Report

From ambition to advantage

This report from UK think tank NCUB explores unlocking the UK’s business-led R&D potential.

Britain’s business R&D engine is losing power. Between 2021 and 2023, private investment fell by 6.3% in real terms, which means around £3.4 billion less was spent on business-led research and development. It was the sharpest decline among major economies, while competitors including Korea, Japan and the United States increased investment and pulled ahead in the industries of the future.

The UK’s research base remains world-class: our universities are globally competitive, our talent pool deep, and our record of scientific excellence unrivalled per capita. But these strengths are not consistently translating into business-led R&D. The weakness lies not in discovery, but in the connection between research, investment and industry.

Losing momentum in business R&D can have significant economic repercussions. For example, if R&D intensity drops by just 0.1 percentage points, the UK economy could lose around £10 billion over five years, mostly due to reduced productivity.

To understand why business R&D is retreating — and how to reverse it — the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) convened a Taskforce led by Sir John Manzoni, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell and Sir Jon Symonds. Its purpose: to develop practical proposals to make the UK a more supportive, competitive and confident place for business R&D.

The Taskforce’s analysis and conclusions draw on perspectives from large multinationals, R&D-intensive SMEs and universities, combining detailed interviews with senior R&D leaders and a survey of more than 2,000 companies. The Taskforce’s conclusions set out a route to systemic change: focus on fewer, higher-impact priorities; simplify business access to support; and reform institutions for delivery — so the UK can turn ambition into competitive advantage.