A CBI report warns technology R&D is not happening fast enough in the UK.
CBI Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn released the report at the opening of Reckitt Benckiser’s (RB) new £105 million Science and Innovation Centre in Hull — marking the biggest single investment in RB’s history.
The report entitled ‘Don’t wait, innovate’ finds that not enough of this R&D is happening across the UK – risking progress on achieving the target of 2.4 percent GDP spend on R&D by 2027 and the longer-term aim of three per cent.
The UK currently spends 1.7 per cent of GDP on R&D – far below the 2.4 per cent OECD average – and UK investment is particularly limited outside of the South East.
The report found three regions account for 52 percent of UK R&D spend (London, South East & East of England) and just five of the UK’s forty sub-regions are investing over three per cent of GDP. A greater focus on accelerating R&D investment in the worst-performing regions could provide a £7.3 billion boost to UK R&D spend, bringing the 2.4 percent target for R&D spend within grasp.
‘Don’t wait, innovate’ calls for a new regional network of Catapult Quarters across the UK.
These would encourage industry to collaborate regionally on the key challenges that face our country – like clean growth, healthy ageing, the future of mobility and AI – with targeted and practical support.
Felicity Burch, CBI Innovation & Digital Director, said: “For centuries, the UK has been a home for global innovation. Scientific progress has not only transformed our economy, but it’s also been the single biggest driver of productivity and helped tackle some of our society’s biggest challenges. But with the continued political uncertainty and our competitors investing more in innovation, the next Government must re-launch the UK as one of the best places in the world to imagine, invest and invent. This report lays out concrete initiatives that can kickstart public and private investment across our country.”
She said that by running with this agenda, business and Government can in partnership unleash the innovative potential of towns and cities throughout the UK. From St. Austell to St. Andrews, there are already a wealth of successful stories of companies coming together in their regions to the benefit of society and the economy.
“If R&D spending increases to at least three per cent of GDP and Catapult Quarters are created – how much further could the UK grow its successful innovation-based economy and break ground on the grand challenges of our time.”
