Initial reflections on the Modern Industrial Strategy

Last week, the UK Government launched its latest attempt at shaping the economy — the Modern Industrial Strategy. 

If that name rings a bell, you’re not wrong. Industrial strategies aren’t new, but this one is being labelled modern to distance it from the post-war era of top-down support and blank cheques for “national champion” industries — a model that ultimately proved unsustainable. This new strategy is leaner, more targeted, and more about enabling than subsidising.

So, what does it aim to do? In short: identify where the UK has genuine competitive advantages, and support companies to build on them — not just to grow the economy, but also to reinforce our strategic edge, echoing some of the themes from the Government’s Integrated Review.

Let’s break down what’s actually on the table:

1. Money — there’s not a huge pot. We’re talking about around 0.1% of GDP, or roughly £15 billion per year. So, this isn’t about large-scale public funding, but rather making modest investment go further by leveraging private sector involvement.

2. Clusters — rather than a scattergun national approach, funding and support will be channelled through regional and city-based clusters. For us, that means the East Midlands County Combined Authority.

3. Sectors — priority areas for our region include Advanced Manufacturing, Life Sciences, Defence, and Clean Energy.

This raises the obvious question: are we well-positioned to make the most of it?

 

"One of our strongest cards is the depth of our collaboration with the real world. Here’s the standout fact: 93% of our competitive research income in 2023/24 came from or was delivered with external partners such as industry — the highest in the Russell Group by some margin, where the average sits at just 48%."

Niall O'Loughlin

The answer is a cautious but confident yes. One of our strongest cards is the depth of our collaboration with industry. 

Here’s the standout fact: 93% of our competitive research income in 2023/24 came from, or was delivered with external partners such as industry  — the highest in the Russell Group by some margin, where the average sits at just 48%. That’s £83 million in collaborative research (research involving public funding and a non-academic collaborator) and £47 million in contract research (research directed by and meeting the specific research need of external partners - the majority of which is private industry) out of a total £140 million.

We’re not starting from scratch in the priority areas either. Our regional leadership in engineering priority sectors is well established through the Zero Carbon Cluster, the Power Electronics and Machines Centre, and the Advanced Manufacturing Centre.

Likewise, in medicine and life sciences, our partnerships with the NHS and industry are solid foundations for growth. The emerging MedTech Cluster aims to do for healthcare innovation what we’ve already done in zero carbon.

And we’re not just about STEM. As a broad-based university, we bring SHAPE disciplines — social sciences, humanities and the arts — into the mix, helping to ensure innovation is grounded in real-world understanding and human impact.

Of course, there are challenges. The East Midlands lacks the political clout and economic scale of areas like Greater Manchester, and the region’s industrial base isn’t as deep. But these aren’t insurmountable. What we do have is a compelling story to tell: an industry-focused research base, a strong graduate pipeline, high-performing spinouts, a cost-effective region and an innovation ecosystem that draws in new businesses.

In short, there’s a lot going for us in the industrial strategy and, if we execute it well, there will be significant benefits not just for our university but also for our city and the broader region. 

What’s needed now is clarity — a shared regional voice and a message we can repeat to policymakers, backed by evidence of impact. Hopefully the next few months will see that picture start to emerge. Watch this space!