Science and Innovation Policy: Key themes and examples

Direct public funding for research

Long term funding plan for science
Making the right choices about what research to fund, evaluating it, assessing impact and promoting open access
Ensuring accountability by the research councils and the research community to each other and to the public
Professionalising research, ensuring research careers welcome diversity and researchers can build long term career paths
Procurement to derisk research through programmes like the SBRI
Working with the European Union to support and improve its research funding

Representation of science and engineering in the media
Valuing non-graduate STEM eg technical baccalaureate, engineering diploma, apprentices
Prizes & status for STEM achievements eg support for QE prize,
Valuing science and engineering professionally eg creating a protected title for engineers
Valuing technology & science education
Valuing science and engineering in Government : tracking the number of scientists and engineers and career progression.

Catapult centres – Formal review in year or so to ensure the model is successful
Targetting tax credits at the development we want to promote
Finance for small, innovative businesses, right balance between debt and VC, expansion of SBRI
Helping university regional research hubs achieve critical mass for sharing of infrastructure etc
Promoting exchange between universities and industry, for example professorships & one year industrial fellowships for engineers and enabling academics to spend time in industry
Driving technology and innovation understanding in SMEs and management
Support, promote and ease market ‘pull’ for technology

Promoting long termism in company cultures
Reporting to measure innovation
Targetting tax credits where they make the most difference
Promoting exchange between public and private as in the DARPA model eg secondments.