Member Article

Cameron pledges sustained path to growth

MORE THAN £200m will be invested by the government in a series of technology and innovation centres in attempt to drive growth in the UK’s high-tech industries, it was announced yesterday.

The centres, which were announced by Prime Minister David Cameron in a speech to the CBI, has been set up to bridge the gap between universities and businesses.

Commenting on the Prime Minister’s growth speech, Stephen Radley, Director of Policy and External Affairs at Gateahead based EEF, said: “The Prime Minister was right to focus on the central challenge of turning innovation into jobs and growth.

“For Fraunhofer-style innovation centres to benefit the UK they must build on existing strengths and clusters, rather than starting from scratch.”

“Industry will have been encouraged to hear the Prime Minister talking about the government’s plan for growth and moving beyond the tired old belief that economic success is somehow a choice between laissez faire and interventionism.

“For years other countries have recognised and supported industries where they have an economic advantage.”

The new centres, which will receive the money over the next four years, will be based on the model proposed by Hermann Hauser and James Dyson. The network will support businesses in developing and commercialising new technology.

They will allow businesses to access equipment and expertise that would otherwise be out of reach as well as conducting their own in-house R&D.

They will also help businesses access new funding streams and point them towards the potential of emerging technologies.

Each centre will focus on a specific technology where there is a potentially large global market and a significant UK capability.

Areas identified as possibilities by Hermann Hauser included plastic electronics, regenerative medicine and high value manufacturing.

The network will be established and overseen by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) but individual centres will have a high degree of autonomy so they can respond to business needs. The TSB will work with industry, universities and other interested parties to identify the areas the centres will support.

Business secretary Vince Cable added: “We need to do more to ensure the UK benefits from its world-class research.

“These centres will help take ideas from the drawing board to the market place. They will play a key role in helping firms develop new products and processes so they can grow and prosper.

“Companies will be able to access technology and skills that would otherwise be out of reach. High-tech industries are the future of the British economy.”

The TSB will determine which existing centres to invest in by April next year and will then consider requirements for new sites.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .