United Growth

Britain’s regional economic divides have long been recognised, but recent efforts to solve them have achieved little at best. In this report, we survey entrepreneurs from each region of Britain to find out what challenges they face when it comes to running and growing a business, and to gauge their expectations for the future.

While many are optimistic about what’s to come, some remain worried – and a range of obstacles to growth linger over their heads. We conclude with a range of policy recommendations to enable business owners to take their business growth to the next level.

Building Blocks

Britain is a great place to be an entrepreneur – with many of the world’s most successful founders calling it home. The startups they have launched make a vital contribution to the economy, providing jobs, tax revenue, innovative goods and services and more. But there is a palpable sense that we could be doing so much better. Productivity has plateaued for far too long, causing living standards to stagnate, and evidence suggests the pace of innovation has slowed.

In Building Blocks, we set out our vision statement to secure Britain’s economic future – arguing that focusing on getting the basics right first is the best way policymakers can support entrepreneurs.

Operation Innovation: How to make society richer, healthier and happier

The effect of accumulated innovations has transformed the world at a pace that would have been unimaginable to our not-so-distant ancestors. Thanks to the contributions of just a few thousand innovators, society is now far richer, and better equipped to tackle pressing problems – from climate change or pandemics.

This new essay collection outlines some of the fundamental building blocks to achieving an innovative economy – including how to effectively fund research, how to properly regulate emerging industries, how to make it easier to start and scale businesses, and how to raise the status of innovating.