UK’s Catapult Network Continues to Grow, Receive Support

A new report released last week by Hermann Hauser, one of Britain’s most renowned technology entrepreneurs, announces his support for the expansion of the UK’s Catapult Network, a series of national centers focused on innovating around specific industry areas. Hauser played a critical role in the launch of the Catapult Network and was tapped by cabinet officials to conduct a review of the program’s progress. In Review of the Catapult Network: Recommendations on the Future Shape, Scope and Ambition of the Programme, Hauser notes that in order to take advantage of its world-leading science base, the UK must drastically increase its funding for innovation programming and the size and scope of its Catapult Centers.

The Catapult Network was established by Innovate UK in 2013 to drive economic growth along seven, soon to be nine, specific industry areas and are comprised of business-focused technology and innovation centers that connect businesses with access to world-leading technology and expertise. Innovate UK is the new name of what was once the Technology Strategy Board, the government’s arm for promoting innovation-based economic development. Representing over £1.4 billion ($2.2 billion USD) of private and public sector investment over the next five years, the seven Catapult centers, which are now fully operational, are:

• High Value Manufacturing Catapult;
• Cell Therapy Catapult;
• Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult;
• Satellite Applications Catapult;
• Connected Digital Economy Catapult;
• Future Cities Catapult; and,
• Transport Systems Catapult.

Furthermore, two new Catapults are expected to be up and running in 2015, an Energy Systems Catapult and a Precision Medicine Catapult.

The policy recommendations in Hauser’s initial report, The Current and Future Role for Technology and Innovation Centres in the UK, serve as the foundation of Innovate UK’s Catapult Network program. Released four years later, Hauser’s update reviews the current progress of the Catapult Network while also offering additional recommendations to policymakers on what he sees as the most desirable size and scope for the future of the network. Highlights of recommendations in the new report include:

• Continued investment in existing Catapults and long-term expansion of the network, with one or two new centers created each year and a view of having 30 Catapults by 2030 with the network’s core funding of £400 million ($632 million USD) per year;
• Larger funding support for Innovate UK to support the network;
• Continued use of the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 funding model, where business funded contracts, public investment, and  competitively won R&D projects are equal contributors;
• Increased focus on engagement strategies for universities and SMEs; and,
• Development of more sophisticated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are utilized within Catapults’ Grant Funding Agreements to incentive impact and engagement.

In addition to the announcement of Hauser’s new report, last week The Connected Digital Economy Catapult, or Digital Catapult, opened the Digital Catapult Centre in central London, serving as a space for entrepreneurs, business, and academia to showcase products and collaborate. The initiative also announced that it was establishing three local Digital Catapult Centres, each partnering with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), in Sunderland, Brighton, and Bradford, each to open in March 2015. Each local center also focuses its support and resources within a specific subset of the digital sector, with the Digital Catapult Centre Brighton focusing on real-time and location-based data, the Digital Catapult Centre North East and Tees Valley focusing on controlled delivery and security of data, and the Digital Catapult Centre Yorkshire focusing on digital health products and services.