{"id":810,"date":"2021-02-03T16:37:56","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T16:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mub.eps.manchester.ac.uk\/graphene\/?p=810"},"modified":"2021-02-03T16:37:56","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T16:37:56","slug":"how-our-manchester-model-can-underpin-new-uk-innovation-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sites.se.manchester.ac.uk\/graphene\/2021\/02\/03\/how-our-manchester-model-can-underpin-new-uk-innovation-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"How our Manchester model can underpin new UK innovation agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AJames Baker, CEO of Graphene@Manchester, welcomes the momentum behind UK government plans for a<\/em> \u201cblue-skies\u201d science research agency that will focus on delivering cutting-edge technologies \u2013 regardless of risk. As the think-tank Policy Exchange publishes a report calling on ministers to move rapidly to establish a \u201cUK ARPA\u201d, citing the Graphene@Manchester ecosystem as a model for this pioneering national agency, James explains how the Manchester philosophy can help Britain innovate its way to success.<\/em><\/p>\n

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In recent days we\u2019ve seen a renewed impetus to establish a UK research and innovation catalyst that would take \u201cblue skies\u201d science and translate it into applications and marketable products – without fear of failure. That approach dovetails with our philosophy at Graphene@Manchester and I believe we can serve as a home-grown model for such an agency.<\/p>\n

The think-tank Policy Exchange recently published a report entitled \u2018Visions of ARPA: Embracing Risk, Transforming Technology\u2019<\/a> (28 Jan) featuring contributions from two former science minsters in Jo Johnson and David Willetts, plus leaders from The University of Manchester and the Henry Royce Institute<\/a> for Advanced Materials Research.<\/p>\n

The report calls on the government to expedite the formation of a “UK ARPA”, a revolutionary agency that would be modelled on the US-based Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). It reads: \u201cAn effective ARPA pursuing high-risk, high-reward transformative research has the potential to make a significant contribution to the UK\u2019s scientific and economic performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The timely \u2018Visions of ARPA\u2019 study coincides with a Financial Times report<\/a> (1 Feb) that Kwasi Kwarteng, the UK\u2019s new business secretary, is pushing forward with plans for Britain\u2019s advanced research agency. The FT<\/em> states that ministers will draw up the required legislation \u201cwithin weeks\u201d and that this body would answer to the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS), with \u201cthe independence to experiment with new funding models to back cutting-edge, high-risk, high-reward science here in the UK\u201d.<\/p>\n

The long commitment to innovation<\/h3>\n

Over the past year the UK government has repeated its proposed commitment to invest \u00a3800 million into a UK ARPA project. Pledges were first made in the March 2020 budget, then in the Government\u2019s\u00a0UK Research and Development Roadmap<\/a>, and again in last November\u2019s Spending Review.<\/p>\n

In the US, ARPA (and its military successor DARPA) have been hugely successful innovation catalysts and are credited with developing breakthroughs in robotics, for creating an early version of the internet, as well as delivering GPS and stealth technologies.<\/p>\n

It has achieved this through a brave attitude to risk that accepts \u201cfailure is normal\u201d. I believe this bold philosophy has real merit and I would like to see this more widely adopted by UK government to empower scientists and researchers.<\/p>\n

Manchester model for UK agency<\/h3>\n

As government and policymakers look to make a UK ARPA a reality, I would urge them to look at our Manchester model of innovation, which is primarily being applied to our industrial partnership work involving graphene and advanced materials.<\/p>\n