The Views of Universities and National Laboratories: the Flow Measurement Industry

In Chapter 5 it was shown that the main drivers of innovation in flow measurement were improving accuracy, new meter design and meeting competition by widening the range of meters offered rather than by radical advances in technology. Here the impact of those drivers on firms in the industry’s relationship with universities and national laboratories is examined by reporting on the views of academics, scientists and engineers interviewed in each of the three countries. An objective is to examine the extent to which there is a match between the geographical and technological spaces in which individuals working in the pSSB and those in industry inhabit.