The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) was a non-departmental government body established by the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

to transfer technology from the public sector to the private sector.

History

The NRDC was established by Attlee's Labour government in 1948 to meet a perceived need at the time to exploit the many products that had been developed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

by the Defence Research Establishments.Cold War, Hot Science by Robert Budd, Page 373
/ref> It was set up by the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

under the Development of Inventions Act 1948 and the first

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

was Lord Giffard. The NRDC was established in India in 1953 to help develop and promote technologies developed at various national R&D institutions. The first commercial size

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or air cushion, ...

, the

SR.N1 The Saunders-Roe SR.N1 (Saunders-Roe Nautical 1) was the first practical hovercraft. The concept has its origins in the work of British engineer and inventor Christopher Cockerell, who succeeded in convincing figures within the services and in ...

, was built under a contract let by the NRDC to

Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. History The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took a ...

in 1958. In 1981, the NRDC was combined with the

National Enterprise Board The National Enterprise Board (NEB) was a United Kingdom government body. It was set up in 1975 by the Labour government of Harold Wilson, to support the government's interventionist approach to industry. In 1981 the Conservative government of Ma ...

('NEB') to form the

British Technology Group BTG Limited is an international specialist healthcare company that is developing and commercialising products targeting critical care, cancer and other disorders. The current name was adopted when the British Technology Group changed its name on ...

('BTG').

Operations

Typically the NRDC would patent the product for commercial exploitation and earn royalties as private sector companies generated sales from those products. Examples of such products include

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adapta ...

composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...

s and developments in

semi-conductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scien ...

. The development of the

would also not have taken place without the involvement of the NRDC. In the 1970s, a team of

Rothamsted Research Rothamsted Research, previously known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station and then the Institute of Arable Crops Research, is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843. It is located at Harp ...

scientists discovered three

pyrethroids A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins, which are produced by the flowers of pyrethrums (''Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium'' and '' C. coccineum''). Pyrethroids are used as commercial and household insecticides. ...

suitable for use as

insecticides Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed t ...

, namely

permethrin Permethrin is a medication and an insecticide. As a medication, it is used to treat scabies and lice. It is applied to the skin as a cream or lotion. As an insecticide, it can be sprayed onto clothing or mosquito nets to kill the insects th ...

cypermethrin Cypermethrin (CP) is a synthetic pyrethroid used as an insecticide in large-scale commercial agricultural applications as well as in consumer products for domestic purposes. It behaves as a fast-acting neurotoxin in insects. It is easily degrade ...

and deltamethrin. These compounds were subsequently licensed as NRDC 143, 149 and 161 respectively, to companies which then manufactured them for use worldwide.

List of chairmen

* 1950–1955: Percy Mills, 1st Viscount Mills * 1955–1957: Sir Alan Arthur Saunders * 1957–1969:

William Black, Baron Black William Rushton Black (12 January 189327 December 1984) was a coachbuilder born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria on 12 January 1893. After education at Barrow Secondary school and Barrow Technical College he was apprenticed as an engineer to Vicker ...

* 1969–1979:

Frank Schon, Baron Schon Frank Schon, Baron Schon (18 May 1912 – 7 January 1995) was an Austrian-born British industrialist and life peer, who served as Chairman of the National Research Development Corporation between 1969 and 1979. Biography Schon was born in Vien ...

References

{{reflist

Source documents

* National Archive for the History of Computing, University of Manchester Economy of the United Kingdom Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom Research and development in the United Kingdom 1948 establishments in the United Kingdom

History

Operations

List of chairmen

See also

References

Further reading

Source documents