In the recent Budget, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced a commitment “to stimulating private sector investment to create jobs, develop hubs of innovation, and revitalise local areas and regions across every part of the UK”. Appetite to broaden the geographic spread of UK innovation activity is not new: in 2019, Prof Richard Jones’ widely-read paper A Resurgence of the Regions highlighted the stark differences between the innovation activity in different parts of the country and made the case for significant investment in restoring the ‘industrial commons’ which enable local innovation economies to flourish.

But what does it take to create and sustain these hubs of innovation?

At our April Third Thursday, join experts from Connected Places Catapult and allied organisations to hear the latest insights on different forms that globally-recognised hubs of innovation can take, the common ingredients they all share and how to develop a robust, successful strategy from the start. The discussion will draw on new research published in March 2021 by Connected Places Catapult, as well as direct experience working with public and private sector place leaders to seed and stimulate local hubs of innovation both in the UK and globally.

This session will be of particular interest to local government and LEP officials working on economic development strategies and business support, university research translation specialists, private developers planning innovation-centric schemes, and large businesses seeking to cultivate innovation activity through their local and regional supply chains.

Connected Places Catapult: Sparking the innovation potential of every place.

This webinar is part of a series related to Hubs of Innovation. Sign up to join this session and stay up to date with further opportunities.