On Monday 21 January, Future Economies co-hosted a workshop in central London with the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR), supported by the British Academy.
‘An Industrial Strategy for the UK: What Now?’ focused on the development of the UK’s industrial strategy. Convened by Future Economies Assistant Director, Dr Craig Berry, and IPR Director, Professor Nick Pearce, the event welcomed a range of academic and policy experts, including:
- Chris White, Director of the Institute for Industrial Strategy at King's College London, and former Member of Parliament for Warwick and Leamington Spa.
- Tera Allas of the McKinsey Global Institute.
- Michael Jacobs, formerly Director of the IPPR Commission on Economic Justice.
- Kate Bell, Head of Economics at the TUC.
- Ozlem Onaran, Director of the Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre.
- Andy Pike, Co-Director of CURDS at Newcastle University.
- Phil Tomlinson of the University of Bath.
- Rachel Laurence of the New Economics Foundation.
A stellar audience of experts and stakeholders also joined proceedings, including; Matthew Taylor (Chief Executive of the RSA); Dan Corry (Chief Executive of New Philanthropy Capital); Alison Fuller (UCL); Maria Savona (University of Sussex); Ron Martin (University of Cambridge); as well as government officials and members of the business community.
Over the course of two sessions, discussion focused on five key areas including; the success to-date of the government’s current industrial strategy; how to create robust industrial policy institutions at the local and national levels; the skills investment necessary to capitalise upon the new wave of technological innovation; the conceptual efficacy of ‘industrial strategy’ as a way of thinking about managing modern economies; and the political and economic coalition necessary to sustain an industrial strategy.