Industrial strategy: systems maps

How can we rapidly identify desirable and suitable policy issues for action within complex, high-level policy missions?

About the project

UCL worked with  the UK Cabinet Office Policy Lab to produced systems maps for the UK’s Industrial Strategy Grand Challenge ‘Missions’.

The Missions, coordinated by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) are focused around an ambitious end goal, such as halving the energy use of new buildings by 2030. Meeting these goals requires orchestrated effort from across Government, industry and civil society. Policy teams need tools and processes that are able to rapidly elicit and synthesise the insights from these diverse groups, across multiple policy domains, and provide timely recommendations for further policy analysis and action.

Mapping for missions

Policy Lab and UCL developed multiple systems maps as first step in understanding the sector ecosystems, mapping existing regulation, and then identifying potential gaps for the Industrial Strategy to address. The resultant systems maps became living tools, as opposed to definitive views, and have been continuously developed and iterated over time.

Buildings mission

The interactive map for the Buildings Mission, one of the Clean Growth mapping projects, can be accessed here or by clicking the image below.