Foreword

The government has set out a vision for a decade of national renewal, with a long-term Industrial Strategy at the core of its growth mission. Taking a strategic approach to supporting UK industrial strength is the right choice given the wide-ranging challenges the UK faces: from insufficient investment in infrastructure across housing, transport, energy and digital capacity, to difficulty for new businesses in accessing financing.

The Industrial Strategy provides a unique opportunity to drive the necessary changes with urgency and at scale. This means putting partnership between government, business, the public sector and universities at the heart of the strategy. Universities, while only one part of the ecosystem, are pivotal to supporting progress across all the priority industrial sectors set out in the government’s “Invest 2035” green paper.

Indeed, the government’s "Plan for Change" emphasises the need to maximise the contribution which the UK’s assets can deliver – including its world-leading universities and researchers. The question for universities, and for their partners in business and government, is where their efforts should be focussed in the future.

This report outlines the key areas where we need stability on policy and to be ambitious with targeted growth-focused investment. This will enable research-intensive universities – working in partnership with business, the public sector, and government – to maximise their contribution to a successful Industrial Strategy and deliver significant economic impact over the coming years.

Greg Clark, Executive Chair, Warwick Innovation District