Viewpoint on the Industrial Strategy

Guest blog from Justin Anderson, Managing Director of Data and Digital at Connected Places Catapult

We’re standing at the threshold of a new economic era, where data is recognised as infrastructure, as essential as roads or railways, and every bit as investable. This isn’t about incremental progress. It’s about reshaping the foundations of growth and innovation.

I read something this week that made me pause, and think about our economic future.

Hidden in plain sight within the UK’s new Industrial Strategy is a quiet revolution: ‘Develop and implement a data valuation framework by April 2026.’

This isn’t just policy jargon. It’s a radical reframing of how we see and use data:

• If data can be valued, it can be invested in
• If data can be invested in, it can appear on balance sheets
• If data appears on balance sheets, it becomes visible, actionable infrastructure

The potential impact is staggering. Official estimates suggest that effectively harnessing data could boost UK productivity by up to 1.3% per year, which is arguably the single most powerful growth lever identified in the Industrial Strategy.

Yet, today most data remains locked away, fragmented and underutilised. It’s there, but invisible and uninvested.

This is why the UK’s approach goes beyond valuation alone, supported by hundreds of millions in targeted investment as part of a broader multi-billion technology and innovation agenda, which includes:

• National Data Library: foundational data assets openly accessible (£100 million)
• Sovereign AI Unit: securing our position in global AI leadership (£500 million)
• Smart Data Schemes: empowering consumers and businesses with secure, trusted data sharing (£36 million)
• Shared Infrastructure: underpinning Net Zero ambitions, resilience, and regional renewal (£12 million)

Data as infrastructure – driving UK growth

We’re standing at the threshold of a new economic era, where data is recognised as infrastructure, as essential as roads or railways, and every bit as investable. This isn’t about incremental progress. It’s about reshaping the foundations of growth and innovation.

The UK now has the chance not just to participate, but to lead…. Let’s seize it.

Message Justin on LinkedIn to continue the conversation

Download the Industrial Strategy here.