Visit from Manchester Mayor signals a new era of collaboration between two UK innovation hubs with a focus on boosting regional economies and fostering inclusive growth.
On Tuesday 5 November 2024, Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham visited Cambridge to celebrate and further cement a partnership between the two cities’ innovation ecosystems. The collaboration, which was officially launched in 2023, is aimed at leveraging the combined strengths of Manchester and Cambridge to fuel the growth of start-ups, attract investment, and foster inclusive economic development across the UK.
The visit marked an important step forward in this collaboration, which is the first of its kind in the UK. Leading academic, business and civil figures from both cities were in attendance.
Inclusive innovation and regional growth
A key theme of the visit was ensuring that innovation-driven growth benefits all communities. This commitment to inclusive innovation was explored during a roundtable discussion, which included representatives from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy in Cambridge and The Productivity Institute in Manchester. The conversation centred around how innovation can be made more accessible to economically lagging regions and marginalised groups, and how to ensure that the fruits of innovation are equitably distributed.
Professor Michael Kenny, Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy and Professor Andy Westwood, Policy Director at The Productivity Institute, outlined how the partnership could contribute to a number of the government’s growth objectives as well as the priorities of both mayors. Owen Garling, Knowledge Transfer Facilitator at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy presented a newly launched report, ‘Townscapes: Making Innovation More Inclusive‘, written by Professor Diane Coyle and Burcu Sevde SelvI that helps strengthen the partnership’s approach to inclusive innovation.
The report explores how innovation can address regional disparities. “An inclusive approach to innovation focuses not only on the process and outcomes of innovation, but also considers who is involved in it, what are the social and economic conditions that foster it, and perhaps most importantly, keeps in mind which places and communities benefit from innovation,” said Professor Michael Kenny.
A partnership for the future
The Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University, Professor Deborah Prentice said: “This collaboration between our two cities and universities is a testament to our shared ambition and the immense opportunities ahead. Over the past five years, we’ve seen thousands of co-publications as well as deep collaboration in graphene and materials research, showcasing the power of our joint efforts. This partnership isn’t just about what we’ve achieved; it’s about what we’re building—a dynamic platform to connect and strengthen our innovation ecosystems for the future.”
Image: Andy Burnham discusses innovation-driven growth. Photo by Nick Saffell, Cambridge.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy.
