Norman Lamb MP visits University
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Sir Norman Lamb MP, Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk and chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee, visited the University to talk to researchers about their views on the balance and effectiveness of research and innovation spending.
Sir Norman attended an academic roundtable discussion which focused on the challenges associated with UK R&D. Chaired by Professor Anthony Hollander, the roundtable included a number of academics from a range of departments and disciplines across the University
The discussion explored a number of issues including the purpose, direction, priorities and targets of R&D investment, how the UK could maintain its position at the forefront of knowledge leadership and whether the Government could achieve its target to increase the UK’s investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.
Prior to the roundtable discussion, Norman Lamb donned a lab coat and was taken on a tour of the Materials Innovation Factory, the University’s £81 million facility that is revolutionising advanced materials research and discovery.
Professor Anthony Hollander, who had given evidence to the inquiry earlier this year, said: “The University is a research-intensive institution and we are very proud of the major contribution our research makes to economic prosperity, national wellbeing and the expansion and dissemination of knowledge. I would like to thank Norman for taking the time to visit the University and for listening to the views of our researchers on how they feel government investment in R&D could be improved.”
Sir Norman Lamb said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the University of Liverpool and I am grateful to all those who arranged and facilitated my informative visit. It was a great opportunity to hear from academics across a variety of disciplines about the issues that matter and what the Government needs to do both to meet its target of spending 2.4% of GDP on R&D by 2027 and to ensure that the money is spent in the most effective way, benefitting all regions.
"It was also great to see first-hand the positive impact that R&D spending can have when I visited the Materials Innovation Factory. I will ensure the views shared with me on the visit inform the findings my Committee reaches in our work on the balance and effectiveness of research and innovation funding."
The visit was organised by the University’s Communications and Public Affairs Team which supports colleagues across the institution identify common ground with key political stakeholders, and to bring the transformative potential of our research to the attention of policymakers.
The team offers advice and support on engaging with decision makers, opinion formers and with Government Committees and other fora. For further information on the CPA team visit this webpage.