A blueprint for translational innovation between Greater Manchester and Government catalysing inclusive economic growth could generate a £7bn economic benefit and support the UK in achieving its goals of levelling up the North and increasing global trade.
Leading innovators from business, science, academia and local government have developed the Innovation Greater Manchester partnership as the basis of a formal collaboration deal with Government, suggesting it could create 100,000 jobs and boost the economy by £7bn.
Innovation Greater Manchester is a key pillar of the city-region’s Economic Vision, the plan to deliver a fairer, greener and more productive Greater Manchester economy beyond the pandemic. It would leverage and accelerate the success of Greater Manchester’s existing research and development (R&D) hubs in global frontier sectors, including advanced materials and manufacturing, health innovation, digital and creative, and clean growth.
They would drive economic growth in all parts of the conurbation through R&D commercialisation and industrialisation within a series of new and existing Innovation Zones across the region’s towns and cities.
Businesses would be supported to grow and drive economic development, resulting in updated skills, good employment and places where people want to invest.
This would support government ambitions for global Britain by delivering new opportunities for international trade and co-operation to address global challenges, including climate change.
Bringing together local and national agencies to support an innovation cluster spanning the city-region would help to attract significant inward investment and close the R&D expenditure gap in Greater Manchester and the North, eventually creating an innovation ‘supercluster’ that would significantly add to UK plc and advance the levelling up agenda.
By aligning R&D investment with socioeconomic need, Innovation Greater Manchester would deliver sustainable and inclusive growth where it is most needed.
Embedded within existing Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (GM LEP) governance, policy development, and delivery structures, the Innovation Zone network would enable R&D interventions to be fully aligned for the long-term with other place-based activities such as spatial planning, transport and infrastructure, skills and jobs, net zero and health through a single Place-Based Appraisal model and formal Local Investment Frameworks.
The launch of Innovation Greater Manchester is being led on behalf of the GM LEP by interim Chair, Chris Oglesby, CEO of Bruntwood and GM LEP board member; and Independent Science Advisor, Professor Richard Jones, Chair in Materials Physics and Innovation Policy at the University of Manchester.
Chris Oglesby said: “Innovation Greater Manchester provides an exciting blueprint for Greater Manchester to work with government and other agencies to direct public sector investment where it would have the most significant economic impact, creating exciting new businesses and levelling up communities across the North.
“Innovation Zones that link labs to industry in city centres, town centres and advanced manufacturing parks would ensure that Innovation Greater Manchester has a presence and impact in every district in Greater Manchester and across the North, with the symbiotic relationships between these Zones creating enhanced economic, social and scientific impacts, including high quality jobs and increased trade and investment.“
Professor Jones said: “Innovation Greater Manchester is a signal that Greater Manchester wants to work with government to support its levelling up agenda.
“Innovation Greater Manchester is a collective effort; whose aim is that we use the skills and potential of everyone in the city-region to make and grow new businesses in the technologies of the future.
“It is also outward-looking – it’s not just about what happens in the city limits, but aims to be a catalyst across the North, cementing Greater Manchester’s role as a growth pole for the whole nation’s economy.”
Lou Cordwell, Chair of the GM LEP, said: “Innovation Greater Manchester is central to our Economic Vision for the city-region. The changes we want to see in our economy, like becoming more diverse and resilient, introducing better ways of working, building vibrant places, and tackling social issues, will be fuelled by innovation.
“The partnership represents an opportunity to build on our sector strengths and ensure that the benefits of R&D activity are felt across Greater Manchester and the North, supporting the UK in levelling up and achieving its ambitions for international trade.”
Cllr Elise Wilson, GMCA economy portfolio lead, said: “Greater Manchester is a place with clear potential. Our towns and cities have the right mix of leadership, scientific excellence, and vision to demonstrate how we can level up through science and innovation.
“Innovation Greater Manchester could help the Government realise its ambitions for the R&D Place Plan and Innovation Strategy, and we’re committed to working with them to help our city-region achieve its potential.”
Juergen Maier, Vice-Chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said: “For the North to thrive and become a world leader, we need to find ways to encourage innovation and the adoption of digital technologies.
“Led by business, Innovation Greater Manchester represents a unique blueprint for collaboration with government to unlock the potential that translational innovation provides to level up in Greater Manchester and the North.”
