Welcome
Welcome to the UK Innovation Districts Group Monthly Digest. Join us as we explore trends, lessons and new insights into innovation, regeneration, inclusive growth, placemaking and the sustainable and accessible creation of Innovation Districts and Knowledge Quarters.
The UKIDG is a network of five self-defined innovation districts from across the UK including: Glasgow Riverside Innovation District; Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, Leeds Innovation District, Knowledge Quarter London; and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. As a group, we aim to make the case for our urban centres and their potential to advance research in areas such as AI, medical sciences and the humanities, while growing the UK’s wider economy.
Each of our Monthly Digests is dedicated to ensuring that you are kept up to date with the latest thought leadership and research in this area.
Top Stories
Nesta
Nesta have published a report looking at how innovation testbeds are being used to safely test out innovation and new technologies in the Real World.
READ MORE
Other News
BEIS have published their first version of UK Research and Development Roadmap. The government’s Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap sets out the UK’s vision and ambition for science, research and innovation. UK IDG will be submitting a response to inform the final roadmap.
Innovate UK have released a new report, Supporting Diversity and Inclusion in Innovation, which outlines barriers, challenges, opportunities and support needs for minority ethnic groups and disabled people to participate in business innovation.
The Centric Lab have released a podcast: Biological Inequality | Covid19, BAME Communities And Urban Stressors.
DfT and BEIS have committed £350 million to fuel green recovery, announcing the funding is being made available to cut emissions in heavy industry and drive economic recovery from coronavirus.
Bruntwood SciTech have published a report called Place Matters: Innovation And Growth In The UK which identifies innovation districts as a mechanism for inclusive, regional growth across the UK.
Innovate UK’s rolling applications are open for their Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Helping UK businesses to innovate and grow by funding partnerships with researchers and academics.
BEIS have announced Millions could be vaccinated against Covid-19 as UK secures strong portfolio of promising vaccines with the UK securing early access to 90 million doses of promising coronavirus vaccine candidates.
The Centric Lab have published a research paper called, Neuroscience, Urban Regeneration and Urban Health.
Nesta have written an article called Innovation After Lock Down on their blog, exploring how the UK’s approach to innovation policy will need to change to kick start and rebuild our stalled economy.
Metro Politics have published an article called Community-Rooted Organisations: Enhanced Accountability and Capacity Building for Community Development.
Partner News
Earlier this month UK Innovation Districts Group submitted a written response to the BEIS Post-pandemic economic growth working group to aid in the UK’s economic recovery from Covid-19. The submission, focuses on innovation districts and their key place in driving inclusive and sustainable, economic growth. A PDF of the submission can be found here
Knowledge Quarter Liverpool have launched their 5 year strategic vision to power Liverpool’s innovation-led economic recovery plan.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park London is currently running their annual East Summer School on a virtual platform this year on the Olympic Park.
Innovations welcome!
Please feel free to share this newsletter
and encourage others to sign up.
If you have suggestions of articles or projects for us to feature,
we’d love to hear from you.
For more information about the UK IDG and member registration
Find us at:
hello@UKInnovationDistricts.co.uk
www.UKInnovationDistricts.co.uk
To join our mailing list please subscribe.
Copyright © 2019 UK Innovation Districts Group, All rights reserved.
Welcome
Welcome to the UK Innovation Districts Group Monthly Digest. Join us as we explore trends, lessons and new insights into innovation, regeneration, inclusive growth, placemaking and the sustainable and accessible creation of Innovation Districts and Knowledge Quarters.
This month the Black Lives Matter movement has been at the forefront of our thoughts with protests for long overdue change taking place around the world. Shining a light on how racism is structural and systemic with many of our long-standing systems and frameworks truly unjust. There’s now cause for many organisations, institutions and individuals to reflect on how they operate and what changes can be made.
Again and again it is proven that diversity of thought makes us stronger, in fact, innovation districts are fueled by this. They are an intersection of many different sectors, typologies and crucially, people. Mix and diversity of fresh thought is needed to make innovation districts work. We have always championed the business need for inclusive growth, along side the moral need, and the necessity to be more inclusive and diverse has never been felt more strongly. We have an opportunity to change things for the better; to demonstrate commitment to inclusive growth through stronger civic engagement and ensuring the voices that are heard are those that truly represent the places we are building.
UK Innovation Districts Group is committed to learning and using it’s platform to support the BLM movement, as we stand in solidarity with our black partners and peers. We acknowledge that we need to do better and that this is the time for us all to reflect, act and truly deliver inclusive places.
Top Stories
How to Restart an Inclusive Economy
ACH have launched a report setting out the vital importance of valuing black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities and businesses in the road to recovery. The document outlines how to kick-start economic recovery in a truly inclusive way in Bristol.
READ MORE
Other News
BEIS are convening business focused, economic recover working groups. The outputs from these roundtables will feed directly into the government’s work on economic recovery. As a group the UK IDG aims to be a contributor.
Nesta has published an article focusing on the role of innovation agencies in the support for businesses and innovators in the time of Covid-19.
DCMS have announced future trade strategy for the UK tech industry. These new measures are to boost digital trade and help turn the UK into a global tech powerhouse.
The Guardian have published an article discussing the need for a serious urban regeneration plan after Covid-19.
University of Birmingham have published an update Realising the Potential of Inclusive Growth: Lessons From USE-IT on their blog.
Project for public places have posted 5 takeaways from their webinar Don’t Look Back: Equity and Recovery in Public Space During COVID-19 focusing on the importance of inclusive public spaces.
BSA Scotland have launched a report Inclusive and Sustainable Growth: 10 Lessons from Lockdown.
Centre for Cities latest podcast, City talks, discusses Face-to-face interaction and why cities still matter in the information age.
Partner News
London Partners Knowledge Quarter London and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park have launched a research paper together with NLA exploring the growth in knowledge-intensive industries across London, Oxford and Cambridge, known as the ‘Golden Triangle’, and examines how the knowledge economy can be strengthened across this region.
Liverpool has set out a £1.4BN 5-Year Coronavirus recovery plan that could deliver more that 40,000 jobs and apprenticeships.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is launching an open competition for a service provider to run it’s Good Growth Hub.
Innovations welcome!
Please feel free to share this newsletter
and encourage others to sign up.
If you have suggestions of articles or projects for us to feature,
we’d love to hear from you.
For more information about the UK IDG and member registration
Find us at:
hello@UKInnovationDistricts.co.uk
www.UKInnovationDistricts.co.uk
To join our mailing list please subscribe.
Copyright © 2019 UK Innovation Districts Group, All rights reserved.