On July 4th the country went to the polls and elected a Labour Government with a thumping majority, ushering much-anticipated change into the political landscape. Many column inches have been written following the appearance of Sir Keir Starmer outside no.10 Downing Street, and more since the appointment of his cabinet and ministerial staff, to anticipate first policy moves and the impact that manifesto policy pledges will have on different aspects of our lives.
At PraxisAuril we are, of course, eager to understand how our mission to make Knowledge Exchange (KE) a priority for universities and businesses of all types is supported by Labour policies and the steps that the Starmer government is taking towards implementation. The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, speaks of a “…new era of industrial strategy” to underpin Labours five mission areas: to kickstart economic growth, make Britain a green energy superpower, tackle crime, breakdown barriers to opportunity and build an NHS fit for the future.
What do we know so far?
The desire to pull investment right across the UK, with an emphasis on public benefit, is clear. A position to provide long-term stability through 10-year funding settlements for ‘key R&D institutions’ has been taken to “allow meaningful partnerships with industry to keep the UK at the forefront of global innovation”. There will be a ‘Regulatory Innovation Office’ picking up on threads of the previous government’s desire to lower barriers to innovation and “beefing up” the existing, rather low profile, Regulatory Horizons Council. And a national wealth fund has been announced with the aim of derisking private investment for infrastructure projects.
To a certain extent, in terms of leveraging the research base for economic growth, there is continuity from the priorities of the previous administration – including a focus on university spinouts – but at the same time everything has changed since July 4th. Just one example of this is Labour’s pledge to support diverse business models for innovation, including co-operatives and mutuals. This plays very well to increasing interest in alternative models for sustained impact from across the disciplinary base, interest that is being actively supported through our ESRC-funded Community of Practice.
A change of name, and a renewed Knowledge Exchange mission
It was not by accident that the theme of our annual conference in June was ‘knowledge exchange in a changing world’. Change was clearly on the agenda when we started planning our programme in autumn 2023. We wanted to help delegates thinking about the challenges ahead and, importantly, help them to think about their role in making change happen – whether through industrial collaboration for green technologies, through securing a licence to get a medical device to market, through employer engagement for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) or degree apprenticeship, or influencing change through policy engagement. Social impact, as well as economic, was on the agenda from the outset thanks to an outstanding keynote session from Alun Francis, (Chair of the Social Mobility Commission and Principal and Chief Executive of Blackpool and The Fylde College) and Andy Westwood (Professor of government practice at Manchester University).
Post-conference, post-election, PraxisAuril is looking to the future with a brand change and a commitment to work in partnership with like-minded organisations, so we can deliver more value for our members and be part of a collective voice for Knowledge Exchange that will secure funding and assure investors. Knowledge Exchange UK will be a broad and inclusive umbrella for the rich diversity of KE across the UK. We want to help our members to say what they need from government and demonstrate to government how vital KE is to their commitments to devolution, innovation and growth. Our research base has so much to offer Labour’s five mission areas and there is so much excitement at the potential for change that can be enabled by a positive and confident approach to industrial strategy.
As Knowledge Exchange UK, we want to support change in KE practice and leadership, to achieve greater engagement and greater impact across the sector and with external partners. This will be enabled by our membership’s commitment to sharing good practice and raising standards for KE, encapsulated in the KE Concordat which PraxisAuril now leads for the sector. Our members are key people in the business of collaboration at local, regional and national levels and their practical skills in relationship building, mapping and convening partners will be invaluable to shaping and delivering the change that UK plc needs, and our new government is leading. We look forward to future engagement and building partnerships for public good.
