Productivity has flatlined across the UK since the 2008 financial crisis, costing the economy tens of billions of pounds a year. Despite a world-class research base, UK firms struggle to translate early-stage ideas into commercial success – a major driver of productivity gains.
While the UK has strengths in cutting-edge industries like AI, space, and quantum computing, innovation is held back by the absence of a coherent approach to funding, smart regulation and a ruthlessly prioritised industrial strategy.
If the government is serious about lifting growth levels and raising living standards – the mission on which its political fortunes and wider reform agenda depend – it must address the long-standing barriers to innovation to deliver a step change in productivity growth.
Rebuilding the Nation 05: Spurring Innovation sets out how the government can create an environment where innovation thrives, unlocking new sources of economic growth and cementing the UK’s status as a global technology leader.
Written by FGF’s Hamida Ali, Shuab Gamote, Joseph Holland and Adam Terry, the report draws on a series of discussions with leading experts in R&D, space, AI and quantum, putting forward a set of targeted recommendations aimed at accelerating innovation and productivity.
This is the fifth in FGF’s Rebuilding the Nation series of reports. It follows papers on progressive principles for effective investment, pension reform, infrastructure and public-private partnerships, and empowering UK tech start-ups to thrive.