Professor Peter Dobson on "Innovation, Spin-out Companies and Nanotechnology". Innovation is what happens between the invention stage and the generation of revenue arising from the invention. For a knowledge economy such as in the UK, it is imperative that we can optimize innovation. At Begbroke we have been trying to understand the dynamics and barriers to innovation by creating a unique Science Park where high technology spin-off companies work on the same site as interdisciplinary University researchers. Nanotechnology is playing an increasingly important role in many fields, and it is set to provide many new ideas in medicine and the environment.