Inventing our future Collective action for a sustainable economy

What do we
need to change?
Innovation
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and incubation space, these parks and enterprise hubs will offer
businesses access to technology expertise, skilled labour pools, finance
providers, support services and networks.
Development of key clusters will also require a positive planning approach
to wider housing, infrastructure and utilities provision to enable the
continued growth of high-value activity and employment.
Priority 4:
Positioning the East of England and Greater South East as global
innovation regions
Large-scale R&D and innovation is a global, open activity involving many
players in many locations. Rising costs and skill shortages in traditional
locations of R&D activity, growth in emerging markets such as China and
India and advances in information and communications technologies are
driving this trend. Research demonstrates that the investment decisions
of innovation-based companies are heavily influenced by proximity to
markets, suppliers and skilled workers. These are often in technology and
research-intensive clusters.
The East of England must be at the forefront of places that are attractive
to major innovators and investors. For global impact, the region can be
marketed as part of the Greater South East, Europe’s leading innovation
super-region. There must also be a focus on developing and promoting
the region’s key strengths – health and life sciences, ICT and environmental
technologies – and the benefits of location in, or collaboration with, the
East of England’s key clusters. This requires a bold approach to promotion
in international markets, matching other leading technology locations,
such as the US, Israel and Sweden.
Implementation priorities
• developing a positive planning framework, ensuring timely delivery of
key infrastructure and utilities provision, and tailored skills provision to
create research and technical talent pools to enable growth of existing
and emerging clusters
• increasing rates of commercialisation of R&D, technology uptake and
innovation in finance, marketing and distribution through an
integrated business support and access to finance package
• maximising the productivity benefits of co-locating private sector,
research institutes and universities and progressing the development
of next-generation science parks
• expanding the full range of knowledge exchange, skills provision and
business engagement of regional universities and increased investment
in the international quality research departments and institutes
• promoting dense business and social networks to enable flows of ideas,
advice and investment opportunities
• developing shared marketing propositions with key partners in
London and the South East to promote international investment and
talent attraction
• developing a suite of financial products, support for creativity and
incentives to encourage social and public sector innovation.
Image right: The East of England Production Innovation Centre (EPIC), on the site of the
former Anglia TV studios in Norwich, is one of the most advanced higher definition broadcast
production facilities in Europe, hiring out studios and post-production to the UK broadcast and
production industry. It is recognised as a centre for the development of new services and
digital communications technologies. EPIC works with universities and colleges and other
training organisations to develop the creative talents of the digital age.