Abstract In this paper, we examine the extent to which public funding of research-related investments in the UK contributes to regional development and the fostering of regional convergence processes. This issue arises against the backdrop of the UK’s ‘Leveling Up’ agenda, in which there is an explicit mission to significantly increase the share of R&D public support in the regions outside of London and the Greater South East. Yet, whether such a policy is a realistic approach for driving re