On 14 October 2024, the Government published a Green Paper Invest 2035: The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and opened a public consultation. At Yorkshire Universities (YU), we welcome the opportunity to shape the UK’s next Industrial Strategy, and we have submitted a response to the consultation, with a particular focus on place-based economic development and regional partnerships. In the briefing below, you will find our reflections on the Green Paper, and some suggestions to Government of what we consider to be vital ingredients for a successful Industrial Strategy. These are collated under the following themes below:
- The value of Higher Education (HE) and place-based partnerships
- Barriers to investment
- People and skills
- Research, innovation & technology diffusion
- Barriers to commercialisation
- Business investment in research, development & innovation
- Characterising clusters
- Investing in strategic industrial sites
- Accelerating place-based growth through Local Growth Plans and other mechanisms
- Industrial Strategy Council interaction with non-government organisations
As for next steps, the Government has announced that it will publish a White Paper on the Industrial Strategy in Spring 2025, setting out a long-term vision for the growth of key sectors and places. Yorkshire Universities looks forward to working closely with colleagues in national and regional government, and with other regional HE partnerships, to ensure that the full value of the UK’s excellent university assets is used in the design and delivery of an Industrial Strategy that will lead to balanced and inclusive economic growth across the country.
