Government will come together today with venture capital firms to discuss how they can work more effectively with the innovators who lead the development of new technologies that address challenges including decarbonising the economy, adapting to climate change, and safely harnessing artificial intelligence.
The event, hosted by the Government Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Dame Angela McLean, is bringing together representatives of around a dozen venture capital firms as well as the Home Office, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and Department for Transport.
Taking place at Imperial College London's Scale Space at the White City Campus, the discussions at the Innovation and Venture Capital Day will focus on translating venture into government missions and tackling departmental innovation needs and challenges through talks between the venture capital firms and government departments.
Speaking at the event, Professor Dame Angela McLean is set to say:
Working with VCs and supporting technology pull-through requires a unique set of skills in government. It requires an appetite for risk, a portfolio approach to innovation and greater technical expertise. Developing these capabilities will require time but I hope that today we can identify the key next steps to ensure significant progress.
The event, organised by the Government Office for Science, delivers on a pledge in the recently published update on the progress of the UK Science and Technology Framework. This aims to build commercial science capabilities in government departments and enable strategic partnerships with venture capital firms to access innovative technology to meet government science and technology needs.
This is a strong first step towards further joint work between government and the thriving UK innovation ecosystem that will help government departments modernise the delivery of innovative solutions for the public sector.
