Unlocking Innovation 2023 Programme Launched

The Railway Industry Association (RIA), the voice of the UK rail supply community, has launched Unlocking Innovation 2023, with a packed programme including a range of topical events and activities set to take place throughout the year. 

The programme is supported by Network Rail's R&D Portfolio and the UK Rail Research & Innovation Network (UKRRIN), of which RIA is a founding member. It will kick off with an Unlocking Innovation - Rail Freight event, taking place in Doncaster on 22 February.  

Central to its rail innovation programme, the award-winning RIA Innovation Conference (RIC) returns to Nottingham on 28-29 March, with the theme "Delivering the Benefits of Innovation". The conference will include a range of new features, such as ‘Exhibitor Spotlight’ and ‘Student Challenge’ sessions. RIA will also launch the third Innovation Perception Survey in early 2023, which will give a better understanding of the state of play when it comes to railway innovation – the results of this will be shared at the RIC.  

The 2023 Unlocking Innovation programme will see RIA once again partnering with leading industry organisations to promote the innovation agenda. To help navigate the programme, RIA has produced the handy graphic below, highlighting the networking opportunities at both RIA's events and those of its partners too.  

RIA will also launch a ‘Data & Digital Capabilities for Rail’ report later this year, looking at gaps in railway policy around data and digital, and opportunities for the supply chain, and it will establish RIA lobbying ‘asks’ in this area.     

Milda Manomaityte, RIA Innovation Director, said: 

"2023 is going to be a significant year for UK rail, with travel and freight movements continuing to recover strongly since the pandemic, the industry preparing for the Control Period 7 (CP7), and Rail Reform looming.  

"With such a busy backdrop, we must not lose sight of the importance of innovation, and this year we have designed a programme that will highlight the benefits of continuous investment in research, development and innovation. 

"We would like to invite all innovators, whether they already work with railway clients or are considering exploring the potential of rail, to engage with RIA's Unlocking Innovation programme. And we look forward to working with them closely in the weeks and months ahead!” 

Notes to Editors

1. About RIA: The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the voice of the UK rail supply community. We help to grow a sustainable, high-performing, railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products. RIA has 300+ companies in membership in a sector that contributes £43 billion in economic growth and £14 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 710,000 people. It is also a vital industry for the UK’s economic recovery, supporting green investment and jobs in towns and communities across the UK; for every £1 spent in rail, £2.50 is generated in the wider economy. RIA’s membership is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60% by number). www.riagb.org.uk 
   
   

2. About the Unlocking Innovation Programme: RIA’s Unlocking Innovation events bring together the people with ideas and ambition to drive change within the rail industry. The events create a platform for large and small companies, academics and innovators with the aim of developing and implementing improved products and services to meet the needs of industry clients. Unlocking Innovation events also aim to create new supply chains, to build value and benefit the UK economy, rail suppliers and ultimately the customers, the rail users. www.riagb.org.uk/UnlockingInnovation
   About the Network Rail R&D Programme: Network Rail have made an investment £245m into the R&D portfolio in a bid to enhance invention and creativity in products, systems and equipment that will develop the industry and ultimately benefit rail users. https://www.riagb.org.uk/UnlockingInnovation/Unlocking_Innovation/About/NRRD.aspx
   About UKRRIN: The UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) is designed to create powerful collaboration between academia and industry, aiming to provide a step-change in innovation in the sector and accelerate new technologies and products from research into market applications globally. The initiative was launched in 2018, formed by a consortium of universities, in collaboration with existing industry testing and trialling facilities such as Network Rail’s Rail Innovation and Development Centres. Some £92m of total funding was committed to the centres by the UK Government and leading industrial partners. www.ukrrin.org.uk