Goverment report urges data transformation and manufacture on demand

'Technology and Innovation Futures' is a paper produced by the Government Office for Science (45-page / 243KB PDF) and is intended as an investigation into how public policy can help to promote commercial growth in selected technology fields.

The report looked into, amongst other things, the likely future development of the internet and the fact that to be more useful, data will increasingly be categorised and cross-referenced with other data.

"By adding structure and ‘meaning’ to the data and text on the web – in other words by indicating what the data in documents or on databases actually are (a city name, an exam result, a delivery address) – it is argued that a raft of new and powerful applications would be enabled," it said.

"Potentially the big opportunity for Government data is the way in which the authority of data in the semantic web can be demonstrated using a concept called 'linked data'," said the report. "In the same way that scientific data establishes its authority by referencing approved, peer-reviewed sources, and legal data gains its status by citing previous decisions, data in the semantic web might demonstrate their trustworthiness in real time by pointing to the supporting internet reference. Over time, this could transform business-to-business and business-to-consumer internet transactions."

"Open, structured data would enable a host of new business models: in the same way that Apple's 'AppStore' has provided a platform for a wide range of small, mainly consumer-focused applications, a web of data might stimulate a new set of business applications that generate significant added value and offer a new source of economic value," said the report.

"A powerful driver for such a transformed commercial future could be government support for structured data," it said. "The UK Government is already a world-leader in this area ... Legislation.gov.uk, launched in July 2010, brings together every single piece of UK legislation, from the Magna Carta to the present day, in one place for the first time, and makes it easy for people to use the data to create mobile phone apps or add it to their own websites."

The paper is an attempt to identify the business areas that are most likely to result in growth and jobs in the coming years, it said.

"Technology and Innovation Futures is a forward look at a range of developments which have the potential over the next 20 years to support sustained economic growth in the UK," it said. "The report identifies 55 technologies which are likely to be important to the UK in the 2020s, because of the UK’s comparative advantage today, its future needs, or the size of the potential market. As the UK comes out of the economic downturn, it seems likely that future economic prosperity will derive in large part from seizing opportunities offered by technologies such as these."

The report highlighted the importance of the internet in this growth but warned that it might not survive without a fundamental shift in its economic structure.

"The internet has grown to a large extent on the back of existing global infrastructure, notably fixed line telephone networks," it said. "To support the growth of the internet, infrastructure will need to be upgraded – not simply data transmission infrastructure such as fibre optic cable, but also data processing, data storage and power supply. In the UK, the question of who should pay for this has not been resolved, and ‘free’ internet at the point of use may not be sustainable as data traffic increases in a tight economic environment."

The report suggested that the Government could help to speed up the development of some technologies by paying for them early in their development.

"Is there action the UK Government could take, beyond its traditional regulatory function, to increase the transformatory impact of the internet to benefit UK citizens and companies?" it asked. "Is this an area where Government could act as a smart procurer, an early adopter of a powerful new technology? Could it find a way of both fulfilling its commitment to opening up Government data to the public, and unleashing the potential of data to skip from one application to another across the internet, as easily as a human agent now sends a tweet or places a Skype call?"

The report also identified 'smart infrastructure' as a crucial element in the development of the UK technology industry. Power networks with more flexibility than they currently have and networks of sensors would help, it said.

The report also said that the UK is focusing more on manufacturing as a way to 'rebalance' the economy away from a dependence on financial services in response to the recent financial crash.

The UK should concentrate on manufacturing on demand, it said.

"By the 2020s, the UK could lead a 21stP-century manufacturing revolution, fuelled by new technologies, tools and materials, with local, bespoke manufacturing-on-demand based on 3D printing and a move to product plus service commercial models – 'servicisation'," it said.

"For example, the engines of some aerospace manufacturers are sold as 'power by the hour': the client pays for the thrust delivered, not separately for the engine and its maintenance," it said. "This trend is important because since 1985, services have contributed 87% of growth in developed economies, and have been the source of all net job creation."

"Over the next two decades, much of the value added through manufacturing will also be captured in the form of revenues for services. The UK’s strong service sector, together with its position in high-value manufacturing areas such as aerospace where service models are gaining ground, make it well placed to capitalise on these developments," said the report.