Britain Gets Creative About Innovation

British politician Gordon Brown has always been keen on creating innovation in his nation’s economy, convinced that UK universities and businesses together can create new technologies and services that will boost economic growth. Now that he’s prime minister of the United Kingdom, he’s moving swiftly to act on those inclinations—with possible lessons for the United States.

This week’s issue of the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship includes a brief summation of Prime Minister Brown’s plan—which is contained in his proposed budget for the nation—as well as links to a new report from the UK’s National Endowment for Science, Technology, and the Arts that “reviews the latest thinking on the linkages between creative industries and the broader innovation economy.”

The newsletter, published by The Public Forum Institute’s NDE program, based in Washington, D.C., points to the “twenty-six different commitments where various British government agencies and other partners will act to support creative sectors.” The newsletter also points to Britain’s Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills “Innovation Nation” paper (recently highlighted here on Science Progress). The Department is tag-teaming with Brown’s new budget plans by requiring other UK government agencies to develop an “innovation procurement plan” to support innovation, “innovation vouchers” to help start-up companies tap universities for ideas to commercialize, and a new Public Services Innovation Laboratory.

Science Progress contributor James Turner has highlighted the need for a similar public sector emphasis on innovation in his column, “21^st Century Government: The Next Big Thing,” and in a longer paper titled The Next Innovation Revolution: Laying the Groundwork for the United States.” Britain’s innovation program may be well worth examining, too.

Tags: Innovation

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