Speakers

Paul is the Chairman of Rolls-Royce SMR Limited, the business established by Rolls-Royce to develop and manufacture low-cost nuclear power. Prior to this, Paul was the Chief Technology Officer of Rolls-Royce plc, responsible for the Group’s technology strategy and balance of engineering and technology investment. Before joining Rolls-Royce in 2010, was the Director General, Science and Technology, in the Ministry of Defence responsible for the UK’s national investment in defence science and technology. Leading up to 2006 had many years of experience in the communications and electronics industries including technology leadership positions with Siemens, Thales and Philips. Paul serves on several Government advisory committees including an appointment in March 2020 to the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology. Paul was awarded a CBE in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours

Elvira Uyarra is Professor of Innovation Studies at Alliance Manchester Business School (University of Manchester) where she is also Executive Director of the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research. Elvira is also adjunct professor at the Mohn Center of Innovation and Regional Development at the University of Western Norway and visiting fellow at the Centre for Innovation Management Research (CIMR) of Birkbeck, University of London. She teaches and conducts research on science and innovation policy and management and on regional innovation.

Elvira has a degree in Economics from The University of the Basque Country (Spain), an MSc in 'Technical Change and Regional Development' from Cardiff University and a PhD in Science and Technology Policy from the University of Manchester. She is a fellow of the Regional Studies Association (RSA) and editor of Regional Studies.

Professor Simon Collinson (FAcSS, FRSA, BAM and Chartered ABS Fellow) is Founding Director of both the City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI) and WMREDI at Birmingham Business School, where he was Dean 2012-2016. He is also Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (DPVC) for Regional Engagement at the University of Birmingham. His current research is on inclusive regional economic growth, R&D commercialisation, and the management of productivity and innovation. Alongside peer-reviewed journal outputs his work has featured in the Financial Times, Sunday Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC Radio 4, and the New Statesman.

Dr Ian Brotherston is Head of Government Levers at Innovate UK. Ian is responsible for the delivery of Innovate UK’s ‘Government Levers’ strategy, specifically the role of procurement in stimulating innovation, including delivery of the SBRI Programme, and the role of regulation, standards and NQI in innovation. Ian is also responsible for Innovate UK’s relationships with other UK Government departments, and other strategically important stakeholder organisations. Previously Ian was responsible for Innovate UK’s relationships with colleagues in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, their governments & agencies.
Ian joined Innovate UK in February 2015 as KTP Programme Manager. In this role Ian led a major operational overhaul and strategic realignment of the programme.
Prior to Innovate UK Ian was Head of Enterprise at Heriot-Watt University where he was responsible for the industry sponsored research, commercial exploitation of IP, and enterprise creation.
His commercial background includes spells working for QinetiQ and DERA, and Ionic Polymer Solutions, a chemical start-up company which developed novel high-temperature proton conductive membranes for fuel cells.

A former MEP and Chairman of the Parliament’s Internal Market Committee, he has a detailed knowledge of UK and EU procurement legislation procurement and is a seasoned agitator for innovation in procurement and the procurement of innovation. Since 2019, he has been an Associate Director with Connected Places Catapult and Chairs the Innovative and Strategic Procurement Research Consortium that CPC has established with the Universities of Birmingham and Manchester. He led a Local Government Taskforce on Innovation Procurement which produced a widely read report in 2017.

Anne Davies is Professor of Law and Public Policy and a Fellow of Brasenose College, University of Oxford. She was a Prize Fellow at All Souls College from 1995 to 2001, and the Garrick Fellow and Tutor in Law at Brasenose College from 2001 to 2015. From 2015 to 2020, she was Dean of the Oxford Law Faculty.

Anne writes about labour/employment law and about public law, with a particular focus on government contracts and public service delivery. Her books include Accountability: a Public Law Analysis of Government by Contract (OUP 2001) and The Public Law of Government Contracts (OUP 2008) and in recent journal articles and book chapters she has explored various aspects of NHS reform, the use of social clauses in public procurement, and public law issues in government contracts.

Anne chairs the Oxford Procurement of Government Outcomes (POGO) Club, a knowledge sharing initiative that is open to anyone interested in capacity building in public procurement and in collaboration to improve social outcomes. She is an independent member of the Council of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), and a member of the Advisory Panel to the Welsh Language Commissioner.