CITY REGION’S KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY: DELIVERING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH

Produced by U.R.C Associates On behalf of Knowledge Economy Group Partners:

LiverpoolCityRegion.co.uk CO NTENTS

Highlights 6 Executive Summary 10

Chapter 1 – Context 20 1. Introduction 21 2. Background 21 3. The Liverpool City Region 23 4. The Knowledge Economy Plan 24 5. Economic Analysis 26

Chapter 2 – Knowledge Assets 36 1. 37 2. Liverpool John Moores University 38 3. Liverpool Hope University 40 4. Royal Liverpool & University Hospitals NHS Trust 42 5. The Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS FT 43 6. The Aintree University Hospital NHS FT 44 7. Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust 44 8 Liverpool Tropical School of Medicine 45 9. The National Oceanography Centre 46 10. Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus 46 11. The Heath Business and Technical Park 51 12. Knowsley Industrial Park 53 13. Liverpool Science Centre 53 14. The Liverpool Knowledge Quarter 53 15. Liverpool Science Park 54 16. The MerseyBIO Incubator 54 17. The 55 18. The Liverpool Innovation Park 55 19. The Ropewalks 55 20. The National Bio Manufacturing Centre 55 21. The NHS Blood and Transplant Centre 56 22. The Foresight Group 56 23. Other HE Providers beyond the Liverpool City Region 57 24. The Private Sector 58

Chapter 3 – The Knowledge Economy 62 1. Background 63 2. Life Sciences 63 - Strategic Context 63 - Current Position and Strengths 65 - Opportunities 71 3. Creative and Digital Industries 73 - Strategic Context 73 - Current Position and Strengths 74 - Issues and Challenges 78 - Research Strengths 79 - Related Initiatives 81 - Opportunities 85 4. Advanced Manufacturing 88 - Strategic Context 88 - Current Position and Strengths 90 - Issues and Challenges 93 - Research Strengths 93 - Opportunities 101

2 Financial and Professional Services 103 - Strategic Context 103 - Current Position and Strengths 105 - Issues and Challenges 107 - Research Strengths 108 - Skills Provision 111 - Related Initiatives 111 - Opportunities 112 6. Public Sector 113 - Strategic Context 113 - Current Position and Strengths 114 - Research Strengths 116 - Skills Provision 118 - Related Initiatives 119 - Opportunities 119 7. Innovation for growth 124 - Introduction 124 - Strategic Context 125 - Current position and Strengths 130 - Issues 134 - Opportunities 136 8. Branding 138 - Issues 138 - Opportunities 139 9. Education and Skills 139 - Strategic Context 139 - Current Position and Strengths 142 - Skills Flow 143 - Issues for Consideration 146 10. Physical and Digital Infrastructure 147 (A) Physical Infrastructure 147 - Strategic Context 147 - Current Position and Strengths 148 - Opportunities 149 - Issues for Consideration 149 (B) Digital Infrastructure 149 - Strategic Context 149 - Current Position 151 - Issues for Consideration 152

Chapter 4 – Opportunities for Action 154 1. The Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership 155 2. Summary of Proposed Actions drawn from Chapters 2 and 3 155 - The Role of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises 155 - Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus 155 - Life Sciences 156 - Creative and Digital Industries 158 - Advanced Manufacturing 160 - Financial and Professional Services 161 - Public Sector 162 - Innovation for Growth 163 - Branding 164 - Education and Skills 164 - Physical and Digital Infrastructure 165 - Priorities for Action 165

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Appendices 168 1. Composition of KEG, its Steering Group and the Knowledge Economy Panel 170 2. Consultees 172 3. SuperPort 176 4. Low Carbon 184 5. The University of Liverpool School of Veterinary Science 196 6. Pharmacogenetics 198 7. Video Games Industry 200 8. Technology Strategy Board 202 9. Higher Education Courses 204 10. Further Education Courses 224 11. SIC Codes 248

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6 HIGHLIGHTS

This Plan aims to develop a growingly successful knowledge economy based on the input, application and exploitation of the most relevant up-to-date knowledge, skills and innovation into the development of goods and services.

Knowledge Assets

The city region is home to a wide range of nationally and internationally significant knowledge assets. Over the last decade, employment in knowledge-intensive businesses in the city region has grown by over twice the rate of the rest of the economy. This Plan aims to secure more and more effective application of these assets in support of the growth and development of key sectors of the economy, so creating more jobs, higher productivity and higher GVA.

Focus on Key Sectors and Themes

The Plan provides a framework for achieving growth and development in the following areas:

Life Sciences Creative and Digital Industries Advanced Manufacturing Financial and Professional Services.

In addition, four cross-cutting themes are addressed in support of economic growth:

Innovation for Growth Branding Education and Skills Physical and Digital Infrastructure

The Plan also considers the public sector, a significant part of the economy, and addresses how better collaboration and joint working could help the sector meet its reduced spending objectives whilst maintaining high quality front-line services.

Priorities for Action

Of the nearly 40 areas highlighted for action, the following nine are the Key Priorities:

Developing a productive long term relationship between Daresbury SIC, industry and the public sector across the city region. Developing a Strategic Relationship with the Technology Strategy Board across key sectors and developing Technology Innovation Centres (TICs), complementing the government’s proposed Growth Hubs. Development of four major projects building on world class strengths in Life Sciences (Vaccine Research; Liverpool Science Park development; the BioInnovation Centre and the BioCampus). Developing proposals to tap into new market opportunities in digital advertising and marketing, gaming and new cinema technologies and the business generated through MediaCityUK and also developing a Creative Businesses Hub to encourage networking, collaboration and business development.

HIGHLIGHTS 7 The Development of Fab Labs and an Advanced Manufacturing TIC. Development of a strategy to attract financial and professional services companies and relocating civil servants to the commercial core. The establishment of a Public Services Institute focussing on innovation in the provision of public services and stimulating policy thinking. Review the branding of the city region to more accurately reflect its strengths in science and technology, creativity and innovation, its dynamic commercial centre and quality of life. The development of a strategy to secure the provision of Super Fast Broadband and associated data centres/internet exchange.

Outcomes

This is an ambitious Plan which aims to generate nearly 60,000 additional jobs by the early 2020s, to raise productivity and to move GVA closer to the national average. At this time of radical change, it represents an exciting opportunity for the city region to pull together and drive its economy forward to the benefit of all those who live and work here.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Introduction

1.1 Since this Plan was commissioned in March 2010, there has been a change of government, significant reductions in the level of public spending are underway and the policy context nationally and locally is changing radically, as is the role that the public sector can play in supporting the development of the economy. The government is no longer concerned with Multi Area Agreements; it is abolishing regional spatial strategies and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and is encouraging the establishment of private sector led Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to support the development of local economies. The Government has approved the establishment of a LEP for the Liverpool City Region.

1.2 In this rapidly changing environment, this Plan builds on the information contained in recently published reports and focuses on key sectors of the economy where there are existing strengths which have the potential to grow and contribute to the LCR’s economic growth. The development of the knowledge economy is to enabling the city region to compete more effectively in the global economy. There is a clear need to shift the balance of job growth to higher value, private sector knowledge-based businesses. Over the last 10 years (to 2008), whereas the total number of jobs in the city region grew by 6%, jobs in the knowledge economy grew by 13.6% – a rate of increase which needs to continue. The Plan relates to the whole city region and seeks to define the full range of ‘knowledge assets’ across the entire area and relate those assets to each of the key sectors – life sciences, creative and digital industries, advanced manufacturing and financial and professional services– highlighting the opportunities and actions needed to help drive their development and boost productivity across the whole city region.

Although the definition of the key sectors is not influenced by the radical changes referred to, the mechanisms by which the city region can support the development of these sectors are changing. Consequently, this Plan needs to retain flexibility to respond to the new emerging mechanisms effectively and efficiently.

1.3 The city region is home to a wide range of significant knowledge assets and, over the last decade, employment in knowledge intensive businesses has grown by over twice the rate of the rest of the economy. More effective application of these assets in support of the growth and development of those business sectors will create more jobs and raise productivity and GVA. This Plan provides a framework for achieving such growth and development.

1.4 For the purposes of this Plan the knowledge economy is defined as ’one based on the successful input, application and exploitation of the most relevant up-to-date knowledge (including skills and innovation) into the development of goods and services’.

2. The City Region Economy

2.1 With a population of 1.5m covering the boroughs of Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St. Helens, Wirral and the City of Liverpool, and an employment base also of 1.5m, the city region generates a GVA of £19bn, 17% of the NW total. The area is closely tied economically to the wider functional area of Warrington, Cheshire West and , North East Wales and West Lancashire. The city region exhibits a complex set of relationships and linkages:

Liverpool is the economic, commercial, cultural and transport hub

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 11 Sefton provides the primary port at Seaforth and the classic resort of Southport Halton, home to Daresbury SIC and The Heath, greatly strengthens the science and technology base Wirral complements Liverpool as the maritime centre of the North West (NW); has important private sector R & D strengths and provides important links with surrounding economic areas Knowsley and St. Helens provide key infrastructure in terms of the labour market, investment locations and the business base.

2.2 From 2006-9, the value of the city region economy increased by 4.8% to £19.11bn, faster than the NW (4.6%). The business base also grew over that period from 45,900 to 49,000. The employment rate improved in the years up to the onset of the recession and the number of self- employed also increased. GVA/head, however, remains low at £12,869 (UK average: £19,951). This is a key factor and one that this Plan seeks to help tackle by growing the knowledge economy where the GVA/head is generally higher than the national average, as is the rate of growth of knowledge economy jobs. Whilst