The Levelling Up White Paper includes a series of new research, development and innovation investments to strengthen the UK’s science base and to boost economic growth across the whole of the UK. As Professor Richard Jones (who is speaking at Policy Exchange on levelling up R&D next week) has argued, the UK’s research and development base is too small for the size of our economy, is particularly weak in translational research and is too geographically concentrated in already prosperous parts of the country. The publication of the UK R&D roadmap in July 2020 marked  an important first step in addressing these problems; the White Paper is another.

Digital contact tracing looks set to dominate the political agenda for the coming weeks, if not months. Without a vaccine, and in the absence of widespread population immunity, the only methods to stop the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 are those of standard epidemic control such as case isolation, physical distancing, contact tracing and increasing hygiene measures.

The UK has made significant progress developing its approach to space, including the passage of the recent Space Bill and announcement of the Space Strategy, argues Policy Exchange’s Senior Research Fellow for Defence Gabriel Elefteriu. Discussing the event held at Policy Exchange to explore these issues, Gabriel argues that more will be required if the UK is to fully take advantage of the opportunities offered by this new frontier.

Policy Exchange’s Economics, Science and Tech Research Fellow, Jos Henson, argues that to ensure the UK makes the most of its thriving tech sector, we must invest in digital education and skills.

Eddie Copeland, Policy Exchange’s Head of Technology Policy, reflects back on the key developments on the public sector digital transformation and sets out his predictions for 2016.

Eddie Copeland, Policy Exchange’s Head of Technology Policy, interviews Mike Flowers, the founding director of New York’s Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics, about his experiences of applying data analytics to urban environments.

Eddie Copeland, Policy Exchange’s Head of Technology Policy, shows how digital tools offer a powerful channel for policymakers to use and enhance nudge techniques and how, in turn, nudge prompts offer the potential to increase the effectiveness of digital government projects.

Eddie Copeland, Policy Exchange’s Head of Technology Policy, explains how the use of digital nudge to spread out citizens’ consumption of public services over time could save significant levels of government money.

Eddie Copeland, Policy Exchange’s Head of Technology Policy, questions whether the declining costs of technology will soon make it more economical to employ systems that can translate data between different databases than it would be for government to adopt open standards.

Michael Osborne and Stuart Russell, both speakers at our recent event The Future of Intelligence, provide a breakdown of their thoughts on the potential and risks that the greater use of artificial intelligence will bring.