In a speech at the House of Lords today, the chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board will explain the “great progress” made in establishing the Catapults network.
Outlining the milestones reached since the Prime Minister announced late in 2010 that the Technology Strategy Board would be establishing, overseeing and coordinating the network, Iain Gray will confirm that all seven Catapults will be open and in business during 2013.
He will say that with investment of around £1 billion over the coming few years, Catapults represent one of the most important developments in UK innovation and technology and will make a major impact in the coming decades.
The Catapults programme is uncharted territory for the UK, Mr Gray will say, discussing the importance of benchmarking against similar initiatives in other countries.
At the event at the House of Lords, a new report on technology and innovation centres by the Big Innovation Centre will also be published.
It reviews examples from existing similar initiatives across Europe, outlines how the success of the Catapults programme might be judged and sets out some recommendations for how Catapults might best work with businesses, universities and public bodies to become catalysts for driving technology innovation and contributing to economic growth.
