Recommendations & Conclusions
8 items
1
Conclusion
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovation, …
Accepted in Part
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 their success relies on sustained investment, established infrastructure and skills …
Government response. The government partially agrees, acknowledging the importance of a coordinated approach and impact tracking, but states a separate national framework for cluster development is not currently required. They commit to developing a more robust monitoring approach, including updating the Innovation …
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
4
Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovation, …
Accepted in Part
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. (Recommendation, Paragraph 14) 43
Government response. The government 'partially agrees' with the recommendation, focusing its response solely on the Oxford to Cambridge Growth Corridor, detailing infrastructure investments and an investment prospectus for that specific cluster, but it does not commit to publishing annual data on the …
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
13
Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovation, …
Accepted in Part
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 across the country. These should include company-level data on funding, …
Government response. The government partially agrees, highlighting the British Business Bank's (BBB) regional investment funds and new funding for East, South-East, and ten innovation clusters, which aim to ensure access to finance for innovative businesses across the UK. However, it does not …
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
27
Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovation, …
Accepted in Part
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 by region. (Recommendation, Paragraph 84)
Government response. The government agrees with the importance of clear performance reporting and states Catapults already use standardized KPIs, but commits to expanding data collection for innovation adoption and regional outcomes, and will implement an improved measurement approach before April 2028.
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
29
Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovation, …
Accepted in Part
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 partnerships between technical experts and investment networks, and reduce business …
Government response. The government agrees with the intent, committing to stimulate private investment through the ProQure programme, expand the British Business Bank's capacity with £2.5 billion/year from 2026/27 to build specialist investor ecosystems, and develop specialist fund managers via a Venture Capital …
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
31
Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovation, …
Accepted in Part
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 101)
Government response. The government partially agrees with the recommendation. It points to an existing UKRI roadmap guiding infrastructure investment up to 2030 and states DSIT is exploring options for a new framework. However, it rejects instructing the British Business Bank to ring-fence …
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
32
Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovation, …
Accepted in Part
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)
Government response. The government partially agrees, citing past UKRI work on an infrastructure roadmap and landscape analysis. It commits to exploring options for a framework and toolkit to support R&D infrastructure investment decisions, but does not explicitly commit to revising the roadmap …
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
42
Recommendation
3rd Report - Flying Blind: Innovation, …
Accepted in Part
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 formal devolution arrangements. This framework should include guidance on strategic …
Government response. The government partially agrees with the aim of the recommendation but states a new framework is not required at this time. It argues existing actions through the English Devolution White Paper, Investment Zones, and UKRI reforms already support local leaders …
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology