Five-Point Plan to Boost Science and Engineering

CaSE has published five actions that the new Prime Minister can take in the first three months of his premiership to harness the science and engineering potential of the UK.

These actions include setting out a long-term budget to invest 2.4% of GDP on R&D by 2027, extending the post-study work visa to 2 years to attract global talent, and using diversity data to tackle under-representation in the R&D workforce.

The Government has stated its ambition to use research and innovation to transform the UK’s economy and society. To do this it has set a target to increase research and development (R&D) investment in the UK to 2.4% of GDP by 2027 and 3% in the long term. However, this transformation of the UK economy will require ambitious and coordinated Government action, including a significant uplift in public investment in R&D.

The five action points will set the UK well on the way to reaching this ambitious target by increasing public investment, incentivising private investment and investing in people and skills:

1. Set a long-term plan and a budget to reach 2.4% by 2027
2. Attract Global Talent: Extend post-study work visa to 2 years
3. Harness the power of government to deliver the benefits of innovation faster
4. Promote the UK overseas: Create a digital shop window for the UK innovation offer
5. Increase the pool of available talent: monitor diversity data