Tech innovation: Britain must up its game

We are hearing an awful lot about “Global Britain” at the moment. It was originally coined by Theresa May in her first major speech to the Conservative Party Conference as Prime Minister in 2016, to signal an outward-looking, post-Brexit foreign policy. 

The fact that the post-Brexit EU also has the slogan “Global EU” and Ireland has “Global Ireland” is rarely mentioned. We are not alone, it seems, in claiming this mantra.

Time has moved on, such that “Global Britain” is becoming a jingoistic catch-all, applied to trade and economic matters as well as foreign affairs. Led by our chest-thumping Prime Minister, we’re convincing ourselves we’re the best we are, we really do leave the rest of the world standing.

Which is why a new report from the World Economic Forum should cause us to not wave the flag quite so vigorously. Key to our heady self-belief where business and wealth creation are concerned is the thought that we’re pretty good at digital. Yes, the US might have Silicon Valley and the world’s biggest tech companies. But over on this side of the Atlantic we forge ahead too, we’ve got various hubs dotted around the country, we’re pioneers in online, we’re a major player in this vital, growing industry of the future.

The World Economic Forum study compares the digital competitiveness of 140 countries. In his introduction, Professor Philip Meissner from the ESCP Business School and Founder and Director of the European Center for Digital Competitiveness, says: “The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that digital technologies determine not only whether or not countries thrive, but also how well they are able to navigate trying times. Applied effectively, digital technologies not only enable education and work to move from schools and offices to the home, but they also provide increasingly efficient ways to organize processes in companies and governments.”

Meissner continues: “New technologies such as 3D printing, augmented and virtual reality, sensors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and robotics also have the potential to disrupt nearly any industry. The competitiveness of nations in these technologies will determine how prosperous their countries will be in the decades ahead.”

So where does Team GB rank? Fifteenth, a lot lower than it did in either of the medal tables at the Olympics and Paralympics. Arguably, this is a chart that carries far greater national significance and should be studied more closely by politicians, instead of poring over analysis as to why our rowing men and women did not perform so well and whether they should have their funding withdrawn. Public money ought to be deployed to lift us up this list, and now.

The report analyses and ranks the changes that countries around the globe have seen in their digital competitiveness over the last three years. It measures the two most important ingredients for digital competitiveness: “the country’s ecosystem and its mindset”.

The analysis draws on data from the World Economic Forum, as well as supporting material provided by the World Bank and the International Telecommunication Union.

Top – no surprise – is China, followed by Saudi Arabia and Brazil. Within the G7, Canada is the best performer, ahead of Italy. This is not based on the size of their digital economies, don’t forget, but a measure of progress, how quickly they are advancing, how competitive they are becoming.

How are they doing it? By following comprehensive plans with ambitious goals. China, for instance, has introduced a huge, all-embracing push in entrepreneurship and innovation. With its China 2025 initiative, Beijing is providing state support for 10 key sectors in which it aims, starkly and boldly, to become a world leader.

Aiming high is not confined to China. Other nations have also formulated aspirational visions for their digital future: Vietnam is determined its digital economy will account for 30 per cent of GDP by 2030, and Hungary has made its goal to become one of the 10 leading countries in digital technologies in Europe by the end of the decade. The most competitive also launch concrete initiatives to back up these goals. Italy, for example, has started Repubblica Digitale, a programme to overcome the digital divide, promoting digital inclusion and boosting the development of digital skills among its citizens.

They’re focusing, too, on entrepreneurship. Brazil, for instance, has launched various public and public-private efforts to stimulate entrepreneurship in the country such as the InovAtiva Brasil programme, StartOut Brasil and the National Committee of Start-Up Support initiatives. In Egypt, the government has ordered the development of no less than six technology parks to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, the Canadian government is pumping more than $1.2 billion into so-called Innovation Superclusters to accelerate business-driven innovation, with the potential, it believes, to energise the entire economy.

Britain, of course, has its own approach. Two months ago, the Government published its UK Innovation Strategy: leading the future by creating it. The intention is “to make the UK a global hub for innovation by 2035”.

Then came the “four pillars” for achieving this success: “Unleashing Business – We will fuel businesses that want to innovate”; “People – making the UK the most exciting place for innovative talent”; “Institutions & Places – We will ensure our research, development and innovation institutions serve the needs of businesses and places across the UK”; “Missions & Technologies – We will stimulate innovation to tackle major challenges faced by the UK and the world and drive capability in key technologies”.

Said the paper: “Innovation is crucial to the UK building back better. It is at the heart of Build Back Better: our plan for growth and so much else we want to achieve, from fighting coronavirus to achieving net zero and building Global Britain.”

Powerful words but, in context, do they amount to much, to enough? We’re facing competitors, according to the World Economic Forum, that have digital growth ingrained in their ecosystems, in their mindsets. As the UK government report declares: “We are in a race to the top”. We’re currently down at 15th.