Written evidence to Parliamentary STEM cmte C190008

Over the years I’ve done a lot of work in scaling production up and what two things strike me most about this is first that it needs a lot of different types of expertise and second that it’s hard to predict what specific constraints will bind at what point in time. What I am recommending therefore is the setting up of a permanent and properly funded scaling up agency/institute of some sort that will
map supply chain capacity in key products and services that may be necessary should something like the C-19 crisis occur again, and will offer guidance and help coordinate scaling up activities. It is essential that such a body represents industry, university, and government so that if –for example- it was determined that what was needed was some mass roll out of mobile phone location data the
agency could quickly get their ducks in a row (could get government authorisation, could gather the scientific evidence that it would be worth doing, and could get the mobile phone companies to agree). With all parties involved from the start the agency can build the kind of associational capacity (the trust, commitment and mutual understandings) that will enable the UK to more rapidly
respond to these kinds of threats in future.