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

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    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

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    Why might this be relevant?

    The project focuses on creating local clusters and agglomerations of business and research organizations through the STFC Regional Centre.

  • Launchpad Cluster Management: Liverpool City Region

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    Why might this be relevant?

    The project addresses the creation of local clusters and collaboration with research communities, but does not specifically mention incentivizing international R&I activity.

  • Investigation of the impact of co-location: economies of scope and scale in biomedical and health research

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    The project investigates the impact of co-location in biomedical research, which is related to the concept of creating local clusters, but does not directly address international R&I activity.

  • Global - The Bristol Global Engagement Network

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  • INnoVation and ENTrepreneurship in HEIs (Deep INVENTHEI)

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    Funded by: Horizon Europe Guarantee

    Lead research organisation: UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD

    Why might this be relevant?

    Partially relevant as it focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education institutions, but does not directly address the creation of local clusters or agglomerations of business and research organizations.

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