Diagnosis of the current situation |
- Global transformations: technological developments changing how we live and work, growing share of older people in the population, the way energy is generated and used is changing rapidly - Strengths of the British economy: high employment rate, high attraction of foreign investment in R&D, flexible labour market, high quality of institutions in general - Sectoral strengths: automobile, aerospace, food and drink, creative industries, service sector (financial, professional, and business services), technological strengths (satellites, synthetic biology), world-renowned education system - Weaknesses of the country: sluggish productivity, regional inequalities - Not enough investment in R&D done by the public and private sectors, especially in the development phase - Shortage of skilled workforce and strong interdependence in research between UK and other countries - Low quality and reputation of technical education, regional disparities in education and skill levels - Although the country is an international reference in business environment, problems still persist in the access of firms to finance, the proficiency of managers, and the relationship between high-performing firms and their supply chain - Regional disparities concerning productivity, workforce skills, and infrastructure |
Justifications and principles |
- Need for employers, individuals, and governments to work together to develop the necessary skills to work with new technologies - Need to consider broad objectives when designing investment programmes, and these investments should be geographically balanced. - Governments have responsibilities that go beyond promoting competition such as its strategic and leadership role, in coordinating efforts to develop and disseminate new technologies and industries - Governments can make long-term investments that no other agent in academia or the market could do on its own. - The modern Nation-state is seen as the most powerful way of distributing risks, and the British government claims to be ready to take these risks. |
Policy structure |
Policy objectives |
- Putting the UK at the forefront of the data and artificial intelligence revolution - Maximizing the advantages of the global change towards clean growth for the UK industry - Making the UK a global leader in the design of the future of mobility - Using the power of innovation to find solutions for an ageing society |
Policy pillars and targets |
Ideas - Increase total R&D investment to 2.4 percent of GDP by 2027 - Increase R&D tax credit rates from 11 to 12 percent - Invest £725 million in new ‘Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’ programmes People - Establish a world-class technical system that reaches the same level as the higher education system of the country - Invest £406 million in STEM skills - Create a new ‘National Retraining Scheme’, with an initial investment of £64 million in digital training Infrastructure - Expand the ‘National Productivity Investment Fund’ to £31 billion, supporting investments in transports, housing, and digital infrastructure - Support electrical vehicles through £400 million in investments in charging infrastructure and another £100 million to extend the ‘Plug-in car grant’ - Spend £1 billion in public investments, including £176 million for 5G and £200 million to encourage local areas in establishing full-fibre networks Business environment - Create ‘Sector Deals’ - partnerships between government and industry seeking to increase the productivity of sectors - Invest £20 billion in innovative and high-potential businesses, including the establishment of a new £2.5 billion Investment Fund incubated at the British Business Bank - Revise the efficacy of measures to promote SMEs’ productivity |
Policy pillars and targets |
Places - Negotiate Local Industrial Strategies based on the strengths and economic opportunities of each location - Create the ‘Transforming Cities Fund,’ which will provide £1.7 billion for intra-city transportation - Provide £42 million for a pilot project named ‘Teacher Development Premium,’ which will test the impact of a £1000 budget for high-quality professional development of teachers in less-developed areas |
Policy instruments |
Financial |
- Funding for R&D and productivity projects (Sector Deals, Digital Railway, Network Rail, ISCF, Faraday Challenge) - Funding conditioned to industry-academia-government collaboration (HEIF) - Funding for SMEs and start-ups (SBRI, Innovation Loans Pilot, Investment Accelerator pilot, Venture Capital Trusts) - Funding mechanisms for less-developed regions (Growth hubs, Local Enterprise Partnerships, Opportunity Areas programme, Strategic School Improvement Fund, Teacher Development Premium pilot, Digital Skills Partnerships) - Skills development and workforce training (Rutherford Fund, Flexible Learning Fund, Unionlearn, Level 3 Maths Support Programme, Further Maths and Core Maths Support Programme, Teaching for mastery maths programme, STEM Ambassador, CREST Awards) - Infrastructure investment funds (National Productivity Investment Fund, Housing Infrastructure Fund, Transforming Cities Fund, Public Works Loan Board, Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, Clean Air Fund, Air Quality Plan, Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund, Local Full-fibre Networks Challenge Fund, National Security Strategic Investment Fund, TIP, EIS) |
Non-financial |
- Research centres for the diffusion of practical knowledge and capability building (Catapult Centres) - Testbeds for specific technologies (National Satellite Test Facility, 5G Testbeds and Trials Programme, 5GUK test network facility) - Networks for the diffusion of specialized knowledge (Science and Innovation Audits) - Non-financial support for SMEs and start-ups (SBRI) - Non-financial support for workforce training (Apprenticeship Levy, Further Education Centres of Excellence, National Centre for Computing Education, Institute of Coding, National Retraining Scheme, Cyber Discovery programme) - Regulation reform (Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan, regulation reform for autonomous vehicles and digital economy, Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation) |
Demand/Others |
- Public procurement (Crown Marketplace Purchasing Platform, SBRI) - Awareness campaigns (Green is Great) - International collaboration in research (International Collaboration Funds, Official Development Assistance, EUREKA, EU Research and Innovation Framework, Horizon 2020, ERC) |