Changes to the machinery of government can be seen as cumbersome and bureaucratic, but they can also realign the national focus. The UK has a long history of world-leading innovation and new ideas. The bigger challenge is how to move from generating the ideas to getting them out there in the commercial world. So, what does the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology need to do to meet that challenge?
Its creation provides a welcome statement of intent that the UK is willing to back more ambitious innovation to bring wider benefits for individuals and society. Yet as The Economist recently put it: Britain is a great place to start a company, but a bad one to scale it up. To address that problem, the right national apparatus and mindset needs to be in place to scale innovation and technology at a national level, and beyond. There are a number of specific actions the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology can take to bring that...