Research Active The Newsletter of University of Kent Research Services, Vol 13, February 2018
Fit for the Future Following the announcement in 2016 of an extra £4.7bn “to enhance the UK’s position as a world leader in science and innovation”, the long-awaited funding instruction manual — “Building a Britain Fit for the Future” (aka The Industrial Strategy) landed on the 27th November 2017. (Although you would be forgiven for having missed it arriving as it did on the day that the majority of the world’s attention was upon the announcement of Prince Harry’s engagement to Meghan Markle.) Branded as a “modern” strategy, the plan is to boost the economy by focusing upon the country’s strengths and by embracing opportunities for technical change. The 70’s style approach of “backing winners” is out in favour of a more inclusive range of initiatives aimed at getting “all parts of the country firing on all cylinders”. Raising the Bar The crux of the Strategy is in addressing the UK’s persistent productivity gap with its competitors. UK productivity – output per hour worked — is currently 20% below pre-financial crisis levels, relegating the UK to the lower leagues of international competitiveness. In the time that a UK worker makes £1, for example, a German makes £1.35. These national averages also mask huge differences regional-
ly—with productivity in central London almost double that of many other areas. The Strategy is built around five “foundations of productivity”, each of which is supported by a range of policies and funding schemes—some new, some recycled.
Business Secretary Greg Clark launches the Strategy in November 2017
The Key Policies Include : Ideas : creating the worlds most innovative economy Raising total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027 Investing £725m in new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund People : good jobs and greater earning power for all An extra £406m into maths, digital and technical education Creating a National Retraining Scheme starting with a £64m investment in digital and construction skills Infrastructure : highest performing physical and virtual networks Increasing the National Productivity Investment Fund to £31bn for improvements in transport, housing and digital infrastructure £400m investment in the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles Business Environment : promoting best practice and facilitating scale-up Launch and roll out of Sector Deals - partnerships between Government and specific industries (see below) Investing in innovative, high potential businesses through a new £2.5bn Investment Fund Places : creating prosperous communities across the UK £1.7bn for a Transforming Cities Fund to increase intra-city transport £42m for a Teacher Development Premium pilot exercise in disadvantaged areas Continued on Page 2
This edition of ResearchActive has been edited by Sarah Tetley. Contact her for more information or clarification on any of the 1 items in this edition. For the latest from the world of research funding, go to fundermental.blogspot.com or Twitter @frootle