We need research and innovation to unlock economic growth

Nigel Toon, Graphcore; Lord Vallance, Minister for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear; Dr Alicia Greated, CaSE; and Edward Bussey, Oxford Science Enterprises speaking at The Innovation for Growth Summit (Photo credit: Adam Gasson)

Professor Sir Ian Chapman, Chief Executive | UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

If you want above-average economic growth in a globalised, multipolar world, you must have an area of comparative advantage. For the UK, our best asset of competitive advantage is the power of our research and innovation (R&I) system.

R&I is one area where the UK genuinely punches above its weight. Recent analysis shows that £1 of public invest­ment in the system generates on average around £8 of benefit to the UK through the development of new and better goods, services, and processes.¹ That’s an aston­ishingly good return on investment.

I firmly believe that R&I investment should be an engine for growth and the best way of improving lives across the country. However, public support for R&I is broad but shallow. Just 29 per cent of the public say they have a connection to R&I, although 88 per cent agree it’s an important area for the government to invest in, according to the latest public attitudes to research report published by the Campaign for Science and Engineering.²

From world-changing breakthroughs like mRNA vaccines to record breaking solar panels and software that makes trains run more efficiently, UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) portfolio includes projects that directly and tangibly improve peoples’ lives and livelihoods.

But we can do more. We must maximise the benefits we wring from every penny we invest. That’s why we hosted The Innovation for Growth Summit last week at The Science Museum. By gathering 250 leaders from research, industry, govern­ment and investors, our aim was to emphasise the critical role that research and innovation play in delivering the UK’s growth agenda for the benefit of people and communities across the country.

At UKRI, we also need to change how we do things. As announced at the summit, we are going to be more selective in where we invest. While protecting the vital curiosity-driven research that can lead to totally unforeseen breakthroughs, we will align our investment in applied research more closely with the Industrial Strategy, offering more investment to fewer, higher potential companies.

Our aim is to back the most innovative and competitive businesses so they can grow fast and stay in the UK. That means making tough, clear-eyed decisions about where taxpayer-funded support will deliver the greatest impact.

We must also make our successes more visible to the people whose money we’re investing – the UK public. We will be doing more to communicate the practical impacts of research and innovation, explaining how it improves people’s lives and their economic opportunity.

You, as MPs and parliamentarians, can also play an important role. Ultimately you and your constituents are our customers, whose lives and livelihoods we are working to improve. Our relationship with, and accountability to, Parliament is also crucial to demonstrating this.

We will do more to ensure that you, as MPs, peers and parlia­mentary staff, are able to see more clearly the value and impact of our work securing the UK’s competitive strength in R&I.

References

1. Gov.uk; Research and analysis, The value of public R&D (Published 30 October 2025)
2. CaSE; Public Attitudes to R&D 2025 (11 Nov 2025)

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