IET public affairs manager Tim Allison on how engineers and technologist must innovate and transform to face the challenges ahead.

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” Words spoken by President John F Kennedy in his inaugural address, and words that I suspect will be on the lips of whoever walked into Number 10 on 5 July.

That’s because the incoming government will be overwhelmed on day one with requests for funding and proposals for changes to legislation. The process has already started, with ‘manifestos for…’ being published across every sector and region of the UK.

But once the excitement of the general election is over, the new government will likely find that it has little time or budget for fulfilling requests and delivering ambitious plans, and will instead spend most of its time and resources dealing with the immediate challenges and crises that the country faces at home and abroad. Some of these we know are coming – from upgrading...