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Sir Richard has described the AeIGT story. I entered the story when the
IGT met the Prime Minister in February; he asked me to bring together
the different players across government and to marshal public sector
resources for a National Aerospace Technology Plan. This plan will
implement the AeIGT's research and technology recommendations. It is
ambitious - we are looking for a total £70 million in government
funding for civil work. And of course this needs to be matched by
industry. With these resources, we will be able to take on the really
strategic issues for our future competitiveness - new materials,
environmentally friendly aircraft, new electronic systems and so forth.
This is very much a team effort. After two meetings we have gone a
long way in clarifying the research that industry needs to do to remain
competitive. We have also identified sources and mechanisms of funding,
and we are having a very productive discussion based on a shared
understanding of our priorities and a clear vision of how involvement in
this plan can benefit regional and national players.
The Research Councils support innovative research at universities and
we are exploring with them how to link up more with the industry agenda,
and focus resources from different sources on the same problems. The
regions (both the English RDAs and the Devolved Assemblies) will also
benefit from involvement in the Plan - this is truly an innovative
departure for us, and brings with it the prospect of truly exciting new
projects, including players who might not have become involved in the
past. We are identifying regional networks and facilities that can
contribute to the national plan whilst also furthering regional economic
development strategies. This requires a lot of coordination and liaison
between central government, industry and the regions, but I am convinced
that the prize is well worth the effort.
And of course there is the DTI itself. We are working hard to
coordinate the different players, and bring our innovation support
programmes to bear as well. This is now a central part of the DTI's
mission and we are putting a serious level of resource into it. Last
week, the DTI received extra funding for its technology strategy - An
increase of £140 million per annum by 2007/8. Taken together with the
redirection of existing spend on innovation, total spending on the
technology strategy will be more than £250 million per annum by 2007/8.
And we will work closely with business to pull through and exploit
technologies from the UK and international research base. Aerospace and
other research-intensive sectors are all set to benefit from this
investment.
Every six months, the DTI will make a call for R&D proposals to
be supported. We want to use this process to identify concrete projects
and bring together consortia of companies and funding sources to drive
our R&D forward. These projects will not always be solely
aerospace-focused; companies or organisations in other sectors that
could benefit from the technology should also be involved.
We have demonstrated that this works and I am delighted that the
Secretary of State was able to announce the National Composites Network
on Monday. This will operate through regional centres funded by the RDAs
and will facilitate access to composites technology for local and
national firms. The South East centre will be located alongside the GKN
plant on the Isle of Wight, the centre in the South West will sit
alongside the Airbus plant at Filton, whilst in Wales there will be a
non-destructive testing validation centre. Yorkshire is involved with a
machining and joining centre. The Centre will have a steering group of
major composite users and contributors including Bombardier Aerospace in
Northern Ireland. The initiative will help the UK reap the benefits from
the growth of composites in automotive, marine and construction
applications as well as in aerospace. DTI is providing over £4.75m for
this centre; this will lever over £14m in RDA funding to deliver the
whole initiative of over £30m. It is an exciting start for many reasons
- a common purpose around a key technology, regional cooperation, cross-sectoral
application. It is exactly what we want to achieve.
We need to take this model forward into new areas now, and I know
that a series of pilots has been identified. There will be intensive
activity on these projects over the next three months, and I am seeking
your continued engagement and leadership to ensure that the National
Aerospace Technology Plan delivers competitive advantage to you and
helps you maintain your world-class position.
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