The UK Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy is a 10-year, £120 billion plan to reshape the economy around eight high-growth sectors, from advanced manufacturing and defence to clean energy and digital technologies. There is a lot in it, and almost all of it is written for policymakers, not for the business owners it is meant to help.
So we read the full strategy and turned it into a practical hub for the companies we work with. Start with our UK Modern Industrial Strategy guide, which sets out what the strategy is, how much funding is on the table, what is live now, and what it means for your business.
Find the opportunities in your sector
We have broken the strategy down sector by sector, so you can go straight to what is relevant to you. Each guide covers the funding figures, the schemes being introduced, the sub-sectors being backed, and what you can do now to position your company:
- Advanced Manufacturing, including DRIVE35 and the automotive supply chain
- Defence, including reshoring and the defence supply chain
- Clean Energy Industries
- Life Sciences
- Digital and Technologies, including the quantum cluster
What the strategy means for your business
The direction of travel is clear. Public investment, procurement, and funding priorities are being reshaped around these eight sectors, which opens up new routes for:
- Co-investment with the National Wealth Fund
- Export support via UK Export Finance
- Innovation and R&D funding through UKRI and Innovate UK
- Supply chain growth in reshoring, clean energy, and defence
- Digital and AI adoption in industrial and professional services
Many of these routes are opening now. Positioning your company to be found and shortlisted for them is exactly the kind of work we do, as our client work shows.
Track it quarter by quarter
The strategy is a 10-year commitment, not a one-off announcement, and the government publishes delivery updates every quarter. We summarise each one in our quarterly updates, so you can watch schemes move from announcement to money in the market, and spot the ones worth acting on before the shortlist forms.
Get quarterly email updates
New schemes, deadlines and investment commitments land every quarter. Join our mailing list and we’ll send you the updates that matter for your sector as they’re announced, so you don’t have to keep track and read all the new documentation yourself.
Read the video transcript
The UK government's modern industrial strategy is a once in a generation plan to reshape the industrial economy. With over £120 billion pounds of government investment, and a clear focus on sectors such as engineering, manufacturing, defence, and digital technologies.
At 160 pages long. It is a mammoth read, however we've read it so you don't have to.
We've also created sector specific briefing documents, which distill the essential information you need to know along with our recommendations on how you can take full advantage of this funding that's coming your way. The government aims to make it easier and simpler for companies to do business, giving them the stability to make long-term investments. And they are committing long-term funding and support to achieve this. Now, this isn't just another government report, it is a 10 year roadmap that places your sector at the centre of national growth. The UK modern industrial strategy is the UK government's long-term plan to drive economic growth by backing eight high potential sectors, improve productivity and skills, make domestic supply chains more secure and resilient, reduce energy costs for manufacturers, boost investment in R&D innovation and regional development.
It's been launched to reverse sluggish economic growth, increasing business costs, and weak investment in key UK industries. It aims to collaborate with businesses rather than just regulate them. So you might be thinking, well, this all sounds great, but why now? Well, there are two reasons why this report has been published now. The UK has underperformed in terms of investment and productivity compared to its international competitors. Businesses have struggled with rising energy costs, uncertain regulations, and limited access to growth capital.
The second reason is new global challenges from AI to defence to clean energy require coordinated public private action. The UK modern industrial strategy represents a shift towards active government support for industrial growth, with commitments to unlock additional funding for SMEs, to reduce energy costs and strengthen domestic supply chains.
All of this will provide long-term clarity to help businesses make decisions more quickly and with greater confidence. So who is this strategy for? Well, the UK Modern Industrial strategy covers the whole of the UK with funding allocated to different regions and different sectors. Your business will be included if you are working in engineering, manufacturing, defence, or IT and digital. If you're involved in innovation, infrastructure, r and d or critical supply chains, or if you are looking to grow, export, attract investment, or engage with government programs.
The government has identified eight high priority sectors, which it calls the IS-8, and there's different funding and different opportunities for each sector. Now the IS-8 sectors are advanced manufacturing, defence, clean energy, life sciences, digital and technologies, financial services, professional and business services, and creative industries.
If you're in one of these sectors, whether you are scaling up or established, this strategy will offer support and funding in some capacity.
Public investment will exceed £120 billion across the IS-8 sectors and the UK as a whole. For advanced manufacturing, there's a total of £4.3 billion of funding and investment, which includes £2.8 billion for sector specific R&D. There's also £400 million pounds for defence innovation.
There's a lot more details about how all of these schemes are divided up by sector and region. It's 160 pages long, so it's far too much for one video. All of this information is going to be updated and changing, so to make keeping track of that easier, we've created a webpage providing the most up-to-date information on available funding and investment, along with a specific guide that dives deeper into each sector.
You can find these guides and sign up for email updates as soon as funding becomes available on our website. pallant.studio/ukmis See you in the next video.
