Insights and Resources

ARIA and the value of challenge-led innovation

As the UK prepares to launch a new high-risk, high-reward research agency, Eoin O'Sullivan discusses what it can learn from the ARPA model in the US and globally, and why technology and innovation management is the key to success.

UK Innovation Report

The UK Innovation Report benchmarks the UK’s industrial and innovation performance in a global context. It brings together, for the first time in a single place, innovation and value-added indicators in a concise and accessible format.

2020 has emphasised that industrial innovation is vital to Britain’s future

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought renewed attention to the importance of manufacturing. In order to ‘emerge stronger’ from the crisis, the UK must now act more strategically and harness industrial innovation to serve ambitious agendas for the economy and the environment.

COVID-19 and the global contraction in FDI

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing massive disruptions to flows of foreign direct investment. Jostein Hauge and Adnan Seric explain why developing countries are likely to be hit the hardest.

Digital manufacturing: opportunities and barriers

Dr Carlos López-Gómez and Dr David Leal-Ayala from the IfM’s Policy Links Unit discuss international evidence on the opportunities and barriers to capturing value from digital technologies in manufacturing.

The practical impact of digital manufacturing

Governments in a number of countries have made investments in digital manufacturing. Are there yet signs of resulting upturn in productivity, gross value added, or employment? A new report from Policy Links considers the evidence.

New industrial capabilities for new economic growth

The objective of this report is to inform policy efforts, aimed at promoting industrial innovation and competitiveness, by providing insights into international policy practices and approaches. The report discusses key concepts and definitions relevant to understanding the role of domestic suppliers in modern industries, reviews programmes and initiatives in selected countries, and suggests policy implications for the UK.

OK Computer?

This study aims to promote better knowledge of the safety and security risks and requirements deriving from the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in order to design concrete implementation plans for industry stakeholders to adopt 4IR technologies confidently through pilot studies.

Has manufacturing been underestimated?

How much does manufacturing really matter to the UK’s economic prosperity? A report prepared for the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, by Jostein Hauge and Eoin O’Sullivan.

The practical impact of digital manufacturing: results from recent international experience

This report by Policy Links for Innovate UK analyses evidence on potential benefits derived from the adoption of digital technologies in the manufacturing sector.

Improve the impact of your roadmap

Dr Rob Phaal gives seven ways organisations can improve their approach to roadmapping, providing an excellent foundation for planning strategic technology and innovation activities.

The next production revolution

As manufacturing becomes more complex, distributed and interdependent, policy makers around the world are looking for new ways to ensure national competitiveness for the so-called ‘next production revolution’.

The digitalisation of manufacturing economies

New digital technologies are radically changing the ways firms manufacture products, the business models they adopt, and even how they innovate. At a national level, digital technologies promise to reshape national manufacturing systems and redefine sources of competitive advantage.

High Value Manufacturing Landscape 2016 Interim Report

Building on the 2012 High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Landscape published by the IfM, this new study looks at the UK's high value manufacturing landscape over the next 15 to 20 years.

Building Long Term Strategic University-Industry Partnerships Report

A new report from the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy have published a new report which sets out key lessons, insights and effective practices for developing and nurturing effective strategic university-industry partnerships (UISPs).

Given in evidence

QUESTION: How do we get better at taking the research knowledge from our science and engineering base and turning it into technologies, industries and economic wealth?

The alumni interviews: MET over lunch

Jonathan Duck took the Production Engineering Tripos (PET) 1981-1983, when it was only in its third year. It was renamed the Manufacturing Engineering Tripos (MET) soon after.

The importance of open innovation in the FMCG sector

In a sector characterised by the need to reduce time to market and find new ideas to generate new products, firms are constantly searching for ideas and innovations that will give them a competitive edge. Open innovation (OI) can facilitate this process.

The Nature, Location and Functioning of International Research Collaborations

A report exploring the structure, location, partner contributions, anticipated outcomes, and functioning of the collaborations UK manufacturing researchers have with international partners.

The Grant Writer's Handbook

The Grant Writer's Handbook: How to Write a Research Proposal and Succeed provides useful and practical advice on all aspects of proposal writing, including developing proposal ideas, drafting the proposal, dealing with referees, and budgeting.

Building strategic university-industry partnerships: lessons from the UK and US

A new report discussing key lessons and effective practices from UK and US experiences for building and nurturing effective and mutually beneficial strategic university-industry partnerships.

Anticipating Manufacturability Needs and Challenges to Support the Pathway to Impact

The first Pathways to Manufacturing Seminar?explored how manufacturability challenges affect the scale-up and industrialisation (pathway to impact) of technical research and development (R&D).

The Manufacturability Challenges of Emerging Technologies

This CSTI project 'Pathways to Manufacturing' aims to advance understanding of the manufacturability challenges faced when deploying a new technology at scale.

The Different Roles of Technology in Technological Emergence

These briefing notes are short summaries of some of the ongoing work being conducted in CSTI. They are developed to communicate some potentially useful concepts, observations and practices, particularly for the purpose of informing policy developers.

UK-Japan workshop on manufacturing and industrial policy

This report summarises a workshop in which the Institute for Manufacturing took part, aimed at building closer links between industrialists, officials and academics involved with manufacturing in the UK and Japan. The event, held in Tokyo on 19 June, was jointly organised by the IfM, Science and Innovation Network (SIN) Japan and the University of Tokyo.

A review of international public sector roadmaps - advanced materials

This report explores published international strategies for supporting advanced materials research and innovation.

Babbage Lecture Series

The Babbage Lecture Series.

First International ST&I Policy Forum: Towards a New Industrial Structure Vision? Issues on Japan's Industrial Policy?

The International STI Policy Forums bring together researchers and policy makers from across the UK and beyond with a shared interest in manufacturing & industrial policy.

Role of Standardisation in support of Emerging Technologies

A Study for the Department of Business,?Innovation & Skills (BIS) and the British?Standards Institution (BSI).

The Future UK Life Sciences Manufacturing Landscape

This report follows on from a study into the future of High Value Manufacturing (HVM) in the UK commissioned by the Technology Strategy Board and published in February 2012. One of the HVM study recommendations was that particular manufacturing sectors should be explored in greater depth. This report presents the findings from studies of the pharmaceutical and?biopharmaceutical sectors.

A landscape for the future of high value manufacturing in the UK

This study sets out to understand the global manufacturing context in which UK companies must compete and how that context is expected to evolve over the next 15-20 years.

Making the most of production

This report from the IfM's investigates the importance of production to companies and seeks to understand the long-term implications of moving production abroad or outsourcing production to other companies.



ISBN 1-902546-29-6

A review of international approaches to manufacturing research

This study explores international approaches to the support of manufacturing research, the prioritisation of research domains, and practices for translating new knowledge into industry.


ISBN 978-1-902546-96-4
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