A Nation of Innovators: How the Industrial Strategy can kick-start growth in advanced manufacturing
Phil Radford, May 2025
Read EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Civitas has partnered with the Bessemer Society and the ERA Foundation to contribute to the new UK Industrial Strategy. Our objective is to identify barriers to growth, and suggest practical measures that will boost advanced manufacturing in the UK. Our proposals draw on the business experience of innovators and serial entrepreneurs at the Bessemer Society, who have all founded companies to develop smart innovations in the UK.
Growth capital is an essential ingredient to innovator-led growth. Today, however, access to growth capital is the single biggest challenge facing UK innovators. This paper suggests ways the Government can encourage and incentivise investment, so innovators will find it easier to commercialise their products in the UK.
Government procurement is another challenge for innovators. This is because defence and health are a prime focus for UK engineering expertise. The Government wants SMEs to help make defence procurement more agile. But little will change unless procurement bodies learn how to partner with innovators.
Industrial clusters are a great British success story. This report suggests ways public policy can encourage growth, and regional specialisation. This will boost exports.
Lastly, this report analyses skills. Low skills availability is a debilitating challenge for early-stage SMEs. Many UK engineers are forced to look overseas to find skills they need to build advanced manufacturing in the UK. Independent skills training could help.
Our message is positive. The UK is still a nation of inventors. If we get better at commercialising home-grown intellectual property, we can grow large, advanced-manufacturing businesses. We can build competitive advantage in UK technologies. And we can anchor supply chains and high-value jobs here in the UK.
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