NewLabs
A forward-looking
framework for research, innovation, and wealth creation which
moves beyond the existing logjam with a series of "living labs"
at its core.
Principles
1.
A series of laboratories taking advantage of
talent, teamwork, and money to invent and prototype new product
concepts
2.
Autonomous, Meritocratic, Timely
3.
Rooted in experience of Xerox PARC, Bell Labs, DEC
labs, Olivetti/AT&T Labs Cambridge, lowRISC CIC
4.
Complementary to start-ups and universities
Concept
1.
A series of laboratories which carry out research
and build fully engineered prototypes and platforms, beyond what
can be done in universities, or is likely to be done in industry
2.
People-driven and able to attract top-talent from
anywhere
3.
Unbelievable truth approach to selection of
projects aimed at global challenges, problems, opportunities
4.
A procurer of congruent projects in industry and
universities in an ARPA-lite style
General
1.
Mould-breaking for UK, not incremental, continually
taking (considered) risks
2.
Vision-based sequence of projects for each lab with
tangible deliverables
3.
Project choice and execution by world-class
individuals who are not subject to peer review
4.
Illusion of unrestricted resources to empower
individuals and teams
5.
Use of money, industrial assets, and teamwork to
shift time and prototype tomorrow's concepts today
6.
Freedom for individuals to flex and explore new
topics for part of the time
7.
Example themes: security, trust in digital systems,
neural interfaces, AI, synthetic biology, etc, etc
Governance / Funding
1.
Not-for-profit entities with their own Boards of
Directors to give independence and resilience - for example based on a
Community Interest Company structure
2.
Cannot be bought
or sold because there are no shareholders
3.
Partly government funded - too risky for industry
alone
4.
Additional contributions from large technology
companies in cash and through (mandatory or incentivized) access
to their computing platforms, software, and data
5.
Sector-specific contributions from charitable
foundations
6.
Initial goal of (say) 4 labs, final scale of up to
(say) 10 labs
7.
Fixed lifetime for each lab - eg 20 years
Personnel
1.
Uniquely attractive to top-talent in particular
those with a penchant/experience of working in between industry
and academia
2.
Flexible hierarchies to ensure (early career)
employees feel unencumbered
3.
Additional personnel (engineering, technology,
support) employed and brought in/out as required
4.
Publication not the leading indicator of success
but used where appropriate
5.
Freshness and rotation by spinning out projects and
companies together with associated teams
6.
Realistic pay scales
Operations
1.
Each lab no bigger than about 50 people
2.
Potentially several labs on one site with a
permeable boundary between them
3.
Outposts outside traditional clusters wherever
talent wishes to be, heavy use of conferencing
Outcomes
1.
Scaleable and robust demonstrators and platforms
2.
New business models incorporating disruption of
markets, capital pathways, quantifiable global benefits, fiscal
incentives
3.
Minimal price and simple rules for release of
intellectual property but use-it-or-it-recycles contract for
recipients
4.
Encouragement to spin-out companies and teams
5.
Establishment of a managed "Digital Commons" which
intrinsically can be made easily available to anyone
Success
1.
A good hit rate of successful buck-the-trend
solutions relevant to global challenges, opportunities, and
markets
2.
A new framework for
creating/productizing/disseminating/reusing ideas and IP based
on minimal barriers (eg permissive licences, open source,
standard contracts) which is beyond the lock-down and hoarding
models of today
3.
Maximum bang for the buck by establishment of
high-tech industrial clusters and supply chains in UK
4.
Communities with
know-how around each theme
5.
A showcase environment which creates narratives,
stories, and leadership opportunities for UK
Andy Hopper
24 Feb 2024