Earlier this month, the UK government released the federal budget for 2017, which includes £4.7 billion ($5.7 billion) for UK R&D and innovation from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF). The NPIF will be distributed over the next four years and is aimed at promoting R&D, discovery, development and commercialization in the UK. The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) was also announced, which is dedicated towards developing “disruptive technologies” that can positively influence and drive the UK’s economy. With an initial investment of £270 million ($329.8 million) over the next year, the ISCF will focus on the development and manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles; intelligence and robotics platforms to operate in extreme environments (i.e., outer space, deep mining); and new drug manufacturing technologies to increase the efficacy of new drugs and treatments. In order to achieve this, the NPIF will invest £250 million ($305.4 million) in talent funding over the next four years. This includes £90 million ($110 million) for an additional one thousand PhD placements in Industrial Strategy, of which 85% are in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. Forty percent, or £36 million ($44.0 million), of the £90 million will be reserved for strategies to improve industrial partnerships between academia and the private sector. The remaining £160 million ($195.5 million) is for new grants for Industrial Strategy researchers.

The UK government will also invest more than £100 million ($122.2 million) over the next four years to attract global research talent, with £50 million ($61.1 million) of NPIF funding for global fellowship programs, and £50 million from established global research funds to attract researchers from emerging markets such as India, Brazil, China and Mexico. In order to drive R&D and innovation in the region, the UK government also indicated that it will make administrative changes to the R&D Expenditure Credit to streamline claims for small- to medium-sized enterprises.
Source: UK Government