1. Sustaining strategic advantage through science and technology 1. The rapid pace of change in science and technology (S&T) is transforming many aspects of our lives, fundamentally reshaping our economy and our society, and unlocking previously inconceivable improvements in global health, well-being and prosperity. As competition grows between states, S&T will also increase in importance as an arena of systemic competition. In the years ahead, countries which establish a leading role in critical and emerging technologies will be at the forefront of global leadership. 2. The UK has a strong record of innovation in S&T – discovering graphene, decoding the structure of DNA, and contributing life-saving treatments and a vaccine to the global effort against COVID-19. In the fast-evolving and more contested environment ahead, the UK must take an active approach to building and sustaining a durable competitive edge in S&T – anticipating, assessing and taking action on our S&T priorities to deliver strategic advantage for the UK. This will become increasingly important to our domestic prosperity and our international relationships in the coming decade. It is also an essential foundation for all the objectives in this Strategic Framework: ensuring that the UK has the tools and influence to shape a future international order based on democratic values; bolster our security and maintain military advantage; and contribute to building a more resilient world. 3. Our first goal is to grow the UK’s science and technology power in pursuit of strategic advantage. Achieving this objective requires a whole-of-UK effort, in which the Government’s primary role is to create the enabling environment for a thriving S&T ecosystem of scientists, researchers, inventors and innovators, across academia, the private sector, regulators and standards bodies, working alongside the manufacturing base to take innovations through to markets. It also requires strategic choices and decisions by the Government, both on S&T priorities and on how we use our national S&T capability in support of wider policy goals – from net zero through to economic growth. 4. Our second goal is to cement the UK’s position as a responsible and democratic cyber power, able to protect and promote our interests in, and through, cyberspace. The cyber domain is unique in that it is man-made, subject to rapid technological change, and at an early stage in the evolution of its rules and norms; all of which combine to create enormous opportunity and risk. Over the past decade we have established the UK as a cyber power, building cutting‑edge defensive and offensive cyber capabilities, and a leading cyber security sector. In the digital age, sustaining this competitive edge in cyber will be a fundamental component of strategic advantage through S&T. 1.1 Growing the UK’s science and technology power 5. The UK is already an S&T power. As well as our deep and broad research base, we are ranked fourth in the Global Innovation Index (2020), attract significant venture capital – at a level that exceeds that of Germany, France and Sweden combined – and are a world leader in applied innovation and transformative tech. IV. Strategic Framework 35