Research and development services in physical, engineering and life sciences (PELS): Why do so many establishments say that satisfying existing clients is not relevant to their success? - ARCHIVED

While firms engaged in R&D services are part of the population of firms covered by the Research and Development in Canadian Industry (RDCI) survey and the Biotechnology Use and Development Survey (BUDS), this industry group is not covered by a typical industry survey. This means that there are no industry-specific figures for contribution to GDP or other typical measures of industrial activities and finances. However, data for the industry group are available from the Survey of Innovation 2003, along with other selected professional services. Data from that survey indicate that the establishments in R&D services in physical, engineering and life sciences may be part of a select and highly atypical group of firms and are discussed in this article.