Catapults 'firing on all cylinders'

His report recommended the setting up of the Catapult programme. Hauser said: "I have had no continued influence since the [initial] report, so maybe my expectations were low, but I was really quite surprised by the progress that has been made." Hauser is putting the final details on his review of the Catapult programme, which will be published in November. The Catapults are designed to fill the sort of gap that the Fraunhofer Institutes fill in Germany – bringing research to commercial reality. "The original report noticed that Britain was punching way above its weight in terms of the quality of the research that we produce – and we have four of the top 10 universities in the world," said Hauser. "But this has been known for some time and we should be very proud of that. Yet we don't feel that we are translating that science as effectively into new products and services as we might." Part of the problem, claims Hauser, is creating an environment that enables innovation to flourish. He said: "Innovation that is evolutionary in nature will normally go into the big companies – Rolls-Royce knows exactly what it needs for the next generation aero engines. But if it is revolutionary in nature, then it is more appropriate to put it into a start up and spin it out as a separate entity." His argument is that large companies struggle to embrace revolutionary technologies as they find change difficult. "What you really want is a small team of believers that this new thing will work – even though there's a fair chance that it won't. But you need these guys who have the energy and the excitement and the conviction to say this is going to be the next big thing. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But when it does work, it makes a real contribution to UK plc." Hauser visited the seven existing Catapults as part of his review and concedes that progress is more about how the Catapults are being created as it is still too early for many projects to come on stream. "You would always want them to be faster than they are, but they are all doing pretty well against the business plan they have been set by InnovateUK – in terms of completing the teams, buying the kit they need and establishing themselves in their premises. The next big step, especially for the new ones, is getting the projects in that will prove that they are doing what we want them to." Two of the Catapults, High Value Manufacturing (HVM) and Satellite Applications, were created by bringing together existing resources and had a head start on the other five. According to Hauser, they are already firing on all cylinders. "They could probably do with more support to grow further because they have so much interest from industry." Industry funding for HVM is already at 40%, exceeding the target of 33%. Hauser added that, in this first review, each Catapult is performing to expectations and that the programme – and the development of it – remains vital to Britain's international competitiveness. "Germany has 67 Fraunhofers, but they started just after the war – on average, one has been added each year. My feeling is that one, or a maximum of two, a year is the right rate of growth for the UK." As to what those new Catapults might focus on, Hauser suggested the Internet of Things and Machine Learning would make good topics.