Does international R&I activity in UK universities incentivise the creation of local clusters or agglomerations of business and research organisations? Are there concrete examples of this? What are the causal factors?
Background
IRIA aims to build an evidence base useful for monitoring the effectiveness of UK international research collaboration, determining the value-for-money of international R&I interventions and comparing the UK with other countries. We support a wide range of programmes as well as building an evidence base that can be used for new interventions. This includes government plans to protect and support UK science, research, technology and innovation (SRTI) sectors, should association to Horizon Europe on fair and appropriate terms not be possible.
We are interested in assessing the value delivered from infrastructure which supports research and innovation, such as laboratories or institution headquarters. An example of this is the project to relocate the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) to the University of Readings’ campus.
DSIT has a good understanding of the lead recipients of funding from its R&I collaboration programmes (GCRF, FIC and Newton). However, we would like to understand more about the onward flows of money. We are interested in the extent to which funding from international R&I remains in the UK and the geographical distribution of R&I funding and impacts within the country. Questions include:
Next steps
If you are keen to register your interest in working and connecting with DSIT Science, Innovation, and Research Directorate, and/or submitting evidence, then please complete the DSIT-ARI Evidence survey - https://dsit.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cDfmK2OukVAnirs
Link to ARIs : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-science-innovation-and-technology-areas-of-research-interest/dsit-areas-of-research-interest-2024
Related UKRI funded projects
-
FDI into University R&D Campaign - Midlands Pilot
The proposed programme will fund a two-year FDI into University R&D Campaign piloted in the Midlands. It leverages work led by a coalition of seventeen regional universities and supported by multiple government depar...
Funded by: ISPF
Lead research organisation: Loughborough University
Why might this be relevant?
Partially answers the question by focusing on FDI into university R&D in the Midlands, but does not specifically address the creation of local clusters or agglomerations of business and research organizations.
-
2018 STFC Regional Centre
As one of Europe's largest multidisciplinary research organisations, STFC has world-class research facilities and capabilities. It is responsible for funding much of the research in UK universities in the fields of astro...
Funded by: UUI
Lead research organisation: University of Birmingham
Why might this be relevant?
The project focuses on creating local clusters and agglomerations of business and research organizations through the STFC Regional Centre.
-
Big Science Beyond Science: the Innovation Impact of Research Infrastructure Procurement
Context Scientific research now requires higher R&D efforts and larger teams with access to sophisticated, costly equipment, often too expensive for individual institutions or countries. For this reason, Large Resear...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: London School of Economics and Political Science
Why might this be relevant?
Partially relevant as it focuses on the wider economic benefits of research infrastructure procurement, but does not specifically address the creation of local clusters or agglomerations in UK universities.