The incoming interim government chair of Innovate UK, Stella Peace, is being inspired to remodel the £1.1 billion-a-year innovation company right into a extra investment-focused physique, in line with Cambridge College’s entrepreneur-in-residence, Ewan Kirk.
Kirk, who additionally serves on the board of BAE Techniques and chairs Deeptech Labs in Cambridge, means that Innovate UK ought to transfer away from its conventional grant-led mannequin and as an alternative make fairness investments in strategically necessary tech corporations. This shift, he argues, would higher align the company with the federal government’s broader financial targets, working in tandem with the British Enterprise Financial institution to take a position immediately in modern companies which might be important to nationwide progress.
Peace (pictured) took over the function from Indro Muckerjee, who led the company for 3 and a half years. Her tenure begins at a time of heightened scrutiny from the Treasury, which is reviewing the effectivity of public spending throughout all companies forward of the upcoming October finances. Innovate UK has come beneath hearth not too long ago for its dealing with of the Girls in Innovation awards, having awarded solely half of the promised 50 grants.
Kirk criticised the present grant system as overly bureaucratic, suggesting that the advanced course of has given rise to a sub-industry of consultants who help start-ups in securing grants for a payment, which he describes as “dead weight.” He known as for a simplification of the method and urged Innovate UK to construct on its successes, resembling its 9 catapult centres, which help R&D throughout sectors like cell and gene remedy, power techniques, and high-value manufacturing.
Innovate UK has already made strides on this path, leveraging enterprise capital alongside its grants. Final yr, it matched £40 million of grants with £123 million of fairness investments from its companions. Nevertheless, Kirk believes {that a} clearer technique and higher funding in progress sectors are important to unlocking the total potential of the UK’s innovation ecosystem.
As Peace takes the helm, the company stays beneath stress to exhibit higher effectivity, having lowered its headcount by 25% in recent times. Innovate UK claims that for each £1 of public funding it distributes, companies safe £3.61 in direct profit, additional boosting the financial system. Nonetheless, Kirk insists that the company’s potential might be maximised by shifting towards an investment-led strategy.
Lord Patrick Vallance, the science minister, is at present in search of a everlasting substitute for Muckerjee and a brand new chair for UK Analysis and Innovation. The federal government’s R&D technique stays targeted on supporting main nationwide initiatives, together with accelerating financial progress, advancing clear power, and constructing a future-proof NHS.
