Written evidence submitted by the Photonics Leadership Group (MSI0033)

Building sustainable UK differentiation with enabling technology

Whilst the committee has recently examined the Balance and Effectiveness of Research and Innovation Funding, there remains an unresolved issue from focusing on preselected vertical markets with sort term impact.

Products for most end markets are increasingly complex, integrating multiple components using a variety of enabling technologies from mesh-like supply chains. The current focus on supporting innovation around select vertical markets with ~ 3year impact means there is no time to innovate component technologies and developers are constrained to using existing components. As existing components are available to all integrators globally, current policy risks supporting developments that are easily replicated by others and so closely aligned to a single market they do not support other applications.

The committee are encouraged to considered if there is sufficient support for enabling technology innovations e.g. electronics, photonics & acoustics, required in multiple vertical markets, to a high enough level of engineering.  Would greater balance in support for enabling technology innovation, which take 2-3 years to engineer, plus 2-3 years to integrate into a new end market product, provide longer term sustainable differentiation, reduced risk, enable greater value capture and better match to the UKs science base, despite the longer timescale to impact beyond a single parliamentary cycle.

About: The Photonics Leadership group works with senior stakeholders from across the UK Photonics industry, to secure and raise the UKs position as one of the world top 5 photonics manufactures, foster a strong and dynamic UK supply chain, maximise photonics innovation and its commercialisation and foster a continuous dialogue between the industry government, academia and support agencies, www.photoincsuk.org

December 2018