Promise to ‘level-up’ R&D in regions outside the greater south-east lacks ambition
White paper on UK government funding will merely maintain status quo critics charge
The government’s long-awaited levelling-up white paper has finally arrived and R&D has a prominent role to play. While welcoming it as a ‘serious piece of work’, many research policy commentators would have liked to have seen more ambition, more funding and more focus on specific regional demands and expertise.
R&D and innovation is one of 12 ‘levelling-up missions’ that the government wants to achieve by 2030. The paper commits to increasing domestic investment outside London and the greater south east (GSE) by at least 40% by 2030, and by at least one third over the next spending review period in 2024–25. It also seeks to leverage at least twice as much private sector investment. Additionally, the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will direct at least 55% of its funding outside the GSE area.