- Universities to leverage global connections to help drive local growth
- Blueprint for government to work with sector to address long-term decline in UK inward investment and spark growth in new innovation clusters outside Golden Triangle
- Target the top 200 research and development (R&D) investors in the world, report tells Government as new Whitehall Departments take shape
- Universities to ‘hunt in packs’ and combine forces to attract major R&D investors
- Government urged to forge stronger bilateral relationships with key countries to help attract R&D investment, as ‘Plan B’ decision looms closer
- Minister says ‘Research universities are the jewels in the crown of our R&D economy’
A new report was launched today in London by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and Midlands Innovation, supported by the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) and Universities UK International (UUKi).
The report, The role of universities in driving overseas investment into UK Research and Development (HEPI Report 157) by Dr Alexis Brown, sets out a blueprint for universities and government to work together in order to unleash the levelling-up potential of the UK’s world-renowned higher education sector to help attract international investment across the country.
Drawing on extensive analysis and research from its authors and a pilot underway in the Midlands, the report points to a significant opportunity to provide a long-term boost for local economies by attracting more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the innovation clusters that surround university campuses across the UK. It suggests a number of practical measures that would better leverage universities’ global connections to directly support their local areas by attracting investment to boost economic development and job creation.
It proposes a national programme and policy framework to deliver more ambitious, joined-up thinking between universities, local growth partners and government around securing FDI into R&D, including learning from international best-practice from around the world.
While the report finds evidence that universities already play an important role in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the UK, it identifies a clear opportunity for this role to be expanded and improved, making a number of recommendations for government, universities and local economic growth organisations. These include:
- Government should target the world’s top 200 R&D investors, taking advantage of its new Whitehall Departments to launch a refreshed and more ambitious approach to securing FDI into science and technology
- Government should incorporate FDI into R&D into its ambitious new plans to forge bilateral international research and innovation bridges with partner nations
- Universities, government and local partners should work together to showcase the investment potential of the innovation clusters that surround campuses across the UK
- Universities should work together and ‘hunt in packs’ in order to attract more significant inward investment into regional economies
- A more systematic approach should be taken to introduce universities to firms who may potentially or have recently invested in a local area
On levelling up, the report finds that universities have a unique role to play, not only to provide the foundation for the research ecosystem that attracts investment but also to offer a pipeline of skilled graduates for industry collaboration and spin-outs. The recommendations could help level-up local economies beyond London and the South East, by supporting the expansion of innovation clusters with universities at their heart.
The report comes as the Government announces nearly £0.5m of funding for the Midlands Pilot, developed by a coalition of 17 universities and partners including the Midlands Engine Partnership. It is led by Midlands Innovation with the support of Midlands Enterprise Universities and hosted by the University of Nottingham. The Pilot is helping identify and develop R&D investment propositions involving universities from across the region.