The Government has announced details of a new national innovation centre to put the UK at the forefront of big data, saying the UK economy will benefit from big data with potential growth of up to £241 billion.

The £15 million Government funding for the National Innovation Centre for Data, which will be managed through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will be matched by £15 million from Newcastle University.

The Centre, which will be based in Newcastle, aims to link up leading academic talent in universities with industry and the public sector to help them develop the skills they need to solve real world problems using advances in data science

This forms part of the Government’s Digital Strategy which set out plans to boost the nation’s digital skills, infrastructure and innovation, including measures to support Britain’s world-leading artificial intelligence (AI) sector with an industry-led review.

Newcastle has one of the largest and fastest growing digital clusters in the country with multi-national companies including Sage - the UK’s largest software company - Hewlett Packard and Accenture, as well as significant public sector IT facilities, including the HMRC Digital Delivery Centre, and major commercial data centres.

Newcastle University has a core group of specialists who have expertise in working closely with a wide range of industrial organisations through its Cloud Innovation Centre, and it also hosts the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Cloud Computing for Big Data Analytics at Newcastle University.

Announcing the new investment, Minister for Digital Matt Hancock said:

“We’re determined to unlock the huge potential of big data which could add billions of pounds to our economy - from powering price comparison sites to improving the flow of transport around cities.

“Our new National Innovation Centre for Data will help us achieve this aim by making sure the skills and talent in our universities is being transferred into industry and the public sector.

“It will not only spark innovation among the next generation of tech experts but also help businesses across the whole country capitalise on the immense value of data.”

According to independent research, companies using data science are 10 per cent more productive on average than those that do not, and companies that exploit data can reduce costs, innovate and develop new goods and services faster than those that do not and make faster and better decisions.

Studies by Nesta, the innovation foundation, show UK firms who use data most effectively are 40 per cent more likely to launch new products and services ahead of their competitors.

The centre will have a programme of projects where academics and industry can share and develop their data skills to solve challenges - for example, industry wanting advice on how to develop the data analysis skills to predict when a machine may stop working to prevent costly breakdowns.

Professor Nick Wright, PVC Innovation and Business, Newcastle University, said:

“NICD will help to address the data skills gap by taking a practical hands-on approach. We will work with organisations on their domain related problems, transferring the skills into the organisation that will enable them to innovate through data.

“By providing world-class facilities and services under one roof, the NICD building will act as a ‘beacon’ for Data Innovation. It will accelerate innovation by delivering key technical and practical data skills into organisations, enabling them to improve their competitiveness and grow their business. Its activities will deliver economic growth and enable the UK to become a global leader in innovation through data.”

A 2016 report by SAS estimated that from 2015 to 2020 the total benefit to the UK economy of big data analytics amounts to £241 billion, or £40 billion on average per year.