By Andy Silcox, interim chief technology officer, University of Sheffield AMRC.

The manufacturing industry is entering an important decade. Almost a year on from the launch of the government's Industrial Strategy, there has been a clear need from the wider manufacturing community for clearer pathways into the demands, deadlines and opportunities that have been set out.

Within the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, of which the AMRC is a member, there is also demand for a network-wide framework; a sector-agnostic, clear-set direction to align centres and the wider innovation ecosystem around shared technology innovation priorities.

To answer this need, the HVM Catapult and its centres have all worked together to create the HVM Catapult Technology Strategy. This is a set of roadmaps, shaped with industry, that align national priorities with industrial needs and identify the key technology capability development requirements for the next 15 years. It is a direct response to the challenges presented.

The strategy, which provides a structured view of how industry can evolve to meet demand,  sets out both the needs and the opportunities available.

For industry, adoption carries more weight than innovation alone but the barriers to this are systemic; skills, data standards and coordination. For the HVM Catapult centres, the technology strategy also begins to answer our own barriers - such as how we can collaborate more closely together as a collective. Since working on the strategy, we’ve seen a positive increase in pass-through projects, recommendations and shared bids; we’re making and maintaining connections to share knowledge, advice and best practice.

At the AMRC, our refreshed organisational strategy will back up the HVM Catapult Technology Strategy and its roadmaps. For us, this will be a sharper focus on the capabilities that we’re strongest in; specificity around what matters most to our organisation - whether that’s joining engineering, additive manufacturing, near net shape, subtractive manufacturing or robotics and automation.

This technology strategy – for the AMRC and wider HVM Catapult’s customers, partners and stakeholders – defines ‘who does what’ and identifies key contacts who understand capabilities across the whole HVM Catapult and can match them to customer needs. It’s a clear, long-lasting and regularly updated source of information, influenced by the very industry it’s serving. It is an explanation of the technology we're deploying to meet the high level challenges of the Industrial Strategy. It shows you where we’re going, and invites you to go there with us.