Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – Further supplementary written evidence (CAT0012)
BEIS Catapult Review – Scope and Approach
The PM announced the Catapult Review in a speech on 27 January 2020. He said: “this year the government will examine how the UK’s Catapult centres can strengthen research and development capacity in local areas, improving productivity and contributing to greater prosperity across the UK”.
The scope and approach to the Catapult Review were then further refined and agreed with BEIS Ministers, who agreed the review would be conducted in 2 stages:
Stage 1 an evaluation of the Catapult network focussed on its objectives and international comparisons. This would be based on structured interviews with those working closely with Catapults: Innovate UK and UKRI, businesses, academia, government departments and local bodies (e.g. LEPs, invest NI).
Stage 2 would assess the major themes identified from Stage 1 engagement, develop recommendations and assess how well the network was performing in line with agreed key performance indicators.
In March 2020, BEIS Ministers agreed that Stage 2 of the review would explore the following themes: the catapults’ role in levelling up and scale up of businesses, opportunities to grow the network, benefits of working as a network, and data collection to support evaluation of the network. This has been delivered through a mix of round tables (Ministerial or official led) with senior external stakeholders to explore themes and develop recommendations.
The review is likely to conclude early in 2021 with a short publication on findings and next steps.
7 January 2021