University R&D Linkages with Firms and Alignment with Local Industrial Strategy

Local Industry Strategy (LIS) for each region is based on the local strengths and regional future development plan. It sets out how each region utilises the local skills, innovation, and infrastructure to stimulate the local economy. University R&D is critical for the local economy development. Generally, university R&D is for developing the society needed skills, products, and processes.

However, there is a longstanding disconnect challenge between university-based R&D and the local economy needs. Exploring how far the university R&D is related to the local development strategy will shape policy makers’ understanding of how to better fund the university-based R&D and invest in the local development. Therefore, the core of this project is to explore how university R&D contributes to the development of business firms and the local economy development and examine the University R&D linkages with firms and the alignment with local industrial strategy.

The key objective of the project is to develop a framework to assess the degree of alignment between the R&D funding, projects (even specialisation) of each regional university and both the LIS and the regional industry specialisation. Project findings will contribute to helping policy makers have a comprehensive understanding of the gap between university-based R&D and the local innovation demand. We intend to achieve this by focusing on the West Midlands, working with universities, businesses, and policy makers.

WMREDI

Research Theme 3

Regional Innovation Ecosystem