Innovate UK – Helping make the UK a global innovation hub

Sponsor: Innovate UK

Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. We drive productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas, including those from the UK’s world-class research base.

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The UK Government’s vision is for the UK to be a global hub for innovation by 2035. To deliver this vision our mission is to help businesses to grow through their development and commercialisation of new products, processes and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive and easy to navigate.

Our approach is built on five strategic themes – future economy; growth at scale; global opportunities; innovation ecosystem; and government levers – and a set of strong foundations that underpin all our activities.

To deliver this we will:

  • inspire innovative businesses to create value though innovation, making the opportunity visible and compelling
  • involve talented organisations and people to create a vibrant and successful innovation ecosystem, bringing relevant organisations and people together
  • invest in innovation to make a clearly tangible positive impact on the UK’s economy and society, convening the resources needed, including our own.

Our vision for Manufacturing and Materials

Our work is in support of a vision for UK materials and manufacturing to be sustainable, safe, thriving and resilient. A sector that makes available the good and services that enhance people’s lives. The vision is founded on a responsible industry that is always able to adapt to rapid advances and support the environment in which it operates.

The three pillars of the vision are mutually reinforcing, for organisations to be:

  • Technologically Advanced so the UK becomes an increasingly attractive place to manufacture goods, and a leader in the development and export of industrial technologies
  • Resilient and Responsive to mitigate the risks from supply of critical materials, national/global disruptions, and adaptation to climate change
  • Net Zero and Resource Efficient, understanding the environmental impact of every stage in the supply chain and manufacturing process, and widely adopting circular economy principles.

This will require systemic transformation and we have identified 10 interconnected key domains to focus on to achieve the vision:

For more info, please visit www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/