Active Economics & Business Engineering

FDI into University R&D Campaign - Midlands Pilot

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

Seventeen Midlands universities are banding together to pitch their research strengths directly to international investors, treating university R&D like an export product to be sold abroad. This programme addresses a specific gap: the UK attracts less foreign direct investment (FDI) into university research than its science base warrants, and no coordinated regional mechanism exists to change that. Currently, individual universities court investors in isolation, missing the collective weight of a region’s entire research ecosystem. If the pilot succeeds, it could transform how the UK competes for global R&D capital. The coalition will target six countries—Australia, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the USA—with outbound investment missions and inbound investor events focused on five core sectors aligned to the UK’s International Technology Strategy. The immediate goal is a measurable increase in FDI flowing into Midlands university science and innovation. Beyond the pilot itself, the programme is designed as a proof of concept. Its evaluation will generate an evidence base for national policy, potentially shifting how the UK government approaches FDI into R&D in the next Spending Review—from passive attraction to proactive, intentional pursuit.

View original technical description
The proposed programme will fund a two-year FDI into University R&D Campaign piloted in the Midlands. It leverages work led by a coalition of seventeen regional universities and supported by multiple government departments (including DSIT, GREAT and UKRI) to develop market-ready propositions to drive international investment into the region's universities. The Programme will: 1) deliver a measurable and tangible increase in FDI into university science, research & development; through... 2) the promotion of science and innovation opportunities in the Midlands articulated across five core sectors and aligned to the UK's International Technology Strategy's priority technologies; via... 3) a series of targeted outbound investment missions and inbound R&D investor engagement that leverages universities' existing global connections with international research partners, industry and alumni in six target markets aligned to the ISPF's priority country list (Australia, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the USA); and in doing so... 4) serve as a proof-of-concept pilot with strong programme evaluation that provides a strong evidence-base for the development of national policy that expands a more proactive, intentional approach to securing FDI into R&D in the next CSR.

View the original record at the funder ↗

Researchers

Daniel Parsons (Principal Investigator)

Related Research

Grants with similar aims, by meaning.

UKCRIC National Linear Infrastructure Laboratory - University of Southampton
National Linear Infrastructure Laboratory - University of Southampton
Maximising the benefits of inward investment - how best to target limited funds
DICE: Driving Innovation in Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Research in the UK
University of Southampton DTP Mobility Pilot 2020 2023

Original classification

Research Grant

Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.