The UK government must develop a “clear, comprehensive vision for research and development”, and failing to do so could result in the country being left behind. That is according to a new report – Physics: Investing in our Future – released this week by the Institute of Physics, which publishes Physics World. The report also calls for changes across the physics R&D system from discovery and business innovation to people and infrastructure.
As the report notes, physics has been at the heart of many technological breakthroughs, such as the development of fibre optics, which is critical to modern communication. According to earlier estimates from the IOP, physics-based businesses play a significant role in the UK economy. In 2019, for example, they generated about £230bn – equivalent to 11% of UK GDP.
The report warns, however, that without continued investment in science, the UK economy could lose thousands of jobs. To combat this possibility, it calls on the UK government to target spending 2.4% of GDP on R&D in the coming years along with above-inflation increases in the research councils’ budgets to 2027. In 2019, UK spending on science was 1.74% of GDP.
The report says that funding should be “long-term and sustainable, to enable people and disruptive ideas to flourish” and that governance processes should recognize and nurture “a broader range of excellence across all types of institution and all stages of research”. IOP chief executive Tom Grinyer calls the 2.4% target “just the starting point”, adding that the UK is now at a “critical juncture”.
Now is the time
The report also focuses on diversity, recommending that learning and working cultures must be welcoming and inclusive to people from all backgrounds. It calls for additional funding to support long-term fellowships as well as expand the use of industrial placements in PhD programmes and to “address challenges” in teacher recruitment. The power of photonics: from vertical farming to quantum computing
“Today’s report should be a wake-up call to anyone who is committed to the UK’s future as a prosperous, sustainable, technologically advanced nation,” says Grinyer. “At a time when we are facing concerns over energy bills and the cost of living it might seem we could ignore the kinds of longer-term concerns about research and development – but now is the time to invest in the science and innovations that can help prevent these kinds of crises in the future.”
