Driving all ten pillars of the Industrial Strategy will take collaboration across an entire ecosystem
IMPACT
Catapulting innovation
Driving all ten pillars of the Industrial Strategy will take collaboration across an entire ecosystem
Zoe Webster , Innovate UK ’ s Head of Resource Portfolio , explains how Catapults will help drive the Industrial Strategy , steering business investment into science , research and innovation , developing skills , and cultivating world leading sectors .
Catapults are independent Research and Technology Organisations that receive core funding from Government through Innovate UK , and attract matching funding from business for R & D and commercial activities .
The Catapults provide innovators with access to expertise , equipment and facilities that may not be available from the market . This might be because no one company can justify the necessary long-term investment needed when the exact return on investment or markets are not immediately clear . Government funding can have a role in putting innovation infrastructure in place to plug that gap , and accelerate UK business innovation towards growing global markets .
Where do Catapults sit within the UK knowledge ecosystem ? Broadly speaking , Catapults sit between research and commercial reality . The exact place will depend on which sector a Catapult sits in , and what types of facilities it offers businesses . For example , these Catapults are vital for businesses needing to validate new technology or processes in a realistic environment . SMEs without the facilities in-house cannot do this without the Catapult , and large companies may not be willing to invest in the facilities until there has been some form of validation to prove a case for further investment . The Catapults also provide a neutral place in which data can be convened and made available securely to allow testing of new products or services . Catapults are seen as neutral and independent within the ecosystem .
Do Catapults complement or compete with science and technology parks ? Catapults complement science and technology parks and , indeed , some of those parks host Catapult centres or facilities . For example , the National Composites Centre within the High Value Manufacturing Catapult is located in the Bristol and Bath Science Park . The Satellite Applications Catapult is located at the Harwell Oxford Campus . Wherever Catapults are , they engage with regional clusters reaching into industry and academia . Science and technology parks are therefore natural partners . Incubators and accelerators also bring innovators and investors together , and Catapults can support these relationships by providing the facilities and expertise innovators might need to validate new developments and attract followon investment .
How can collaboration forward the UK ’ s science and technology agenda ? Innovation rarely succeeds when a silo mentality is adopted , and indeed it often occurs naturally when viewpoints or disciplines collide . Many , if not all the major challenges we face globally require collaboration to find sustainable solutions . One axis of collaboration is between the research base and business . This is already happening at the Catapults , the Innovation Knowledge Centres and elsewhere , and this will become even easier with the formation of UK Research and Innovation ( UKRI ). Another axis is between sectors and disciplines . An example of where collaboration between sectors will
The Catapults are vital for businesses needing to validate new technology or processes in a realistic environment
68 | UKSPA breakthrough | SUMMER 2017