Professor Richard Harris has been appointed as a Lead Expert on the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS) Future of Manufacturing Project.

The two-year project will call on industry and academic expertise from the UK and abroad to look at the long-term picture for the manufacturing sector, investigating global trends and drivers of change. It will explore how the UK can maximise these opportunities and provide an evidence base to help policy-makers navigate a challenging and uncertain future.

Richard Harris It is being led by the Foresight team in the Government Office for Science under the direction of the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Sir John Beddington, and is sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The findings will inform Government policy throughout the duration of the project and beyond.

Speaking at the Financial Times Future of UK Manufacturing Conference, Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

“Manufacturing has a key role to play in economic growth, in particular driving exports and productivity. But as industries and technologies evolve, we need to make sure we’re staying ahead of the game. The Government is working with business to support and strengthen the UK's manufacturing capability, through action to drive up investment, innovation, exports and skills. I look forward to this report from the respected Foresight team. It will make a powerful contribution to our work supporting British industry and to making sure that we retain our position as a world-class manufacturing nation at the cutting edge of new products and processes.”

Richard Harris, commenting on his appointment, stated “I am very much looking forward to working on such an important topic and I am delighted that the Government has decided to run this project. I have been an advocate of the importance of manufacturing throughout my academic career, and this has been a feature of many of my journal publications”.

First published: 17 February 2012

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