Select committee: Science and Technology Committee
Conclusion 16
2nd Report - Catapults: bridging the gap between research and industry
Published 5 Feb 2021
Paragraph 71
Science and Technology Committee The contribution of innovation Catapults to delivering the R&D Roadmap All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We were unconvinced by the Government’s approach to encouraging industry investment in R&D and expanding national assets such as the Catapults. The R&D Roadmap has insufficient detail about the Government’s objectives or its plans for achieving them. There does not appear to be a clear list of priority technologies for the UK, or a firm plan to expand the Catapult Network into sectors where the UK has strengths and the potential for economic gains. We recognise that in the wake of the pandemic there may be shifts in priorities for innovation and technology, including towards biotechnology and systems to support remote working. Nonetheless, the Government needs to have firm criteria for identifying key technologies and deciding on expansions of the Catapult Network, and these processes must be responsive to future challenges.
From: Science and Technology Committee, 2nd Report - Catapults: bridging the gap between research and industry, paragraph 71, 5 February 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 6 April 2021 (deadline 5 April 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out its R&D funding plans and agrees with the Committee on several points on Catapults, while pointing to a forthcoming Innovation Strategy and Places Strategy for further detail.
- On funding, it states that the 2.4% of GDP R&D target will not be achieved "through public spending alone", and that BEIS "will provide a breakdown" of its R&D spending when final allocations are published "later in the year".
- On collaboration, it says it agrees with the Committee's findings that funding constraints could be reducing Catapults' ability to collaborate with universities, and has asked UKRI to review whether Catapults could bid for relevant Research Council funding.
- On review and performance indicators, it agrees that it should focus on how to support Catapults rather than whether they should exist, and will work with UKRI / Innovate UK to agree bespoke KPIs with the Catapults as part of the five year review cycle.
- On scaling the network and regional policy, it seeks a balance between opening new Catapults and funding existing ones, and says priority technologies "will be considered as part of the upcoming Innovation Strategy", with further local impact details in the Places Strategy.