On the heels of the UK government’s announcement to increase national R&D spending 41.2% to 2.4% of national income by 2027, a new white paper on industrial strategy was released this week. The white paper highlights five areas in which the country will invest to improve economic performance and increase productivity.

According to the white paper, the government will establish an independent watchdog for the purposes of monitoring progress and enhancements made in areas such as technological innovation, infrastructures and workplace training. The government also plans to create long-term strategic goals in construction, life science, automotive and artificial intelligence, four key areas seen as having major potential for growth. A planned recent investment in the UK by Merck will create 950 jobs in the country, and can be used as an example of the type of societal and economic benefits that come with collaborations between the private, government and higher education sectors that the government wishes to encourage in the four key growth areas. The life science sector in the UK is one of the most rapidly developing industries, as it employs 233,000 across the country and has turnover of over £64 billion ($4.5 billion).

Trends affecting the achievement of the goals cited in the white paper include artificial intelligence, clean growth, an ageing society and the impacts of future mobility (such as driverless cars and drones).

Source: The Guardian