Innovation, growth and the regions

Science, Innovation and Technology Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 6 Dec 2024 Parliament page
The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is launching an inquiry into “Innovation, growth and the regions” to assess the role of the UK’s innovation ecosystem in achieving the Government’s mission to kickstart economic growth across the country. The inquiry will consider the role of structural factors—such as the tax … Read more
22 Recommendations
21 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Event
Activity timeline 3 events
13 Mar
2026
Report published
6 May
2025
Oral evidence
6 May
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
6 May 2025
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Innovation, growth and the regions
Kristen McLeod · British Business Bank Louis Taylor · British Business Bank Mathias Rauch · Fraunhofer UK Neil Lee · London School of Economics (LSE)
Title HC No. Published Items Response
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovation, Growth and the Regions HC 538 13 Mar 2026 43 Overdue
Recommendations & Conclusions
43 results
1 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
Even in a digital age, physical proximity remains key to innovation and its commercialisation and...
Even in a digital age, physical proximity remains key to innovation and its commercialisation and absorption. Geographic clusters can drive productivity, foster concentrated networks of expertise, infrastructure and collaboration, and support regional growth, which is economically and politically important. Yet … Read more
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2 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The UK’s clusters of innovation-led growth—from Cambridge Biotech to Glasgow Satellite City—are key engines of...
The UK’s clusters of innovation-led growth—from Cambridge Biotech to Glasgow Satellite City—are key engines of national economic prosperity, productivity growth and economic regeneration. Mapping, monitoring and supporting their growth should be a major pillar of the Industrial Strategy and the … Read more
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3 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should establish a national framework for cluster development that embeds regional Key Performance...
The Government should establish a national framework for cluster development that embeds regional Key Performance Indicators and tracks cluster lifecycles. As part of this, it should develop regional economic profiles that line up clusters with key sources of economic activity, … Read more
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4 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should publish annual data covering the performance and impact of innovation clusters.
The Government should publish annual data covering the performance and impact of innovation clusters. These should set out any gaps around infrastructure, skills, and commercialisation outcomes and detail how public investment is being used across different parts of the country. … Read more
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5 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
Public support for R&D is not effectively designed to reach researchers and innovators that have...
Public support for R&D is not effectively designed to reach researchers and innovators that have not traditionally received large amounts of innovation funding – such as those in the regions. UKRI, the country’s biggest public innovation funder, has acknowledged the … Read more
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6 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should establish a portal where innovators can be matched with suitable funding and...
The Government should establish a portal where innovators can be matched with suitable funding and support to help them cut through the current tangle of options. Innovate UK should announce targets for increasing engagement with innovators across the country, using … Read more
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7 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
While the most cutting-edge science may be best carried out in established centres of excellence,...
While the most cutting-edge science may be best carried out in established centres of excellence, as Lord Vallance put it, there are centres of excellence across the country, in Cardiff, Durham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Milton Keynes and Newcastle – amongst … Read more
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8 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should incentivise complementarities between institutions in London, Oxford and Cambridge and those in...
The Government should incentivise complementarities between institutions in London, Oxford and Cambridge and those in other regions, such as through programmes to help spinout companies to scale up elsewhere in the country. Good practice examples include the partnership between the … Read more
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9 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should publish a strategy setting out how it plans to exploit the full...
The Government should publish a strategy setting out how it plans to exploit the full potential of the Oxford-to-Cambridge Growth Corridor – including locations outside these cities. This strategy should identify the existing and potential strengths of places between Oxford … Read more
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10 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should publish an assessment of whether funding to Golden Triangle institutions should be...
The Government should publish an assessment of whether funding to Golden Triangle institutions should be made contingent on projects having a quantifiable economic impact elsewhere. (Recommendation, Paragraph 33) 44
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11 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should appoint a minister to champion innovation in each region of the UK...
The Government should appoint a minister to champion innovation in each region of the UK – not just the Golden Triangle. These ministers should be tasked with ensuring that regional needs, opportunities and interests are considered in decisions on investment … Read more
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12 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The UK is flying blind when it comes innovation policy.
The UK is flying blind when it comes innovation policy. It is unacceptable that the Government and UKRI cannot properly measure and map R&D spending and the accompanying private sector investment. Without clear, transparent measurement of what is being done … Read more
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13 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
Future disclosures of departmental R&D spending should include breakdowns by region and cluster.
Future disclosures of departmental R&D spending should include breakdowns by region and cluster. The Government and UKRI should also develop a framework for tracking impact and publish annual regionally disaggregated reports that set out how public R&D funding supports innovation … Read more
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14 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government and UKRI should, in response to this report, and on an annual basis...
The Government and UKRI should, in response to this report, and on an annual basis thereafter, set out how the R&D budget will be allocated by sector, region and cluster. The Government should also, in its response to this report, … Read more
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15 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should in its response to this report set out how it intends to...
The Government should in its response to this report set out how it intends to ensure the Secretary of State’s mandate to use public spending to unlock private sector investment is taken up by Government departments, UKRI, Innovate UK and … Read more
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16 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
University spinouts play an important part in ensuring that the UK’s research base contributes to...
University spinouts play an important part in ensuring that the UK’s research base contributes to economic growth. However, academics at some institutions would benefit from greater flexibility in working structures as they start and grow their spinouts, and universities should … Read more
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17 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should accelerate delivery of the University Spinout Dashboard and commit to making it...
The Government should accelerate delivery of the University Spinout Dashboard and commit to making it an annual publication. The dashboard should include standardised data on equity terms, intellectual property agreements, institutional support, and regional outcomes. (Recommendation, Paragraph 54) Read more
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18 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
Some university technology transfer offices have made a significant contribution to their local economies.
Some university technology transfer offices have made a significant contribution to their local economies. Others, however, are underperforming, leaving academic founders without the support and expertise needed to scale. (Conclusion, Paragraph 57)
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19 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should consider making funding to build the capacity of technology transfer offices contingent...
The Government should consider making funding to build the capacity of technology transfer offices contingent on their ability to deliver significant volume of throughput and provide evidence of success in building capacity and developing skills in their local economies. (Recommendation,Paragraph … Read more
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20 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
In its response to this report, the Government should set out how it plans to...
In its response to this report, the Government should set out how it plans to support the establishment of a Northern Gritstone or Midlands Mindforge for every region of the UK. (Recommendation, Paragraph 61)
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21 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should establish a series of regional branches of the British Business Bank, with...
The Government should establish a series of regional branches of the British Business Bank, with a substantial presence on the ground in undercapitalised regions, to ensure that the Bank’s policies are aligned with the needs of innovative businesses across the … Read more
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22 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
Taking risk and being rewarded for doing so are essential components of a dynamic, innovative...
Taking risk and being rewarded for doing so are essential components of a dynamic, innovative economy and capital is essential to driving national, regional and local growth. Whilst the Government is limited in what it can do to influence the … Read more
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23 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should expand the Proof of Concept Fund and ensure it meets the needs...
The Government should expand the Proof of Concept Fund and ensure it meets the needs of existing or emerging clusters of innovation. It should also increase the size of available awards to £1 million. (Recommendation, Paragraph 78)
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24 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should introduce a mechanism for businesses that ‘graduate’ from proof of concept funding,...
The Government should introduce a mechanism for businesses that ‘graduate’ from proof of concept funding, to funnel them directly through subsequent stages of investment. (Recommendation, Paragraph 79)
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25 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Catapult network has the potential to help drive innovation and economic growth across the...
The Catapult network has the potential to help drive innovation and economic growth across the UK’s regions, but in regions with low R&D intensity and limited public investment, Catapults risk competing with local bodies for funds rather than fostering knowledge … Read more
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26 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
In its response to this report, the Government should set out how it intends to...
In its response to this report, the Government should set out how it intends to ensure the Catapult network is more effectively targeted at addressing regional disparities, including its assessment of whether removing the imperative for Catapults to raise private … Read more
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27 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government and Innovate UK should develop a standardised and transparent set of performance indicators...
The Government and Innovate UK should develop a standardised and transparent set of performance indicators for the Catapults. These should include measures of industry engagement, commercialisation outcomes, support for technology and innovation adoption, regional economic impact, and wider societal benefits … Read more
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28 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
There should be a minister in the Cabinet Office responsible for innovative procurement, supported by...
There should be a minister in the Cabinet Office responsible for innovative procurement, supported by a dedicated unit and responsible for exploring new approaches to engaging SMEs, spinouts, and scaleups, particularly those developing UK-owned intellectual property; and making use of … Read more
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29 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should encourage the development of specialist investor capability in science and tech across...
The Government should encourage the development of specialist investor capability in science and tech across the UK, particularly in strategic deep tech sectors such as quantum. It should support the development of regional investor and investment readiness training programmes, expand … Read more
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30 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
Infrastructure deficits can be a major barrier to scaling up innovation, commercialising research, and ultimately...
Infrastructure deficits can be a major barrier to scaling up innovation, commercialising research, and ultimately to regional growth. Planned reforms to the Green Book offer an opportunity to rebalance regional investment, but their impact will depend on effective implementation. Scientific … Read more
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31 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should publish a long-term strategy for science infrastructure investment.
The Government should publish a long-term strategy for science infrastructure investment. It should instruct the British Business Bank to ring-fence a percentage of its funds to support the development of innovation infrastructure in partnership with the private sector. (Recommendation, Paragraph … Read more
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32 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
UKRI should revise its Infrastructure Roadmap to include a detailed mapping of existing capabilities, identify...
UKRI should revise its Infrastructure Roadmap to include a detailed mapping of existing capabilities, identify underserved regions, and prioritise infrastructure development that supports economic resilience and long-term growth. (Recommendation, Paragraph 102) Read more
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33 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
We are concerned by an apparent tendency to place major new scientific institutions in London...
We are concerned by an apparent tendency to place major new scientific institutions in London by default. This compounds the challenges other regions face in attracting and retaining graduates and skilled professionals, despite their world-class universities and thriving innovation hubs. … Read more
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34 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should publish a Regional Graduate Retention Strategy, backed by investment and cross-department coordination.
The Government should publish a Regional Graduate Retention Strategy, backed by investment and cross-department coordination. This should include support for university-industry collaboration to create high- skilled local employment, linked to analysis of public services such as housing, transport, and education … Read more
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35 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The UK’s strengths in cutting-edge science have been hampered by low rates of technology and...
The UK’s strengths in cutting-edge science have been hampered by low rates of technology and innovation adoption, particularly among SMEs and in non-tech sectors. This is the low-hanging fruit of innovation policy: the investment needed to support businesses in adopting … Read more
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36 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
Strategies to support increased industry adoption of technologies must have a regional focus, just as...
Strategies to support increased industry adoption of technologies must have a regional focus, just as industries are largely regionally focused. This will require targeted interventions that identify high-potential clusters, provide long-term investment to deliver the infrastructure for them to flourish, … Read more
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37 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should prioritise the diffusion and adoption of innovation and technologies across the UK.
The Government should prioritise the diffusion and adoption of innovation and technologies across the UK. This will require greater emphasis on building skills for smaller businesses; increased advice and support on regulatory matters for smaller businesses; making finance available to … Read more
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38 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The establishment of the Regulatory Innovation Office is a welcome recognition of the need to...
The establishment of the Regulatory Innovation Office is a welcome recognition of the need to tackle regulatory barriers to innovation, particularly at the cutting edge. We believe that it can play a significant role in ensuring that innovation benefits the … Read more
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39 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Regulatory Innovation Office should work with universities, SMEs, and spinouts to map the full...
The Regulatory Innovation Office should work with universities, SMEs, and spinouts to map the full pathway from research to market, identifying where disproportionate burdens or barriers exist. It should also publish a regional support strategy with measurable objectives and deliverables. … Read more
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40 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
Local leaders, including but not only mayoral authorities, are pivotal to regional innovation ecosystems and...
Local leaders, including but not only mayoral authorities, are pivotal to regional innovation ecosystems and regional growth. Their proximity to stakeholders, understanding of their areas, and ability to convene cross- sector partnerships position them uniquely to drive growth. Devolved national, … Read more
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41 Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund’s ambition to give regions more control over innovation policy is...
The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund’s ambition to give regions more control over innovation policy is welcome, but it falls short on scale, with just £500 million over five years, or around 0.5% of the science budget. (Conclusion, Paragraph 130) 49 Read more
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42 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should, in its response to this report, and on an annual basis thereafter,...
The Government should, in its response to this report, and on an annual basis thereafter, set out a framework to clarify the roles and responsibilities of sub-national authorities in the innovation landscape, particularly in areas that do not yet have … Read more
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43 Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovat…
The Government should commission an independent review examining the link between R&D, new businesses and...
The Government should commission an independent review examining the link between R&D, new businesses and growth in jobs and GDP since 2008, and task it with recommending how to make public investment in R&D increase productivity, growth, and jobs. This … Read more
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