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Industrial strategy, charities and interdisciplinarity feature in our second collection of post-election expert comment
Richard Jones: Make universities the heart of the growth agenda
Above all, growth. The new government knows that none of its ambitions will be achievable without a recovery from the last decade and a half’s economic stagnation. Everything will be judged by the contribution it can make to that goal, and research and innovation will be no exception.
The immediate shadow lying over UK public sector research and innovation is the university funding crisis. The crisis in higher education is on the list of unexploded bombs facing the new government, drawn up by Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff.
But it’s vital for higher education to be perceived not just as a problem to be fixed, but as central to getting the economy growing again. Some clues to the new government’s approach here can be found in the Mais Lecture given by Rachel Reeves in March before she became chancellor.
Reeves’s “securonomics” owes much to what the United States-based economist Dani Rodrik calls productivism. At the centre of this will be an industrial strategy, with both a sector focus, supporting areas of UK comparative advantage, and a regional focus, developing clusters and seeking to unlock the potential agglomeration benefits in underperforming big cities.
Universities need to be at the heart of this. The pressure will be on, not just to produce more spinouts and to work with industry, but to support the diffusion of innovation across regional economies.
Beyond the growth imperative, the government’s priorities are defined by its missions. A commitment to cheap, zero-carbon electricity by 2030 will be a stretch, and R&D will need to be focused to support renewables, new nuclear and grid upgrades. In health, commitments to reduce health inequalities imply an emphasis on prevention, with high hopes placed on data and artificial intelligence. And the threatening geopolitical situation inevitably means a renewed focus on defence.
Richard Jones is vice-president for regional innovation and civic engagement, and professor of materials physics and innovation policy, at the University of Manchester
Nicola Perrin: Shore up support for charity research
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the UK is facing a health crisis. The number of people living with a major illness is rising, and is predicted to reach one in five of us by 2040. Research offers the potential to tackle this, unlocking new ways to detect, treat and prevent disease—and give hope.
Last year, medical research charities invested £1.7 billion in UK research, with 87 per cent of grants awarded to universities. But universities, and the world-class research environments they provide, are under increasing financial strain.
If UK research is to flourish, the new government must commit to putting universities on a sustainable footing. This includes backing existing mechanisms: here, the key ask from medical research charities is for enhanced support to underpin the indirect cost of charity investment in universities, through the government’s Charity Research Support Fund.
The CRSF recognises the crucial role of charities in the ecosystem, funding research that is driven by patient priorities, tackles unmet need and accelerates health impact. But its funding has stagnated for over a decade, threatening the viability of charity-university research partnerships.
The new government must invest to secure the foundations of UK R&D. Strong and sustainable backing for life science is crucial to enable others, including charities, to collaborate and invest with confidence. Working together, we can accelerate access to innovation, cement the UK’s position as a world leader in research, and improve health outcomes for everyone.
Nicola Perrin is chief executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities
Hetan Shah: Review HE funding, bridge disciplines, deepen global ties
Despite or perhaps even because of the challenges facing higher education—including financial strain from frozen fees, hostility towards international students and criticism of ‘Mickey Mouse degrees’—the new government has a unique opportunity to enhance the UK’s R&D landscape, especially in the humanities, arts and social sciences.
Financial pressure on universities has already led to severe cuts, particularly to courses in the Shape disciplines (social sciences, humanities and arts for people and economy), threatening our research reputation. The British Academy urges the new government to review funding comprehensively, support a broad range of subjects and address regional disparities of provision.
The government must also value interdisciplinary research to tackle societal challenges. Combining insights from Shape and Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is essential for ethical, inclusive and sustainable innovation. Greater collaboration between the science and university portfolios would support system-wide synergies, while Labour’s proposal for 10-year budgets for key R&D institutions would bring welcome stability for researchers, innovators and investors.
Building on the UK rejoining Horizon Europe, there’s an opportunity to deepen global partnerships. Reducing barriers to international research, such as high visa costs, is crucial for keeping the UK as a global innovation hub.
Labour’s promise to back research institutions is encouraging. To achieve this, we desperately need sustainable universities, more support for interdisciplinary research and increased international collaboration. A swift review of higher education funding will allow the UK to continue leading in innovation, human understanding and its £108 billion creative industries.
Hetan Shah is chief executive of the British Academy
Pam Waddell: Learn from—and work with—regional innovation policy
Labour’s plans to kickstart economic growth recognise that this depends on innovation, along with what it calls “a new partnership with business” and “a significant expansion of economic devolution in England”. The West Midlands is well positioned to work with this agenda.
The Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands combines a bottom-up voice through a team of embedded innovation experts in business-facing, sector-specific organisations, with a top-down perspective from the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Innovation Board, made up of industry, university and policy leaders. Innovation is at the heart of regional policy, including strategic partnerships such as the West Midlands Innovation Accelerator, developed with Innovate UK.
This integrated approach has taught us three key lessons for developing the innovation aspects of industrial strategy and working with local governance, industry and universities.
First, innovation differs across sectors and scales of businesses in terms of language, approach and timescale, and every region has its own unique mix. Listening and responding to this diversity is challenging, but essential for those designing innovation policy and support; existing regional partnerships can facilitate this dialogue.
Second, a lot of innovation happens at the interfaces between sectors. With the right exposure and support, technology or knowledge from one sector can often solve a problem in another. This shouldn’t be overlooked when industrial strategy focuses on particular sectors or technologies.
Third, businesses will only innovate if they anticipate a commercial or business benefit. Changes in the regulation and practice of public procurement can create markets for innovative businesses. Likewise, incentives and partnerships—with universities, customers or other businesses—that de-risk or accelerate innovation are key. But all interventions must be built on an understanding of this commercial driver.
Pam Waddell is director of the Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands