A new report from the Higher Education Policy Institute sheds
light on the inadequacies in the UK's efforts to 'level up'
research and innovation across regions, drawing comparisons with
Germany and the United States.
The report, Regional research capacity: what role in
levelling up? (HEPI Report 168), is authored by
Jonathan Adams, Jonathan Grant, and Martin Szomszor and reveals
critical insights into the disparities and shortcomings in
current investment strategies.
The key findings include:
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Inadequate investment and limited impact: The
report concludes that the UK's investment in research and
innovation falls short, lacking the scale seen in Germany and
the sustained commitment observed in the United States.
Furthermore, the investment has not been effectively linked to
enhancing research manpower capacity.
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Regional economic imbalance: OECD data
highlight a significant regional economic imbalance in the UK
compared to the US and Germany. Despite disparities in regional
research activity, the average academic research performance
remains similar across regions.
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City-centric research capacity: Analyses
shifting the focus from regions to distance reveal that
research capacity is concentrated in major conurbations,
aligning with the economic influence of cities. The 'golden
triangle' around London does not significantly outperform other
regions in research quality or relative GDP enhancement.
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Funding disparities and institutional bias:
While research quality is evenly distributed, funding
disparities are not simply regional; they reflect a bias
towards specific institutions. The concentration of research
activity within regions is masked by regional analyses, and
regional research networks are underdeveloped.
The report emphasises the need for:
- greater and sustained investment outside the science budget;
- focus on people and regional networks rather than exclusive
elite institutions; and
- long-term commitment to achieve true levelling-up.
Jonathan Adams, the Chief Scientist at the Institute for
Scientific Information (ISI)™ at Clarivate™ and lead author of
the report, commented:
‘True levelling-up will require far greater investment that must
come from outside the science budget. It has to be about people
and regional networks, not just about prestige projects in elite
institutions. Truly sustainable transformation has to be
maintained over very long periods.’
, the Director of HEPI,
said:
‘It is a certainty that, at the forthcoming UK general election,
all the major parties will be promising economic growth, a
high-tech future and less sharp regional imbalances. This timely
report shows how to convert such rhetoric into meaningful
action.’
