By Tom Addison, Policy Manager, The Physiological Society; @TEJAddison
In all the disruption to British politics caused first by Brexit and more recently by COVID-19, it is reassuring that some things never change.
As regular as clockwork is the Government’s annual release of a flurry of written statements and policy papers ahead of the summer recess. Of particular interest to The Physiological Society, and the science community, was the release of the Innovation Strategy, the R&D People & Culture Strategy and the Life Sciences Vision.
All three documents were promised as part of the Build Back Better policy agenda which was focused on the whole UK economy’s response to COVID-19 (and to a lesser extent Brexit). It is clear therefore, that the UK Government has prioritised R&D as a central part of its economic recovery plan and the whole R&D sector, from research culture through to interactions with business are in the spotlight as never before.
As such, the three documents speak to specific elements of the R&D sector but can be viewed collectively to give some insight into the challenges for science that the Government recognises and how it plans to address them.
Life Sciences Vision
The first to be released was the Life Sciences Vision, the UK Government’s plan to create a thriving life sciences sector and tackle the major causes of death and disease.
The purpose of the Life Sciences Vision is to outline the Government and the sector’s ambition for the UK to build on the scientific successes and ways of working from COVID-19 to tackle future disease challenges – so called ‘silent pandemics’ – including cancer, obesity, dementia, ageing; securing jobs and investment and becoming the leading global hub for life sciences.
While a number of these missions are relevant to physiologists, the issue of ageing is particularly pertinent to The Society’s policy projects including Growing Older, Better, A National COVID-19 Resilience Programme and our upcoming review into physical activity levels in older people as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
The document was developed in collaboration with pharmaceutical and biotech companies, representatives of all four devolved UK nations, major funders such as the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK, and the Academy of Medical Sciences.
The Innovation Strategy
The Innovation Strategy sets out the UK Government’s vision to make the UK a global hub for innovation by 2035. It was published in July 2021.
In this strategy the UK Government sets out plans for four key pillars, which will support the achievement of the Innovation Strategy’s vision of enhancing productivity across the economy, and bring jobs, growth and prosperity to all parts of the UK:
- Pillar 1: Unleashing business – supporting businesses who want to innovate
- Pillar 2: People – Encourage a highly skilled workforce from at home and overseas
- Pillar 3: Institutions and places – ensure UK research, development and innovation institutions serve the needs of businesses and places across the UK
- Pillar 4: Missions and technologies – stimulate innovation to tackle major challenges faced by the UK and the world and drive capability in key technologies.
The fourth pillar also references ‘engineering biology’ which was first highlighted by the UK Government in the UKRI Corporate Plan back in October 2020. The Government describes engineering biology as the exploitation of ‘the recent convergence of physical sciences and engineering with biology. This has led to the application of engineering technologies and principles to the design and fabrication of biological components and systems, enabling innovations like plastic-free packaging, improved silk fibres for sports clothing, and life-saving therapies’.
Through these pillars, the strategy aims to both establish the right underlying policy environment and clearly signal those areas where government will take the lead.
R&D People & Culture Strategy
R&D People & Culture Strategy sets out a UK Government-backed, sector-wide approach to creating a vibrant and sustainable working culture in the R&D sector. The R&D People & Culture Strategy was published in the same week as the Innovation Strategy. It was published in recognition of the significant challenges that have been raised by the sector in terms of promoting a positive and inclusive R&D sector, with the COVID-19 pandemic having acted as a catalyst for a number of these problems.
The strategy is designed to set out a Government-backed, sector-wide approach to creating a vibrant and sustainable working culture in the R&D sector as the Government looks to this aspect of the economy to drive the post COVID-19 economic landscape.
Research and innovation are key to the future prosperity of the UK. Just as the discoveries of the past have led to the technologies that support us in our lives today, so the research currently being undertaken will bring us solutions to the challenges we face now and in the future. To build on the current UK position, the Government estimates a need for at least an additional 150,000 people in the UK R&D workforce by 2030 with a commitment to improve the culture in R&D for earlier stages of research careers, women and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
How the Government’s overall vision for R&D relates to the work of The Physiological Society
A lot of the recent work that The Physiological Society has already done in our policy work will support these Government strategies. As a priority, we will reinforce the link between ‘engineering biology’, physiology and ensuring a healthier society both in terms of older populations and the workforce.
There is also an opportunity for us to continue to highlight the economic benefits of physiology beyond the research community and we should think carefully about how future projects can demonstrate how physiology is making an impact beyond academia.