MAPPING ENGLAND’S INNOVATION ACTIVITY
IN T RODUCTION The Smart Specialisation Hub was established, following
Mapping England’s Innovation Activity offers a simple
the recommendations in Encouraging a British Invention
overview of evidenced innovation activity by sector for
Revolution: Sir Andrew Witty’s Review of Universities and
each LEP. This tool can be scrutinised in several ways and
Growth, to support local and national government in the
has been designed to help the reader:
implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategies. 1. Identify hot and cold spots of innovation activity Since the Hub’s inception there has been increasing focus
nationally.
on the importance and uniqueness of place. We have seen the launch of Science and Innovation Audits (SIAs) – that
2. Search sectors to identify areas of peak activity.
have catalysed and galvanised consortia around local and sector strengths – and the Industrial Strategy Green Paper that champions place as one of its ten pillars. The Hub has responded to this renewed focus on place by
3. Investigate for any particular LEP the sectors they are most active in. 4. Get a sense of regional activity.
starting an analysis of innovation in England presented in this document: Mapping England’s Innovation Activity.
5. Identify potential partners and potential areas to prioritise investment.
This mapping is a response to the need for a comparative representation of innovation strengths in local areas – in this case at Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) level. It is
Through the publication of this tool, the Hub wants to
designed to address an identified gap in existing analyses,
encourage informed discussion around the availability and
that are either top level – offering no regional breakdown
quality of data at local and national level. This mapping
– or regionally specific and, therefore, not comparable.
is offered only as a starting point, as any attempt to effectively account for innovation assets and capabilities
INNOVATION ACTIVITY MAPPING
across the country requires the input, insight and the buyin of local partners.
Understanding place-based innovation and identifying the potential strengths of local areas is key to increasing
We invite and encourage feedback on this tool and
growth and productivity. In this mapping, the Hub has
particularly about evidence that you feel could strengthen
provided a fusion of quantitative and expert-driven data
and enrich our framework; sharing expertise and
that makes it possible to compare place-based innovation
experience from local to national level is essential to
activity in a way that has not been done before.
ensuring the robustness of this tool. We look forward to hearing from you.
We know that the data sets we have used are limited and we accept that this is not a fully comprehensive view –
CONTACT
and we do not present it as such. Our intention with this analysis is threefold: 1. To provide a comparable and evidenced overview of national innovation activity. 2. To allow LEPs to assess their comparative strengths based on activity. 3. To encourage engagement and discussion around innovation data and how it can be improved.
[email protected]
MAPPING ENGLAND’S INNOVATION ACTIVITY EMERGING & ENABLING HEALTH & TECHNOLOGIES LIFE SCIENCES
MANUFACTURING & MATERIALS
E AG ER AV GY TY LO LI NO BI CH NG PA TE RI CA ANO CTU S N FA IE P R LE NU ST MA DU LS A N UE I RI AL ON TE NG A -V I I M T GH DA D IV L HI UN CE RT FO VAN BAN PO S AD UR AN Y TR LIT BI NA GY AI ER ST EN T SU EN NM RO E VI AC EN SP RO E T IL AE CAR BU TH AL LY HE UPP S S OD CE FO IEN H C OS EC BI I-T E R AG PAC S NG LI AB EN ICT & S NG EM GI ST ER SY ES EM R AL IC HE IC RV OT TR SE EC L EL ITA G DI
LEPs BY INNOVATE UK REGION
INFRASTRUCTURE
Bubble size Evidenced capability
HUMBER
N O RT H E A ST
LEEDS CITY REGION NORTH EASTERN SHEFFIELD CITY REGION TEES VALLEY YORK & N YORKSHIRE CHESHIRE & WARRINGTON
N O RT H W EST
CUMBRIA GREATER MANCHESTER LANCASHIRE LIVERPOOL CITY REGION
E A ST
CAMBRIDGESHIRE & PETERBOROUGH (GCGP) HERTFORDSHIRE NEW ANGLIA SOUTH EAST
E A ST M IDL ANDS
DERBYSHIRE & NOTTINGHAMSHIRE GREATER LINCOLNSHIRE LEICESTER & LEICESTERSHIRE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE & SE MIDLANDS
WEST MI DL ANDS
BLACK COUNTRY COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE GLOUCESTERSHIRE
GREATER BIRMINGHAM & SOLIHULL STOKE-ON-TRENT & STAFFORDSHIRE THE MARCHES WORCESTERSHIRE
SO UTH E A ST
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE THAMES VALLEY COAST TO CAPITAL ENTERPRISE M3 OXFORDSHIRE SOLENT THAMES VALLEY BERKSHIRE
SO UTH W EST
CORNWALL & ISLES OF SCILLY DORSET HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST SWINDON & WILTSHIRE WEST OF ENGLAND
Notes 1. Since London proved to be an outlier, it was excluded from the data set represented here in order to achieve a balanced overview. 2. The LEPs Cambridgeshire & Peterborough (GCGP) and Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire refer to Greater Cambridgeshire & Greater Peterborough and Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, respectively.
INDUSTRY BREAKDOWN
M A P P I N G E N G L A N D ’ S I N N O VAT I O N A C T I V I T Y
Bubble size Evidenced capability
EM ERGING & ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES
&
E AG ER AV
E AC SP
NG LI AB EN
T IC
S EM ST SY
ES IC RV SE
TY LI BI PA CA
NG GI ER EM
P LE
R HE OT
AL IC TR EC EL
L TA GI DI
LEPS BY INNOVATE UK REGION HUMBER
N O RT H E A ST
LEEDS CITY REGION NORTH EASTERN SHEFFIELD CITY REGION TEES VALLEY YORK & N YORKSHIRE CHESHIRE & WARRINGTON
N O RT H W EST
CUMBRIA GREATER MANCHESTER LANCASHIRE LIVERPOOL CITY REGION
E A ST
CAMBRIDGESHIRE & PETERBOROUGH (GCGP) HERTFORDSHIRE NEW ANGLIA SOUTH EAST
E A ST M IDL ANDS
DERBYSHIRE & NOTTINGHAMSHIRE GREATER LINCOLNSHIRE LEICESTER & LEICESTERSHIRE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE & SE MIDLANDS
WEST MI DL ANDS
BLACK COUNTRY COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE GLOUCESTERSHIRE
GREATER BIRMINGHAM & SOLIHULL STOKE-ON-TRENT & STAFFORDSHIRE THE MARCHES WORCESTERSHIRE
SO UTH E A ST
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE THAMES VALLEY COAST TO CAPITAL ENTERPRISE M3 OXFORDSHIRE SOLENT THAMES VALLEY BERKSHIRE
SO UTH W EST
CORNWALL & ISLES OF SCILLY DORSET HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST SWINDON & WILTSHIRE WEST OF ENGLAND
Notes 1. Since London proved to be an outlier, it was excluded from the data set represented here in order to achieve a balanced overview. 2. The LEPs Cambridgeshire & Peterborough (GCGP) and Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire refer to Greater Cambridgeshire & Greater Peterborough and Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, respectively.
M A P P I N G E N G L A N D ’ S I N N O VAT I O N A C T I V I T Y
Bubble size Evidenced capability
HE ALTH & L IFE SCIENCES
P LE TY LI BI PA CA E AG ER AV
LY PP SU
RE CA TH AL HE
OD FO
S CE EN CI OS BI
H EC -T RI AG
LEPS BY INNOVATE UK REGION HUMBER
N O RT H E A ST
LEEDS CITY REGION NORTH EASTERN SHEFFIELD CITY REGION TEES VALLEY YORK & N YORKSHIRE CHESHIRE & WARRINGTON
N O RT H W EST
CUMBRIA GREATER MANCHESTER LANCASHIRE LIVERPOOL CITY REGION
E A ST
CAMBRIDGESHIRE & PETERBOROUGH (GCGP) HERTFORDSHIRE NEW ANGLIA SOUTH EAST
E A ST M IDL ANDS
DERBYSHIRE & NOTTINGHAMSHIRE GREATER LINCOLNSHIRE LEICESTER & LEICESTERSHIRE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE & SE MIDLANDS
WEST MI DL ANDS
BLACK COUNTRY COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE GLOUCESTERSHIRE
GREATER BIRMINGHAM & SOLIHULL STOKE-ON-TRENT & STAFFORDSHIRE THE MARCHES WORCESTERSHIRE
SO UTH E A ST
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE THAMES VALLEY COAST TO CAPITAL ENTERPRISE M3 OXFORDSHIRE SOLENT THAMES VALLEY BERKSHIRE
SO UTH W EST
CORNWALL & ISLES OF SCILLY DORSET HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST SWINDON & WILTSHIRE WEST OF ENGLAND
Notes 1. Since London proved to be an outlier, it was excluded from the data set represented here in order to achieve a balanced overview. 2. The LEPs Cambridgeshire & Peterborough (GCGP) and Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire refer to Greater Cambridgeshire & Greater Peterborough and Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, respectively.
M A P P I N G E N G L A N D ’ S I N N O VAT I O N A C T I V I T Y
Bubble size Evidenced capability
I NFR A STR U CTURE
P LE TY LI BI PA CA
NG VI LI
E AG ER AV
N BA UR
T OR SP AN TR
GY ER EN
T EN NM RO VI EN
TY LI BI NA AI ST SU
T IL BU E AC SP RO AE
LEPS BY INNOVATE UK REGION HUMBER
N O RT H E A ST
LEEDS CITY REGION NORTH EASTERN SHEFFIELD CITY REGION TEES VALLEY YORK & N YORKSHIRE CHESHIRE & WARRINGTON
N O RT H W EST
CUMBRIA GREATER MANCHESTER LANCASHIRE LIVERPOOL CITY REGION
E A ST
CAMBRIDGESHIRE & PETERBOROUGH (GCGP) HERTFORDSHIRE NEW ANGLIA SOUTH EAST
E A ST M IDL ANDS
DERBYSHIRE & NOTTINGHAMSHIRE GREATER LINCOLNSHIRE LEICESTER & LEICESTERSHIRE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE & SE MIDLANDS
WEST MI DL ANDS
BLACK COUNTRY COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE GLOUCESTERSHIRE
GREATER BIRMINGHAM & SOLIHULL STOKE-ON-TRENT & STAFFORDSHIRE THE MARCHES WORCESTERSHIRE
SO UTH E A ST
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE THAMES VALLEY COAST TO CAPITAL ENTERPRISE M3 OXFORDSHIRE SOLENT THAMES VALLEY BERKSHIRE
SO UTH W EST
CORNWALL & ISLES OF SCILLY DORSET HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST SWINDON & WILTSHIRE WEST OF ENGLAND
Notes 1. Since London proved to be an outlier, it was excluded from the data set represented here in order to achieve a balanced overview. 2. The LEPs Cambridgeshire & Peterborough (GCGP) and Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire refer to Greater Cambridgeshire & Greater Peterborough and Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, respectively.
M A P P I N G E N G L A N D ’ S I N N O VAT I O N A C T I V I T Y
Bubble size Evidenced capability
MAN U FACT URIN G & MATERIALS
P LE E AG ER AV
GY LO NO CH TE NO NA
G IN UR CT FA NU MA
ES RI ST DU IN
S AL RI TE MA
TY LI BI PA CA
UE AL -V GH HI
ON TI DA UN FO
ED NC VA AD
LEPS BY INNOVATE UK REGION HUMBER
N O RT H E A ST
LEEDS CITY REGION NORTH EASTERN SHEFFIELD CITY REGION TEES VALLEY YORK & N YORKSHIRE CHESHIRE & WARRINGTON
N O RT H W EST
CUMBRIA GREATER MANCHESTER LANCASHIRE LIVERPOOL CITY REGION
E A ST
CAMBRIDGESHIRE & PETERBOROUGH (GCGP) HERTFORDSHIRE NEW ANGLIA SOUTH EAST
E A ST M IDL ANDS
DERBYSHIRE & NOTTINGHAMSHIRE GREATER LINCOLNSHIRE LEICESTER & LEICESTERSHIRE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE & SE MIDLANDS
WEST MI DL ANDS
BLACK COUNTRY COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE GLOUCESTERSHIRE
GREATER BIRMINGHAM & SOLIHULL STOKE-ON-TRENT & STAFFORDSHIRE THE MARCHES WORCESTERSHIRE
SO UTH E A ST
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE THAMES VALLEY COAST TO CAPITAL ENTERPRISE M3 OXFORDSHIRE SOLENT THAMES VALLEY BERKSHIRE
SO UTH W EST
CORNWALL & ISLES OF SCILLY DORSET HEART OF THE SOUTH WEST SWINDON & WILTSHIRE WEST OF ENGLAND
Notes 1. Since London proved to be an outlier, it was excluded from the data set represented here in order to achieve a balanced overview. 2. The LEPs Cambridgeshire & Peterborough (GCGP) and Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire refer to Greater Cambridgeshire & Greater Peterborough and Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, respectively.
SOURCES & NOTES In order to gain a richer understanding of local innovation capabilities, we have employed both quantitative and expert-driven data for this visualisation piece.
S O U RCES Capability scores were calculated by combining the following two sources.
1. THE SMART SPECIALISATION HUB’S ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK
2. THE KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER NETWORK’S (KTN) TEAM OF IN-HOUSE EXPERTS
The Hub’s analytical framework, created by Hub analysts
Building on the quantitative data, the expert-driven data
at the National Centre for Universities and Business, is
set looks into the overall innovation intensity seen on the
geared to providing guidance on emerging strengths in
ground regionally. The data was sourced by consulting
innovation, curating indicators with the greatest sectoral
the KTN’s team of innovation experts. The KTN’s in-
granularity available from robust public sources. We
depth knowledge in all sectors of industry presented a
identified a total of six indicators which show performance
unique opportunity to effectively assemble an expert-led
of innovation in core industry sectors. Those indicators fall
overview of England’s innovation capabilities. The data was
into two groups - Innovation in research/higher education
collected over a period of two months (from October to
institutions, and Innovation in business/industry.
December 2016) by asking KTN industry experts to answer the question: “In your experience, how much innovation activity is present in your sector of expertise for each of England’s LEPs?” The KTN industry experts were asked to
INNOVATION IN RESEARCH/HIGHER EDUCATION INDICATOR
SOURCE
Staff submitted to REF
Higher Education Statistics
across stem disciplines
Agency, STEM disciplines, 2013/14
fill this information against each LEP using a simple scale. This data picks up on the soft relationships, networks and other activities that are either difficult to quantify or are currently not recorded, but add real value to innovation performance. However, this data has been weighted such that it supports identified peaks but is insufficient on its
Publication output to
Scopus, 2012-14
priorities of Innovate UK Publication output to the
Scopus, 2012-14
8 Great Technologies
INNOVATION IN BUSINESS/INDUSTRY Innovate UK investment in
Innovate UK, 2013-17
innovation Number of employed FTE
Business Register and
in technology sectors
Employment Survey, 2013
Number of inventors on
World Intellectual Property
patents across various
Organisation, 2011-14
technology areas in LEP areas
own to alter the metric-driven view.
N OT ES CAVEATS AND CONSTRAINTS REGARDING GATHERING AND INTERPRETING THE DATA 1. The Hub’s analytical framework is restricted to readily available public sources. As such, not all sectors are represented by the full set of predefined indicators. This has been corrected by weighting the final cumulative figure. 2. Expert-driven data is based on individuals’ soft knowledge on sectoral strengths in each LEP and therefore has limitations. 3. Underpinning datasets have been merged to show sectoral strengths in innovation across both research and business actors. This allows for a relatively wellrounded representation of innovation strengths at the expense of granularity. 4. Sector titles in the underpinning data are not consistent. Titles have been changed in order to align the activities into identifiable groups of like industry activity. 5. We have used the latest available data but statistical data is backward-looking and there will always be some lag. 6. Since London proved to be an outlier, it was excluded from the data set represented here in order to achieve a balanced overview.
G LO S SARY OF INDUSTRIES EMERGING & ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES
SECTOR
UNDERLYING DATA
DIGITAL SERVICES
General purpose transformative digital technologies, including the digital economy and digital technology.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
Electronics, photonics and electrical systems, including sensors, semiconductors and electronic sensors.
ICT
Information communication technology, including telecoms, computer technology, information technology management and basic communication processes.
OTHER EMERGING & ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES
Areas not included in the other sectors, such as big data,
SPACE
Technologies including satellites and PNT (position
robotics and autonomous systems.
navigation and timing).
HEALTH & LIFE SCIENCES
AGRI-TECH
Agricultural technology, including agri-food livestock, agrifood plants and crops and agri-science.
BIOSCIENCES
Includes biotechnology, organic fine chemistry and synthetic biology.
FOOD SUPPLY
Includes agriculture, food and food chemistry.
HEALTHCARE
Includes life sciences, medical technology, pharmaceuticals and regenerative medicine.
G LO S SARY OF INDUSTRIES INFRASTRUCTURE
SECTOR
UNDERLYING DATA
AEROSPACE
Aviation, including its manufacturing and infrastructure.
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Includes architecture, building services, engineering and building control.
ENERGY
Includes energy storage, resource efficiency, thermal energy and electrical machinery and apparatus.
SUSTAINABILITY
Includes environmental technology.
TRANSPORT
Includes maritime/marine, rail and automotive transport systems.
MANUFACTURING & MATERIALS
URBAN LIVING
Includes city systems, future cities and smart cities.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
Includes chemistry, materials chemistry, basic materials chemistry, surface technology coating and macromolecular chemistry polymers.
FOUNDATION INDUSTRIES
Includes data on traditional materials and manufacturing, composites, materials metallurgy, textile & paper machines.
HIGH-VALUE MANUFACTURING
Manufacturing that is financially successful, of strategic
NANOTECHNOLOGY
Includes micro-structural and nanotechnology.
importance or makes a positive social impact.
WHAT IS SMART SPECIALISATION? Smart Specialisation is an approach to investment in innovation that helps key local players identify and exploit the sectors in which they can claim to be world-leading.
CONTACT smartspecialisationhub.org
[email protected] @SmartSpecHub
The Hub is part-funded by: