Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

What do we
need to change?
Innovation
For information on sources of data
used within the Innovation goal,
please see the evidence base, part 2
section 4 and statistical annex
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3.2 Innovation
Realising the value of innovation
by bringing ideas to market
If the East of England is to thrive in the global economy, then it will
increasingly be on the basis of ideas and knowledge and not on cost.
Innovation – the ways ideas become products, processes and new
business models – is changing. Open innovation is increasingly prevalent
in a number of forms – specialist research and development (R&D)
companies and universities working with local and global businesses;
consumer-driven development of products, services and digital content;
innovation at the intersections of disciplines and sectors; and the next
generation of web-based communities, social networking and other new
channels for people to shape their own lives and experiences.
The East of England has the opportunity to be at the forefront of this new
era and, as part of Greater South East, to be one of the ten to 15 global
innovation poles that will emerge in the period to 2031. The East of
England is already an EU-leading region for research and development
activity, crucial for innovation. Private-sector R&D accounts for a higher
proportion of economic output than in any other UK region. In addition,
the region hosts world-class research institutes, university departments
and the University of Cambridge, a global top-five research university.
However, our strength in R&D is not matched by a record of
commercialising or adopting technologies and processes. UK and
international comparisons show that the East of England’s firms are less
likely to introduce a new or significantly improved product, service or
process, and less likely to allocate funds to training or make capital
investments to support innovation. Crucially, it is the use of technology
not the generation of technology that has the biggest impact on growth,
and this presents important opportunities for all sub-regions and sectors.
What will success look like?
• an increased share of businesses that are innovation active
• an increased share of businesses that translate new ideas and research
into new products, services and processes
• an internationally renowned science base and hi-tech clusters, reflected
in European-leading levels of private-sector R&D and venture capital
investment
• becoming the UK exemplar region for open innovation and absorption
of existing technologies.
Priority 1:
Developing a thriving culture of innovation and creativity
To prosper, the region needs to increase innovation activity in all
businesses. This must be matched by a culture of creativity and
collaboration, in education and civic life. Many of the biggest challenges
facing the region – climate change, inequality and an aging demographic
– are resistant to conventional approaches and demand innovation. The
public sector is an important driver of innovation – in terms of developing
new and more effective services, promoting creativity in education and
workforce development and, crucially, through using procurement to