Large firms are once again pouring resources into cutting-edge product and service development, according to Frazer Bennett, global head of innovation at PA Consulting.
After two years of focusing on cost control, many of the company’s corporate clients are re-engaging with projects designed to fuel growth, Bennett told Business Matters.
“Our pipeline for work in the private sector is twice what it was this time last year,” he said, pointing to renewed appetite for both digital and physical innovation. PA Consulting, which counts Unilever, Diageo, Pfizer and Sanofi among its major clients, is also seeing smaller venture-backed companies ramping up their innovation drives.
Bennett’s remarks come ahead of a speech from the prime minister on Thursday, where he is expected to call for a more “agile and active” state, urging ministers to remove regulatory and procedural barriers that hinder government priorities. Sir Keir Starmer’s comments echo those made by science secretary Peter Kyle, who highlighted the role of innovation in tackling the UK’s productivity challenge.
“There is no route to long-term growth, no solution to our productivity problem, without innovation,” Kyle told a techUK conference on Monday. Bennett agrees, defining innovation as delivering growth by “exploiting discoveries in science, exploiting creativity in design and exploiting innovation in engineering,” while bringing these breakthroughs to market.
Regarding the regulatory environment, Bennett believes that setting clear aims, rather than prescribing implementation details, fosters experimentation and competitiveness: “Regulation is as much a catalyst for innovation as it is a constraint. It is about ensuring that the stringency of that regulation is not so high that it becomes a barrier.”
He added that large companies increasingly seek sustainable materials and deeper digital engagement with customers, rather than mere transactional relationships. With this shift in priorities, competition for skilled talent is likely to intensify. However, Bennett views some constraints as beneficial. “If you just keep funding stuff you don’t necessarily get a good outcome. Creativity loves constraint and it is an important constituent in driving innovation,” he explained.
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Businesses are embracing new product development after cost-cutting lull