A report commissioned by business secretary Lord Mandelson has highlighted the AMRC as a model for a new generation of industry-focused research centres.

The report, by Cambridge-based entrepreneur turned technology investor Herman Hauser, examines the role of technology and innovation centres in helping deliver the government's New Industry New Jobs policy.

Hauser highlights the AMRC's business model as a leading example (along with the new Manufacturing Technology Centre in the West Midlands) of how research centres can make a long-term impact:
Both these examples have business models that seek to leverage funding from a range of organisations, through winning competitive calls for research from the Technology Strategy Board and Research Councils; research projects commissioned by business; and through business subscriptions. This model of funding, where there are sustained programmes of investment from public sector partners such as support for High Value Manufacturing by the Research Councils and the Technology Strategy Board, and there are established industry partners capable of paying subscription fees appears to have a greater chance of being sustainable over the long term when compared to models that are dependant on a single initial investment by the public sector.

For more information, see the report The Current and Future Role of Technology and Innovation Centres in the UK (pdf).