UK government to consult on proposed industrial strategy with heavy emphasis on science, research and innovation

Mark Henderson
January 25, 2017

The UK government is launching a public consultation with the release of a green paper on industrial strategy aimed at increasing productivity and competitiveness at a time when the dominant financial services sector enters a period of uncertainty as the country prepares to leave the European Union. The aim is to establish a “coherent framework for industrial strategy across all sectors”, according to the 132-page document, by identifying 10 pillars that will be targeted flexibly within strengthened partnerships between government, industry and academia.

[rs_quote credit="Greg Clark" source="UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"]If other countries invest more in research and development, and we do not, then we cannot expect to keep, let alone extend, our technological lead in key sectors – or the world-beating performance of our universities. The same goes for our record as Europe’s leading destination for inward investment or our position as a centre of international finance.[/rs_quote]

While the UK economy has grown 14% since 2010, like Canada it has a substantial productivity gap with the US and was hit harder than other countries by the 2008 recession. The UK also has “significant disparities” in economic performance and a widening productivity gap with most regions falling below the national average.

Respondents have until April 17th to comment on Building Our Industrial Strategy, which aims to counter uneven economic growth with an emphasis on local innovative strengths and a focus on sectors where Britain already does well or can lead in emerging areas such as robotics and low-emission vehicles.

The paper has a heavy emphasis on science, research and innovation with a commitment to:

  • invest £4.7 billion (Cdn$7.8 billion) in R&D by FY20-21;
  • create UK Research and Innovation to connect the granting councils with later-stage innovation funding;
  • establish new research funding streams outside of the Golden Triangle (London, Oxford, Cambridge);
  • deliver sector-specific funding to support business investment in R&D;
  • create an Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund in robotics, clean energy and biotechnology;
  • increase the effectiveness of R&D investment through improved commercialization and intellectual property policies; and,
  • develop a capital spending roadmap to provide research infrastructure support.

 

Industrial Strategy Pillars

  1. Invest in science, research and innovation
  2. Develop skills needed in a modern economy, build a new system of technical education, boosting STEM skills, digital skills and numeracy and raise skill levels in lagging areas.
  3. Upgrade infrastructure in areas such as digital, energy, transport, water and flood defence infrastructure and align central government infrastructure investment with local growth priorities.
  4. Support businesses to start and grow (finance and management skills)
  5. Improve government procurement to drive innovation and enable the development of UK supply chains.
  6. Encourage trade and inward investment
  7. Deliver affordable energy and clean growth in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
  8. Cultivate world-leading sectors in areas of competitive advantage and emerging sectors.
  9. Drive growth across the whole country.
  10. Create the right institutions to bring together sectors and places.

R$

 


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