I have the pleasure to follow the Minister and to commend her on this statement, and indeed the approach that the Welsh Government has adopted in putting innovation right at the heart not only of public procurement but of public policy. We’ve heard, I think, so many times, the public sector, probably rightly, berated for adopting an approach that is often low cost over wider considerations of value and opportunity, and certainly one that is risk-averse. This programme is the opposite of that, and as she rightly said, it’s originally modelled on the American small business innovation research project, which I understand is about to be culled by President Trump. So, probably another reason to believe that we’re on the right lines in championing the approach that she has outlined.

It would be interesting to know, in that spirit of broad support, a little bit more about what the intentions are for the expansion of this project, both in terms of hard cash and in terms of the scale of the programme, but also, to what extent it could be more mainstreamed. We heard the Minister refer to a series of calls. Could we actually institutionalise it, in a more fundamental sense, so that it’s part and parcel, not as a fringe element within our public procurement practice, but right at the heart of procurement? We understand from the Royal Academy of Engineering’s review of the English initiative that there is some issue about how you measure impact. And, actually, I really commend her as well for bringing some life to some of those innovation stories. We often talk in public policy in broad generalities. It is great to drill down into the detail and hear that these are tangible impacts that are going to make a real difference in terms of the quality of life of the people of Wales.

But with every programme, it is important that we have some metrics. And while some of them will be qualitative, and by their very nature, some of them will have to be long term, I think it’s always good to have some numbers as well. And, so, I’d be interested to see—. I know that currently we don’t have, possibly, a detailed evaluation framework. In expanding the programme, I would urge her to look at the kind of innovation impact metrics in terms of return on innovation investment et cetera that could be put in place.

And finally, in the spirit of institutionalising this approach, which I think is very exciting, the opportunity is there for Wales to become a test bed nation where, actually, the world does come to our door, because we’re very good at identifying innovative solutions to the same public service and public policy challenges that the world is facing. Could we have, in that spirit, the creation of a national innovation body that will build on the excellent foundations that have been laid in this programme, but actually can drive forward on that basis and create a reputation for Wales as an innovation nation?