HEPI’s report, The Role of Universities in Driving Overseas Investment into UK Research and Development, published on 7th March 2023, provides national analysis of what is happening in this space. This blog discusses the key considerations for policy makers and the Higher Education sector on increasing investment into regional R&D through universities.
Midlands Innovation is a collaborative partnership of the universities of Aston, Birmingham, Cranfield, Keele, Loughborough, Leicester, Nottingham and Warwick. The ethos of our partnership is Together We Are Stronger. HEPI’s recent report: The Role of Universities in Driving Overseas Investment into UK Research and Development highlights the importance of universities working together or hunting in packs to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), even if it that means individual institutions initially missing out on funding. But why should they? That’s one of the questions a pilot in the Midlands is looking to answer.
The Universities as Drivers of Trade and Investment pilot is examining how universities can play a more central and deliberate role in attracting FDI on a regional scale through the global connections that universities have and to tap into their expertise in supporting businesses through innovation. The pilot, which provided the inspiration for HEPI’s report, involves fifteen universities across the Midlands Innovation and Midlands Enterprise groupings. We are working jointly on the pilot with the Midlands Engine, the government’s pan-regional growth partnership.
