Business guru Charles Leadbeater says there are many ways in which Europe can link up with Asian Tigers, writes Gabrielle Monaghan.

Business guru Charles Leadbeater, Tony Blair's favourite corporate thinker, has just been to South Korea as part of his research into the globalisation of science and innovation in Asia. The Republic, he says, cannot afford to ignore the Far East's innovation powerhouses if our goal of a knowledge-based economy is to succeed.

"We're getting used to thinking of Asia, in particular China and India, as low-cost competition to our services and manufacturing industries. But they are investing heavily in higher value-added R&D activities, attracting multinationals and creating their own universities and scientists," Leadbeater says.

"This is relevant for managers here because it's part of the changing ways of how they will work. You have to find out what's going on there and find opportunities to trade and collaborate."

Leadbeater is travelling to Asia's fastest-growing economies for London think-tank Demos in a bid to identify new models of networking and collaboration between scientists, policymakers and companies in China, India, South Korea, the UK and the Republic. He will present the initial findings of his research, which is partly funded by the Irish Management Institute (IMI), Enterprise Ireland and Forfás, at the IMI Conference in Wicklow next month.

"It's not simply enough now to say 'Asia might do manufacturing but we'll do knowledge' because Asia is doing knowledge as well," Leadbeater says. "It means having a diversified economic base, thinking about how you invest and what you make of it. It means managers will have to think more cleverly and sophisticated about Asia."

China's spending on R&D has trebled in seven years and is predicted to climb from 1.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 2 per cent by 2010. India now generates 260,000 engineers a year and its number of engineering colleges is expected to double to 1,000 by 2010, while South Korea commits 3 per cent of its GDP to R&D, according to Leadbeater. The Republic spent 1.4 per cent of its gross national product on R&D in 2004, recent Forfás figures show.

"There is a new dynamic of innovation unfolding in these countries and they are quite rapidly becoming centres of innovation," Leadbeater says. "We are already seeing the start of a flow of people and technology to these places. All over Asia, new knowledge parks and biotech hubs are being created."

The Demos research associate knows what he's talking about: he was an adviser to the Downing Street policy unit and to the UK department of trade and industry on the rise of the internet and the knowledge-driven economy.

He has also been a writer, speaker and adviser to leading companies on entrepreneurship and the knowledge economy since quitting full-time journalism 10 years ago after he "ran out of steam". As an editor at the Independent, he devised the Bridget Jones column, which became a best-selling book by Helen Fielding and the basis for two hit films.

At Demos, Leadbeater's reports have included The Pro-Am Revolution, which said that the passions of "geeks, nerds and anoraks" may be beneficial for the UK's economy and society. Another Leadbeater report in 2004 urged British firms to provide "power nap" rooms for employees to reduce fatigue at work and improve productivity.

The think-tank will release its final report on innovation in Asia in January. "You come back from these places feeling that for the next 20 to 40 years, the story of the rise of Asian economies is going to be huge and will dwarf any story in Europe," he says.

"We think Ireland has an innovative economy, but China is the third-largest investor in innovation in the world. Its economy is growing about 8 per cent, while R&D investment has risen 15 per cent. In addition, more than 800 million people in Asia are likely to become middle class."

Asia's success, though, does not represent "doom and gloom" for countries like Ireland also striving for a knowledge-based economy as manufacturers shift production to cheaper locations in the Far East and eastern Europe, he says. The Republic can use its Celtic Tiger experience and expertise in science and R&D to exploit opportunities in China, India and South Korea.

These growing economies "need all sorts of things. They are trying to create new universities and new research centres and need help there" Leadbeater says. "There's a huge opportunity for UK and Irish universities in Asia. They are building hundreds of universities, and not just for the market for bringing Asian students to Europe. European universities should go to Asia to set up shop there.

"There are all sorts of opportunities to link up with Asia that Europe has not yet exploited - such as Europe being the centre of ideas, creativity, brands and fundamental ideas in science, and Asia being good in development. They have the resources and cheaper brainpower. It's important to imagine this connection between what we do and what they do."

And despite the pace of growth and innovation in Asia, the Republic will remain attractive to multinationals, he says. He returned from South Korea with a sense that the country has yet to recognise the importance of quality of life in drawing key staff to the region.

"Part of Ireland's attraction is that it's easy to work in, it's highly connected, it's an open economy - all those things can really count when attracting talented people and R&D investment," he says. "It's all very well having good R&D, but you've got to link it into business in a more productive way. Ireland, as a small economy, has had to live on its wits, which is part of its success."