Matt Burnett, Head of Science Technology writes for Politics Home on protecting R&D funding from public spending cuts.
He writes, “Brown, Cameron, May and Johnson all realised that investment in innovation was vital to the future of our economy. But like most investments, they take time to mature, with some academics suggesting a lag time of ten years from R&D spend to productivity bounce.
So when evaluating the £22bn target for public R&D investment by 2024, the Treasury must not be penny rich but pound poor. The UK has for too long been a decidedly average R&D Clarke Kent. We need to set our sights higher to become a science Superman.”
Read the full article here.
