The British Science Association For Thought Summit hosted an ‘Innovating for the Future’ panel debate on 17th March 2021, with broadcaster Samira Ahmed moderating a panel discussion with Amanda Solloway MP, Ben Osborn, Ksenia Zheltoukhova and Lopa Patel MBE. The ‘For Thought: Innovating for the Future’ panel discussed how, as the world looks to recover from the pandemic, we can learn from innovating in a crisis to use economic and regulatory drivers to stimulate growth in technologies that do not yet exist. How we can share the benefits of new technology, products and systems more equitably; broaden participation to include people and places that have traditionally been underrepresented; and include more voices in decision making.
The aim was to draw out concrete recommendations to create innovation ecosystems to build back better and share the benefits of new technology, products and systems to create a more balanced and resilient economy. Amanda Solloway, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spoke about the Government’s R&D roadmap and its ambitions for its new advanced research and innovation agency, ARIA. She said that ARIA “will not be tied to specific remit or purpose and will meet the UK’s obligation to try different things”.
Ben Osborn, UK Managing Director, Pfizer spoke about the learnings from vaccine development, citing collaboration, de-risking, speed and scale, bringing research to patients and its relationship to the value of health and wellbeing. Ksenia Zheltoukhova, Chief Scientist at Nesta discussed blue skies research, what the public thinks about innovation, as a tool to tackle social, economic and environmental challenges and the link between the two.
Lopa Patel MBE, digital entrepreneur and Chair of Diversity UK, highlighted some of the findings of the Rose Review on women and entrepreneurship and said that tackling some of the barriers, like access to funding and mentoring and support, could better foster innovation among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). She praised the positive role that the government had played in enabling innovation, for example, by establishing a world renown regulatory framework for protecting intellectual property and by creating grand challenges for scientific research. She mentioned the work done by UKRI, the catapults and knowledge transfer networks (KTNs) in fostering partnerships between corporates and the research community, but felt the fragmented nature of the SME sector meant that more needed to be done to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the UK,
She explained that levelling up support for innovators, for example by improving access to funding and reducing the barriers to entry especially for under-represented groups & women (as per Rose Review), would be critical to build back better. “Giving ARIA the freedom to fail is a really positive message, and exciting for innovators and entrepreneurs”, she added, ”giving confidence to all entrepreneurs for whom ‘fear of failure’ is often the biggest hurdle to starting-up.”
The panel discussion and Q&A was followed by breakout sessions for small group discussions on the themes outlined above.
The final session of the ‘For Thought: Innovating for the Future’ event was a ‘fireside chat’ between Samira Ahmed and economist and social entrepreneur Professor Muhammad Yunus. This interview explored:
- Professor Yunus’ philosophy on social entrepreneurship;
- his belief that the pandemic can act as a reset – an opportunity to address inequality, unemployment and environmental destruction; and
- his views on vaccine nationalism and patents.
For Thought is a thought-leadership programme from the British Science Association (BSA), which gives leaders from business, policy, science and civil society a platform to address the key scientific and social challenges facing the world in the 21st century.
The theme for this series of For Thought events activities is ‘the role of science and innovation in creating a sustainable future’. The series of events and activities across three ‘Chapters’: Building Resilience, Innovating for the Future, and Environmental Prosperity.
Participants’ biographies
Samira Ahmed
Broadcaster and Writer
Samira presents Newswatch on BBC1 and the BBC News channel. She was named the British Broadcasting Press Guild Audio Presenter of the Year 2020. On Radio she presents Front Row on BBC Radio 4 and the Intelligence Squared podcast How I Found My Voice. Her documentaries include Art of Persia (BBC4) which was the first major Western documentary series shot in Iran for forty years. Many explore her fascination about the intersection of culture, politics, science and social change.
Samira has worked as a reporter on Newsnight and The Today Programme. She writes regularly for newspapers and magazines including The Guardian, The New Statesman, The Big Issue and The New European.
She is a trustee of Action For Stammering Children, which funds the Michael Palin Centre in London, the Centre for Women’s Justice, focussed on legal remedies to tackle violence against women, and UK Feminista, which works to tackle sexism through education in schools, and she is on the associate advisory board of the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford.
Ben Osborn
UK Country Manager and Managing Director, Pfizer Ltd
After graduating from Leeds University Ben joined Pfizer in 1998, where his career has taken him through a variety of leadership roles both in the UK and internationally.
In 2012, Ben became UK Head of Pfizer Oncology where he was involved in shaping cancer policy through his work with government, PAGs and as a co-chair of the industry body’s cancer group. He also sat on the ‘NHS Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer working group’ and the South London Academic Health Science Network as the industry representative.
More recently Ben was the Chief Marketing Officer across Europe, Japan, Korea and ANZ where he led the digital transformation of the commercial organisation and innovative partnerships across the sector.
He is passionate about organisational culture and purpose to ensure patients benefit from breakthrough innovation and science. He is now the UK Country Manager and Managing Director for Pfizer UK, leading the organisation through unprecedented times of opportunity to bring science, data and technology together to transform healthcare.
Lopa Patel MBE
Digital entrepreneur and Non-Executive Chair
Lopa read Biochemistry and Applied Molecular Biology at UMIST (now the University of Manchester) and edited the university’s student newspaper before setting up and running a direct marketing fulfilment company for 20+ years. Lopa is also the founder of a number of online publications aimed at the South Asian diaspora in Britain.
During her entrepreneurial career, she has supported hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs, from school and university students to high-tech researchers and innovators, which culminated in her receiving the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion in 2015.
In 2012, she founded – and now chairs – the think tank Diversity UK, which conducts research & campaigns on workplace diversity, particularly on race. She is Trustee of the Science Museum Group, Non-Executive Director at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) Steering Board and Council Member at The Open University.
Amanda Solloway MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Amanda has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Derby North since 2019, and previously represented the constituency between 2015 – 2017. She was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 14 February 2020, where her portfolio includes Space, Maritime, Intellectual Property, Industrial Strategy Delivery and Technology.
Amanda was previously PPS to the Secretary of State for International Development and she has sat on the committees for Human Rights and then Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. Her former experience outside parliament includes as a businesswoman, school governor and an active community volunteer.
Professor Muhammad Yunus
Economist and social entrepreneur
Professor Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen bank, an institution that provides microcredit to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency.
After teaching economics at Chittagong University, Yunus won a Fulbright scholarship. He studied and taught at Vanderbilt University from 1965 to 1972, before returning to Chittagong University as head of the economics department. He began studying the economic aspects of poverty in 1974 as famine swept through Bangladesh. In 1976 Yunus began a program of “micro” loans, a credit system designed to meet the needs of the poor in Bangladesh. The Grameen Bank Project became an independent bank in 1983, and the Grameen model has spurred other forms of microlending around the world.
He has written several books, including Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity’s Most Pressing Needs (2010) and A World of Three Zeroes: The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Net Carbon Emissions (2017). His honours include Bangladesh’s Independence Day Award (1987), the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009) and the Nobel Prize for Peace (2006).
Ksenia Zheltoukhova
Chief Scientist (acting), Nesta
Ksenia leads Nesta’s practice teams in experiments & evaluation; science; arts & culture; design; data analytics; and collective intelligence, bringing these methods together, ensuring rigour and leading methodological innovation.
Previously, Ksenia was Head of Research and Thought Leadership at the CIPD, where she developed the organisation’s research strategy and governance, overseeing programmes on technology at work, corporate governance, and skills, as well as leading CIPD’s own strategic research. She also spent three years at the Work Foundation, carrying out research and evaluation projects in areas of health and well-being, leadership, and future of work and employment.
Ksenia holds a degree in Psychology, a masters in Economics and Social Sciences from UCL and Jagiellonian University. Her PhD in Management from Lancaster University focused on altruistic behaviours of business leaders.
Background to For Thought
For Thought is a series of events and activities from the British Science Association and partners, which gives leaders from business, policy, science and civil society a platform to discuss the biggest issues of the day. Society’s biggest challenges – pandemics, climate change, cyber-security, the future of cities, food security – require a partnership between science and the rest of society. They need conversation, challenge and change-oriented ideas.
For Thought provides a platform to interrogate the key scientific and social challenges facing society; a forum to hear from diverse voices; and a chance to connect with individuals from outside of your day-to-day networks.
For Thought is kindly supported by EY, the Lloyds Register Foundation, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Institute of Physics (IOP).
From 2016-2020 For Thought was known as the Huxley Summit, which brought together over 350 senior leaders to discuss the most pressing issues on science and society. Further information about the events and the rationale behind the new name and brand can be found on our website: https://forthought.uk/about/.
British Science Association
The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity, founded in 1831. Our vision is of a world where science is at the heart of society and culture. Our mission is to support, grow and diversify the community of people interested and involved in science; and to strengthen their influence over science’s direction and place in society.
We organise major initiatives across the UK, including British Science Week; the annual British Science Festival; the CREST Awards, and other programmes for young people and communities. We undertake research and policy work; and we seek to influence and collaborate with stakeholders including policy makers and leaders from across different sectors of business, industry and public life.
For further information visit https://www.britishscienceassociation.org/