Hauser Review of Catapult Centres

05 November 2014

Commenting on the review of Catapult Centres by Dr Hermann Hauser, Dr Wendy Piatt, Director General of the Russell Group, said:

“Dr Hauser is right to say that Catapult Centres need to have much closer links with research-intensive universities. The research base, facilities and academic networks within our world-leading universities should be at the core of Catapults, enabling them to build on existing centres of strength and international advantage. As recommended by Dr Hauser, a transparent process needs to be used for decisions on the focus of new Catapults, but there also needs to be transparency about how their location is decided.

“We welcome the recommendation to increase innovation funding, but it is important that the Government commits new money for this rather than repurposing existing funds from the already-stretched research and innovation budget. Dr Hauser stresses the importance of not diverting research funds in his report as high quality research is key to developing innovative products, services and businesses. Innovation in the UK depends on significant and sustained funding for research.”

Notes to Editors

1. Dr Hermann Hauser was commissioned to conduct a review of the existing Catapult Centres by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. His full report and recommendations can be found here.
2. You can read the Russell Group’s submission to the review here.

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