Catapult centres are a network of nine organisations set up by Innovate UK in the United Kingdom, to promote research and development (R&D) and to exploit market opportunities.[1][2][3] Catapult centres promote R&D and innovation through business-led collaboration between scientists, academics, engineers, entrepreneurs, industry leaders and Government. They receive grants from public funds but are also expected to seek commercial funding. The first tranche of Catapults were established in 2011.
In 2010, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills under Lord Mandelson (subsequently formed into the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and then merged into the current Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) commissioned a report on technical innovation from Hermann Hauser, an entrepreneur who had been active in information technology since 1978. The report recommended the establishment of a number of Technology and Innovation Centres to help bridge the gap between fundamental research and commercialisation.[4][5] The UK Government subsequently funded Innovate UK (then the Technology Strategy Board and now part of UK Research and Innovation) to establish what became known as the Catapult Network, setting up a total of nine centres between 2011 and 2018.
The Catapults individually receive core grant funding from Innovate UK, approved for a five-year period, with a long-term funding split set out through a "thirds" model, to ensure neutrality and independence. The thirds model was recommended to reduce the Catapults' reliance on any part of the innovation ecosystem, with the ambition set out that one-third of funding comes from core grant funding, one-third comes from commercial funding, and one-third comes from collaborative (public and private) research & development funding.[6]
The established Catapult Network is made up of nine separate centres that operate as independent, private, not-for-profit businesses, brought together through collaboration, joint projects and a shared purpose:[6]
The Catapult Network appoints a Chair of the Network every year, chosen from one of the Catapult CEOs. The Chair's role is to represent the collective mission of the nine Catapult centres.
Recent Chairs have included:
The Catapult Network has been subject to various reviews, inquiries and reports since its inception. These have included the following:
In November 2017, Ernst & Young published a report commissioned by the then Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, following the completion of the first five-year funding cycle of the first centres established. This report made a series of recommendations to encourage Catapult performance and growth.[18]
In February 2021, the Science and Technology Committee (House of Lords) published a report following their inquiry, Catapults: bridging the gap between research and industry. The report stated Catapult Network is an integral part of the UK’s innovation system, and the R&D roadmap envisages a key role for the Catapults in attracting increased private sector R&D investment. and made a series of recommendations to Innovate UK, UKRI and the then Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to reduce barriers to Catapult impact and maximise Catapults' potential to drive private investment.[19]
In April 2021, the then Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published a Review of Catapults, confirming that Catapults play an important role in the R&D ecosystem and making 13 recommendations which prioritised greater collaboration between Catapults and an increased role for them in driving equality, diversity and inclusion and skills. This Review was updated in September 2023 to reflect the progress made against the original recommendations. [20]
In May 2023, the Enterprise Research Centre and Innovation Caucus (commissioned by Innovate UK) released two reports – Evaluating the medium-term business performance effects of engaging with Catapults and Catapulting Firms into the Innovation System: Analysing Local Knowledge Spillovers from Catapult Centres – based on research into the Catapults' impact. They surveyed more than 300 businesses that had previously worked with Catapults and made a series of findings which demonstrated the Catapults' role in helping to drive business growth in the UK.
In August 2018, the Government announced funding totalling £780 million to be provided to several of the centres,[21] over the next five years.[22]
In November 2022, during the Autumn Statement, the Government announced a 35% increase in funding for the nine Catapults, compared to the last 5-year funding cycle, totalling a £1.6 billion investment.[23]
