Morning, Wednesday, 30th April 2025
Online
This conference will consider next steps for UK research and innovation, with a focus on investment, strategic development, new institutions and structures, and frameworks for collaboration.
It will be an opportunity for key stakeholders and policymakers to assess priorities for directing support for R&I following the Autumn Budget announcement of £20.4bn allocated for 2025-26, and full funding for the UK’s association to Horizon.
Delegates will also discuss issues being examined by the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee’s inquiry into the impact on innovation-focused enterprises of regulation and taxation measures, looking at policy priorities for fostering access to investment and commercialisation of research, and how R&I can best support aims for addressing regional disparities and economic growth. We also expect discussion on proposals relating to funding, areas of focus for research, collaboration and student opportunity set out in UUK’s recent Opportunity, growth and partnership report.
There will also be a focus on strategic options and challenges for achieving related policy aims of balancing investment and growth with financial stewardship in the context of budget constraints, as well as future opportunities and performance indicators for the National Wealth Fund, and next steps toward implementing the recently published Industrial Strategy.
Further sessions will discuss what is needed to create a successful R&I ecosystem, stimulate private investment, and improve partnerships between industry and public institutions, including the role of the proposed Regulatory Innovation Office alongside UKRI, ARIA and DSIT. Delegates will examine implications of the Government’s pledge to introduce 10-year budgets for UKRI and ARIA, and to make DSIT the digital centre of government, as well as the proposal to prioritise aerospace, AI, automotive, defence, energy, and life sciences, looking at the allocation of funds between these key areas and the processes around applying for support.
We also expect discussion on the Government’s R&I policy more widely, including what constitutes successful R&I outcomes and how this can be monitored and measured.
With the agenda currently in the drafting stage, overall areas for discussion include:
- assessing the UK’s R&I strategy:
- implementing 10-year budgets for key R&I institutions - coordination between institutions - assessing progress and next steps in developing the Industrial Strategy
- priorities for the National Wealth Fund - strategies for supporting scale-ups and spin-outs - the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee Inquiry
- investment and national funding goals:
- R&I funding priorities - optimising investment - key outcomes from the International Investment Summit - the Horizon association - priorities for stimulating private investment
- opportunities for public-private partnerships - use of public procurement in meeting national challenges - defining success and measuring performance
- developing a joined-up R&I ecosystem:
- addressing regional disparities in research capabilities - creating research clusters facilitating knowledge exchange - partnering with local communities to support regionally
