Correspondence
The UK as a science and technology superpower
Advice to the Prime Minister on strengthening the UK’s position as a global science and technology superpower.
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In a letter to the Prime Minister sent in June 2021, the Council for Science and Technology (CST) provided advice to the Prime Minister in how to maintain and enhance the UK’s status as a global science and technology superpower. The letter proposes 10 recommendations focused on 6 areas:
- Sustainably increasing investment in science, engineering and technology by at least 50% to a scale commensurate with the size of our economy;
- Providing leadership and incentives to increase significantly the share of that investment from business and industry from 55% to 75% as seen in other successful economies;
- Making choices on where to focus resources informed by our present and potential competitive advantage with an explicit decision on how much risk should be borne by the government;
- Integrating research, innovation and growth investment by joining up all government research efforts, using government procurement as a catalyst, reinforcing research and innovation clusters and deploying growth investment nationwide;
- Strengthening our skills and expertise in research and innovation and attracting talented people into business and academia from around the world;
- Enhancing both domestic and international research and innovation partnerships to confront security threats and solve global challenges such as climate change and pandemics.