{"id":2434,"date":"2017-03-14T21:44:01","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T21:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chief-exec.com\/?p=2434"},"modified":"2017-04-03T08:23:59","modified_gmt":"2017-04-03T08:23:59","slug":"industrial-strategy-and-innovation-across-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chief-exec.com\/?p=2434","title":{"rendered":"Industrial strategy and innovation across the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the United\u00a0Kingdom steams towards Brexit, much attention is directed at the process of leaving. But where is the country heading? A House of Lords committee asks if the UK is really leaving its problems behind, writes John Egan<\/em>.<\/span><\/h4>\n

The House of\u00a0Lord\u2019s Science and Technology Committee<\/a> today\u00a0launched an investigation into the UK\u2019s post-Brexit industrial strategy, which currently appears as a consultative green paper<\/a> with a plan aimed\u00a0at creating a more productive and prosperous economy and spreading this prosperity more evenly throughout the regions.<\/p>\n

It is the ninth such industrial strategy since 1947 and all have been proposed to address the same problems of low productivity and the inability of UK industry to benefit from the nation\u2019s acknowledged excellence in research and discovery. It is reasonable to say that the previous attempts were less than successful and for the six expert witnesses to be asked by committee member Lord Hennessy, \u201cWhat is different this time?\u201d<\/p>\n

The answers shifted through the detail in search of grains of hope: Brexit means the country cannot afford to fail, there is a commitment to the right kind of (STEM) skills development, innovation and science audits are able to identify the geographical spread of excellence across the UK.<\/p>\n

Professor Richard Jones of Sheffield University was more forthright in conceding that there was nothing new in the proposed industrial strategy, and that it may add to the previous history of failure.<\/p>\n

At such times, it is natural to dig into local experience to seek examples of what has worked to improve industrial competitiveness and harmonious industry-university collaboration. Professor Iain Gray, Vice-President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh pointed to previous Industry Leadership Councils as a way to build cohesive industrial sectors.<\/p>\n

Professor Dame Ann Dowling President of the Royal Academy of Engineering spoke of the need to enhance skills and ambition in mid-sized companies to close the gap with innovative companies at the technology frontier and to become global organisations.<\/p>\n

Professor Robert Allison, Vice-Chancellor and President of Loughborough University, described\u00a0arrangements where small companies can be co-located with technology development organisations to connect up the technology readiness pathway.<\/p>\n

Importantly, some relevant issues emerged in the flow of inquiry discussion. It is the great contribution of such a distinguished Lord\u2019s committee to expose these essential but otherwise obscured issues.\u00a0For the record we note these points:-<\/p>\n