Because the RTO sector is not recognised in official statistics, little systematic information about the sector is available. To help fill this gap, EARTO commissioned a fact-finding study in 2010 from Technopolis Group. Some of the key points from the study are:

• Europe’s RTO sector has a combined turnover of about €23bn per annum
• Its economic impact is up to €40bn annually, and up to €100bn longer-term
• RTOs co-ordinate around one-third of all Framework Programme projects
• The sector supports some 100,000 companies each year, especially SMEs