A group of senior business and university leaders has called on the government to develop an industrial strategy with research and development as the main driver of future growth.
A report published today by the National Centre for Universities and Business task force, which was launched in July, urges the government to “refresh” its approach to business in general, and R&D in particular, and to establish a network of “innovation collaboration zones” across the UK “to aid the levelling-up agenda”.
The task force, which includes the heads of BT, Rolls-Royce and Glaxosmithkline, in addition to university chancellors and vice-chancellors, said in its report, “Research to Recovery: Delivering an R&D-driven Industrial Strategy”, that the government should create simpler mechanisms to support businesses “to innovate, and to
