1,337.6 to 5,096.7 in 2006. In 2006 and in the other years, technicians had the lowest FTE. In 2006, the FTE of support staff was 222.1.
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Proportion (%)
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Researchers Technicians Support Staff Year
8.1 13.5
78.4
8.7 19.1
72.2
7.2 13.5
79.3
7.3 8.7
84.0
4.68.9
86.5
2.6 4.0
93.4
520.4 916.3
3,738.0 3,811.9
7,738.1
5,438.0 9,000.0
8,000.0 7,000.0 6,000.0 5,000.0 4,000.0 3,000.0 2,000.0 1,000.0 0.0
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Year
FTE
Researchers Technicians Support Staff Total FTE
396.9 44.3 79.2 677.9 70.6 167.8 3,141.4 218.1 378.5 3,187.0 248.7 376.2 6,434.4 267.9 1,035.8 5,096.7 119.2 222.1
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
1
Female Participation in R&D
Figure 45: Female R&D Personnel in the IHLs
OUTSOURCED R&D
Figure 47 : Outsourced R&D 2006
The number of women R&D personnel in 2006 dropped to 5,221, but the proportion of female to male personnel increased to 40.1% (Figure 45).
Figure 46 : Female Researchers in the IHLs
As shown in Figure 46, the proportion of female researchers in the IHLs increased to a new high of 40.2% in 2006 albeit a small drop in the number by 212 researchers.
In 2006, the amount of outsourced R&D both within and outside of Malaysia dropped. From the RM5.5 million that was outsourced outside of Malaysia in 2004, the amount dropped to RM2.8 million in 2006. Similarly, the R&D that was outsourced within Malaysia dropped from RM5.2 million to RM1.3 million (Figure 47).
FACTORS LIMITING R&D ACTIVITIES Internal Factors Limiting R&D
As shown in Figure 8.14, the top five internal factors limiting R&D activities in the IHLs were reported to be the following:
1. limited time due to classes or administrative work, 2. limited financial resources,
3. lack of infrastructure for R&D 4. delayed fund management, and, 5. lack of skilled personnel.
External Factors Limiting R&D
The top five external factors limiting R&D activities in the IHLs:
1. increasing capital costs 2. insufficient government funds
3. difficulty in finding private sector collaboration 4. lack of R&D personnel with requisite expertise 5. lack of ancillary service to support R&D Year
Number of Female R&D Personnel Proportion of Female R&D Personnel 7,000
6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0
41.0 40.0 39.0 38.0 37.0 36.0 35.0 34.0 33.0 32.0
Headcount Proportion (%)
36.9
1,009
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 40.1 39.0 40.1
4,5024,377
34.9
5,7855,221
Year
Number of Female R&D Researchers Proportion of Female R&D Researchers 6,000
5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0
41.0 40.0 39.0 38.0 37.0 36.0 35.0 34.0 33.0
Headcount Proportion (%)
38.6
762
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 39.8 40.2 38.9
3,465 3,772
35.8 5,092
4,880
6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0
2004 2006
Year
RM Million
Inside Malaysia Outside Malaysia 5.2 5.5
1.3 2.8
R&D IN PRIVATE SECTOR
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
R&D EXPENDITURE
Expenditure by Type of Cost
Figure 48 : R&D Expenditure by Type of Cost
For the year 2006, the highest R&D expenditure (in nominal terms) was for operating cost (RM2.5 billion). This accounted for about 81.2% of the total R&D expenditure.
Labour cost, on the other hand, constituted only about 11.2% of the total R&D spending, which amounted to RM347.4 million. Current expenditure (operating &
labour costs) for 2006, therefore, constituted 92.4% of the total R&D expenditure in the private sector (RM2.9 billion). Less than 8% (RM236.1 million) was spent on capital expenditure (land, building, machinery and equipment).
R&D IN PRIVATE SECToR
In nominal terms, the total R&D expenditure for the private sector has seen a steady increase from 1996 to 2006. This increase is steepest from 2004 (RM2.0 million) to 2006 (RM3.1 billion), where the R&D expenditure went up by more than half the amount spent in 2004 (See Figure 48).
In terms of type of cost, operating cost chartered the highest amount of R&D expenditure across the years surveyed. This is followed by labour cost. The amount spent on land and building has remained somewhat constant over the years. Machinery and equipment cost exhibited a gradual increase from 1996 but showed a decline in 2006.
3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Year
RM Million
Labour Operating Land & Building TotalTotal
163.8 260.2 106.4 215.7 175.9 194.7 170.1 427.2 248.9 683.8 120.5 579.8 578.5 1,020.6 90.4 343.9 347.4 2,512.9 78.1 158.0
Machinery & Equipment 400.3
746.1
3,096.4
2,033.5 1,633.1
967.9
93.9 95.8 0.0 210.6
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
Expenditure by Industry
Figure 49 : R&D Expenditure by Major Industries 2006
Figure 50 : Proportion of Expenditure by Company Revenue (2002 - 2006)
The industry that recorded the largest amount of R&D spending for 2006 was the rubber and plastic products manufacturing industry. This industry accounted for 62.2% (RM1.9 billion) of the private R&D expenditure.
The manufacturing of motor vehicles, trailers & semi- trailers industry was a remote second, with a spending of RM233.5 million, contributing only 7.5% of the total R&D expenditure. Extraction of crude oil & natural gas and service activities was the third largest industry, constituting 4.6% (RM143.7 million) of the total R&D expenditure for the private sector (See Figure 49).
Overall, it is evident that the focus in R&D spending is still within the manufacturing industry.
Expenditure by Company Revenue
For 2006, the largest R&D expenditure came from companies from the middle bracket (RM10-RM100 million), with an expenditure of RM2.1 billion, accounting for 69.4% of the total expenditure in the private sector.
Companies with a revenue of above RM100 million, on the other hand, only contributed 20.9% of the total R&D expenditure (RM647.2 million). The lowest amount of R&D expenditure came from the lowest bracket, companies with revenue of below RM10 million (See Table 9 and Figure 50).
Table 9 : R&D Expenditure by Category of Company Revenue 2006
Category of
Company Revenue (RM Million) (%)
Below RM10 Million 301.6 9.7
RM10 - RM100 Million 2,147.6 69.4
Above RM100 million 647.2 20.9
Total 3,096.4 100.0
Manufacture of Rubber and Plastic Products
Manufacture of Motor Vehicle, Trailer and Semi-trailersand Plastic Products Extraction of Crude Oil and
Natural Gas; Service Activities Research and Development Agriculture, Hunting and Related Service Activities Others
62.2%
3.1%
18.8%
3.7%
4.6%
7.5%
Below RM10 Million Year RM10 - RM100 Million Above RM100 Million
13.2 38.5 48.2
13.3 10.2 76.5
9.7 69.4 20.9
1996 1998 2000 100
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Proportion (%)
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
7
Expenditure by Ownership
Figure 51 : Proportion of GERD by Ownership of Companies (2004 and 2006)
Expenditure by Type of Research
Figure 52 : GERD by Type of Research (2004 and 2006)
Similar to 2004, the largest amount of R&D expenditure was with foreign owned companies. However, there is a shift in the amount spent by Malaysian-owned and Malaysian-controlled companies. In 2004, Malaysian- controlled companies charted a higher R&D spending compared to Malaysian-owned companies. This pattern is reversed in 2006, where Malaysian-owned companies recorded a higher R&D spending. The proportion of R&D expenditure for foreign controlled companies indicated a decrease from 10% in 2004 to 4.3% in 2006. (See Figure 51).
Figure 53 : Proportion of GERD by Type of Research (1996 to 2006)
1,600.00 1,400.00 1,200.00 1,000.00 800.00 600.00 400.00 200.00 0.00
Type of Research
RM Million 246.2 233.1 1,143.4 1,355.0 644.0 1,508.3
2004 2006
Basic Applied Experimental Development
Year Basic
Applied
Experimental Development 5.8
42.8 51.4
4.5 34.2 61.3
3.0 46.3 50.7
31.7 53.1 15.2
3.5 80.4 16.1
12.1 56.2 31.7
7.5 43.8 48.7
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 100
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Proportion (%)
70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0
Year
Proportion (%) 19.0 27.0 44.0 10.0 0.0 18.4 11.8 65.4 4.3 0.1
Malaysia Owned Foreign Owned Equal Ownership
Malaysian Control Foreign Control
2004 2006
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
8
The main type of research conducted by the private sector was experimental developmental research (48.7%) followed by applied research (43.8%). The amount spent on basic research was minimal, at 7.5%. The proportion of expenditure by type of research appears to be consistent across the years surveyed, where focus is given to both applied and experimental development research. Basic research, with the exception of the years 2000 and 2004, remained below 10% of the total R&D expenditure in the private sector (See Figure 52). In terms of Ringgit spent, RM233.1 million was spent on basic research, RM1.4 billion on applied research, and RM1.5 billion on experimental development research.
Comparisons of R&D expenditure across the years surveyed show that basic research accounts for a very small proportion of R&D expenditure (See Figure 53).
More money is spent on R&D in applied research and in experimental developmental research. This trend in R&D expenditure in the private sector is reflective of the focus on commercialization via the development of new processes and commercialization of products that are market driven.
Expenditure by FOR
Figure 54 : Proportion of Expenditure by Major FOR in 2006
The top 3 FOR for 2006 were:
1. Applied Sciences & Technologies (39.5%), 2. Engineering Sciences (36.0%), and 3. Material Sciences (10.5%)
Expenditure by SEO
Figure 55 : Proportion of Expenditure by Major SEO in 2006
In 2006, the top 3 SEO were:
• Manufacturing (72.5%)
• Transport (6.8%)
• Energy resources (4.6%)
Manufacturing Transport
Plant Production and Plant Primary Products
Natural Sciences, Technologies
& Engineering Energy Resources
Others 10.4%
2.4%
72.5%
3.3%
4.6%
6.8%
39.5%
10.5%
36.0%
5.5%
3.0% 5.5%
Applied Sciences & Technologies Engineering Sciences
Material Sciences ICT
Agricultural Sciences Others
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
SOURCES OF FUNDS
Table 10 : Sources of Funds for Private Sector
As with previous years, R&D funding in the private sector largely comes from internal funds. In 2006, this made up 99.5% (RM3,081.1 million) of the total R&D expenditure. This percentage is slightly higher than that of the previous year (98.7% in 2004). Other sources of R&D funds for 2006 include state/local government funds (RM8.7 million), which accounts for 0.3% of R&D expenditure, and ‘Other funds’ within Malaysia (RM6.5 million) constituting 0.2% of R&D funds. In summary, only less than 0.3% of the funds used by the private sector come from the Malaysian government and state/local governments (See Table 10).
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT R&D Personnel by Headcount
Figure 56 : Headcount of R&D Personnel
From 1996 to 2002, there has been a gradual increase in the total headcount of personnel involved in R&D.
There was a dramatic increase in 2004, where the total headcount went up from 5,177 in 2002 to 8,737 in 2004, an increase of 68.8% over 2002 (See Figure 56).
This number, however, dropped considerably to 7,025
in 2006, a decrease of 19.6% from the previous year.
Nonetheless, in terms of category of research personnel, this trend is seen only with regard to researchers, and not technicians and support staff. The number of researchers dropped from 5,940 in 2004 to 4,160 in 2006, a reduction of about 30% from the previous year.
SOURCES OF FUNDS
RM (MILLION)
PERCENTAGE (%)
Own Funds 3,081.1 99.5
State/Local
Government Funds 8.7 0.3
Other Federal
Government Funds 0.1 0.0
Other Funds
(Malaysia) 6.5 0.2
Foreign Funds 0.0 0.0
10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0
Headcount
Researchers Technicians Support Staff Headcount
1,342 484 1,419 2,287 630 1,241 2,304 343 1,599 3,349 764 1,064 5,940 877 1,920 4,160 834 2,031
3,245
4,158 4,246
5,177
8,737
7,025
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Year
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
70
R&D Personnel by FTE
Figure 57 : FTE by R&D Personnel (1996 – 2006)
Figure 58: Headcount and Proportion of Female R&D Personnel
Figure 57 indicates that overall, there is an increasing trend in the FTE for R&D personnel from 1996 to 2004.
Total FTE for R&D personnel, however, dropped in 2006.
The drop in FTE is especially substantial as regard researchers, from 4,104.3 in 2004 to 3,529.3 in 2006.
The drop in FTE is expected given the drop in the total headcount in R&D for the year 2006.
The number of female R&D personnel fluctuated across the years surveyed; nonetheless, the general trend indicates that female involvement in R&D is on the incline (See Figure 58).
The number of female R&D personnel increased from 1,504 in 2002 to 2,330 in 2004 but dropped to 2,282 in 2006. In terms of the proportion of female R&D personnel relative to the number of male personnel, there was an increase from 2004 (26.7%) to 2006 (32.5%). Despite the dips in 2000 and 2006, a similar rising trend is seen in the proportion of female R&D personnel (See Figure 58).
7,000.0 6,000.0 5,000.0 4,000.0 3,000.0 2,000.0 1,000.0 0.0
FTE
Researchers FTE Technicians FTE Support Staff FTE Total FTE
1,026.5 341.4 982.1 1,996.9 530.9 1,019.1 1,983.0 241.5 1,132.5 2,767.1 621.9 877.7 4,104.3 647.7 1,375.2 3,529.3 611.8 1,486.6
2,350.0
3,546.9 3,357.0
4,266.7
6,127.2
5,627.7
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Year
Year
Number of Female R&D Personnel Proportion of Female R&D Personnel 2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
Headcount Percentage (%)
27.0
877
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 32.5 27.6 29.1
1,148
990 23.3
1,504 2,330
2,282 26.7
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
71
Figure 59: Female Researchers in the Private Sector OUTSOURCED R&D
Figure 60: Outsourced R&D by Location
This trend is also seen with female researchers. The increase is highest between 2002 and 2004, where the number of female researchers almost doubled. Although there is a drop in the number of female researchers in 2006, the proportion of female researchers to male continues to go up. The percentage of female R&D researchers increased from 25.5% in 2004 to 37.9% in 2006, the highest ever recorded (See Figure 59).
The amount of R&D outsourced by the private sector in 2006 was RM168.9 million (See Figure 60). This figure is a dramatic increase to the previous year, which charted an amount of only RM14.1 million (See Table 11). Of the amount spent in 2004, RM1.5 million (10.6%) was outsourced in Malaysia while RM12.6 million (89.4%) outside Malaysia. This pattern of R&D outsourcing is not seen in 2006. For 2006 fiscal year, RM78.9 million (46.7%) was outsourced in Malaysia while RM90.0 million (53.3%) outside Malaysia (Table 11).
Table 11: Comparison of Outsourced R&D by Location (2004 and 2006)
Location
2004 2006
Expenditure (RM Mill)
Percentage (%)
Expenditure (RM Mill)
Percentage (%)
Within Malaysia 1.5 10.6 78.9 46.7
Outside Malaysia 12.6 89.4 90.0 53.3
Total 14.1 100.0 168.9 100.0
Year
Number of Female R&D Researchers Proportion of Female R&D Researchers 1,600
1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 -
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
Headcount Percentage (%)
20.2
271
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 27.5 24.5
21.3
488 495 21.5
821 1,515
1,145 25.5
RM90.0 Mill 53.3%
RM78.9 Mill 46.7%
Within Malaysia Outside Malaysia
National Survey of Research and Development 2008 : Summary
72
FACTORS LIMITING R&D ACTIVITIES Internal Factors Limiting R&D
The following are the top 5 internal factors that were reported as inhibiting R&D in the private sector (See Figure 60):
• Lack of skilled R&D personnel
• Limited financial resources
• Lack of Infrastructure for R&D
• Lack of proven analytical techniques
• Lack of market research
External Factors Limiting R&D
The top 5 limiting external factors that were reported as affecting R&D in the private sector are as follows (See Figure 61):
1. Shortage of R&D personnel with requisite expertise 2. Increasing capital costs
3. Lack of ancillary services to support R&D 4. Increasing labour costs
5. Insufficient government incentives