๐ฟ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐’๐จ ๐ฃ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ (๐๐ฃ๐ซ๐๐จ๐ฉ 2035): ๐๐๐จ๐จ๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ก๐
The UK’s new Industrial Strategy, with its welcome focus on city regions and clusters, sets an ambitious course. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ญ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ต๐ฉ?
Drawing on global best practices, especially from regions like the US (Research Triangle Park), Canada (Global Innovation Clusters), Ireland, Denmark, and France, here are some critical lessons for delivery:
๐ญ. ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐น๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ข๐ฟ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐: As seen in Denmark and France, well-resourced, professional cluster organisations are vital. They act as neutral facilitators, bringing together businesses (especially SMEs), universities, and public bodies to drive collaborative R\&D, innovation projects, and internationalisation. The UK should consider strengthening and formalising such bodies within its chosen clusters.
๐ฎ. ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด-๐ง๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ถ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ (๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐): Ireland’s consistent, decades-long commitment to its industrial policy, and Germany’s stable federal-state approach, underscore the need for longevity. Industrial transformation takes time. The UK must establish a policy framework that provides certainty and patient capital, avoiding the discontinuity that has sometimes hampered past efforts.
๐ฏ. ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ (๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐น๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น & ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ): The UK’s Catapult Network is a strong asset in translating research into application. We need to ensure these, and similar initiatives, are deeply integrated into cluster delivery, actively fostering knowledge transfer and commercialisation, and supporting SMEs in de-risking new technologies.
๐ฐ. ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ: From Germany’s dual vocational system to Australia’s new industry-led VET clusters, aligning education and training with industry needs is paramount. Our delivery must ensure a continuous pipeline of skilled talent tailored to the demands of the IS-8 sectors and their respective clusters. This requires deep collaboration between employers, educational institutions, and local authorities.
๐ฑ. ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ-๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐: The US Cluster Mapping Project and regular evaluations in France and Canada highlight the importance of continuous assessment. We must use robust data to identify emerging strengths, track performance, and adapt our delivery mechanisms to ensure the strategy remains agile and effective in a dynamic global economy.
๐ฒ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐: The increasing devolution to Mayoral Combined Authorities is a significant opportunity. Empowering local leaders with genuine tools and autonomy to shape their regional industrial strategies, building on unique assets and fostering bottom-up growth, will be crucial for the strategy’s success.
๐ณ. ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐: Public policy should aim to “crowd in” private capital. Addressing high industrial energy costs, streamlining planning, fast-tracking approvals, and de-risking private investment through targeted public funds will be critical.
The successful delivery of the UK’s Industrial Strategy hinges on learning from these global experiences, fostering deep collaboration, and maintaining a consistent, long-term vision.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ด ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐๐ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐จ๐บ?
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