sciencescience technologytechnology scienceandand innovationinnovation technology and innovation Science, Technology and Innovation Exploiting the excellence England’s North West: where world-class science underpins wealth-creating innovation www.nwblt.co.uk @nwblt A5 NWBLT ET:Layout 1 14/3/14 15:22 Page 1 ‘Exploiting The Excellence’ England’s North West: where world-class science underpins wealth-creating innovation In collaboration with local enterprise partnerships, local authorities, academic and research institutions and other North West partners March 2014 A5 NWBLT ET:Layout 1 14/3/14 15:22 Page 2 NWBLT The North West Business Leadership Team is an independent group of influential business leaders, who work together to promote the sustainable economic development and long-term well-being of North West England. It was launched by HRH The Prince of Wales in July 1989. Membership of the Team is made up of senior executives from the region’s major businesses (see Appendix E). It operates as an independent business voice for the whole North West, thus providing valuable strategic support for the region’s Local Enterprise Partnerships. Further information regarding the work of the North West Business Leadership Team can be obtained by writing to the Chief Executive, NWBLT, Daresbury Laboratory, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, Warrington WA4 4AD or by visiting www.nwblt.co.uk A5 NWBLT ET:Layout 1 14/3/14 15:22 Page 3 Contents Executive Summary 3 1. Introduction 4 2. Scientific and Technological Excellence in the North West 6 2.1 Advanced materials and molecular manipulation 2.2 Energy research, including nuclear energy and nuclear engineering 2.3 Cancer research and health innovation (including translation into patient care) 2.4 High performance computing (HPC), big data and digital manufacturing 3. Innovation Capabilities, Collaborative Partnerships and Ecosystem Development 19 3.1 Innovation infrastructure – HPC as innovation accelerator 3.2 Start-ups and agile SMEs 3.3 Business Innovators 3.4 From discovery to production – interconnectivity, collaborative partnerships and ecosystem development 3.5 Collaborative partnerships 3.6 Interconnectivity of, and within, innovation ecosystems in the North West 3.7 Interconnectivity with international innovation hotspots 4. The Offer to Investors 30 5. Looking Ahead – Some Prospects for Future Global Excellence 32 6. Exploiting the Excellence – Our Collective North West Commitments 36 Appendices A Index of Case Studies 38 B Glossary of Abbreviations 38 C List of References 40 D Consultees and acknowledgements 42 E Membership of the NWBLT 2013/14 43 EXPLOITING THE EXCELLENCE NWBLT 1 A5 NWBLT ET:Layout 1 14/3/14 15:22 Page 4 SOME KEY FACTS ABOUT NORTH WEST SCIENCE • Graphene was first isolated at Manchester University by Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov in 2004, earning them the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010. • The Universities of Liverpool and Manchester are among the top five UK universities in advanced materials and nanotechnology in terms of international citations with, respectively, 22% and 13% of their publications in that subject area being among the top 10% cited globally (Witty Report, October 2013). • Lancaster University is the top UK university in terms of research in oil and gas on the basis of a weighted citation impact measure, with 50% of its publications in that field being among the top cited 10% globally and an impressive 16% among the top cited 1% (Witty Report). • Britain’s Energy Coast, a partnership between the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, local authorities in Cumbria and North West research institutions, provides flagship research in radiation chemistry of global significance in relation to nuclear energy. • 90% of the cancer research, and 85% of the computer science research, at the University of Manchester is rated world-leading or internationally excellent (RAE 2008). • Blue Joule, the IBM Blue Gene/Q supercomputer at Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire, is the UK’s most powerful supercomputer, capable of more than 1,000 trillion calculations per second and on average eight times more energy efficient than most other supercomputers (Science and Technology Facilities Council). • The University of Manchester is the second strongest UK university in automotive research based on weighted citation impact measure, with 25 out of 118 publications by the university being among the top cited 10% globally (Witty Report). • The North West is the UK’s leading region in terms of gross value added (GVA) based on manufacturing, an estimated £21,325 million in 2011 (Office of National Statistics, Regional Gross Value Added, December 2013). • In the 2013 Academic Ranking of World Universities by subject fields, physics at the University of Manchester is in 13th position world-wide and second among UK universities (source: Shanghai Jiao Tong University). • IVCC, an international consortium set up with a £50 million grant from the Gates Foundation in 2005 and based at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, is working successfully with global agrochemical companies on new insecticides for malaria prevention. • 2011/12 saw five North West companies receive the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation. • Manchester has been selected as Europe’s City of Science 2016. 2 NWBLT EXPLOITING THE EXCELLENCE A5 NWBLT ET:Layout 1 14/3/14 15:22 Page 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report – one of a series of thought leadership reports by the North West Business Leadership Team on strategic issues facing North West business – considers the exceptional strengths of the North West in science, technology and innovation and the opportunities which now present themselves for more successful exploitation of these strengths, for the benefit of the North West’s economy. It examines in some detail those fields of science and technology in which the North West now has, by independent, internationally respected assessment, world-class standing. It focuses particularly upon four such fields – advanced materials, energy research, cancer research and high performance computing - and considers the case for more active promotion of their commercial potential, so as to attract greater investment and enhance the scope for building upon the globally distinctive work being undertaken in these areas. The report also considers some of the North West’s inherent and distinctive strengths as an innovative and productive region, whilst also examining barriers which may currently be inhibiting more successful innovation and commercial exploitation. The authors of the report, the North West Business Leadership Team, have worked closely with representatives of Local Enterprise Partnerships, local authorities, academic and research institutions and other relevant partners in studying the issues involved, and now call for the following joint collective commitments by business, academia and the LEPs so as to enable the North West to make the most of the outstanding potential which clearly exists:- 1. We will continue to take actions to define and promote the North West’s distinctive science, technology and innovation resources and assets. These actions will include the production of a full Prospectus, which will be comprehensive and will feature the four fields in which we can demonstrate that we hold global leading positions in science and technology. 2. We will continue to develop our innovation infrastructure and ecosystems, building upon our international world-class collaborations and the opportunities now being presented for establishing UK centres of excellence. 3. We will make the North West an attractive place for technology based SMEs to flourish by tackling the existing barriers to investment and growth - in particular, by working with each sub-region via the North West Fund, we will seek to ensure substantial venture capital is in place to support growth in science, technology and innovation companies, building upon the assets outlined within the North West Prospectus. For its part, the North West Business Leadership Team will continue to champion the excellence of the North West in science, technology and innovation and, in particular, the outstanding commercial potential of the specific fields covered in this report. We look forward to working with our North West partners, and with national and international investors, to realise more fully the economic and employment potential of our region’s world-class science. EXPLOITING THE EXCELLENCE NWBLT 3 A5 NWBLT ET:Layout 1 14/3/14 15:22 Page 6 1. INTRODUCTION This report on world-class science and innovation in the North West of England (“the North West”) has been prepared by the North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT) in collaboration with Local Enterprise Partnerships, local authorities, academic and research institutions and other relevant partners. It is presented as part of the NWBLT’s current series of thought leadership reports covering subjects of major significance to the economic development of the North West - earlier reports have addressed strategic issues relating to skills for industry and transport infrastructure priorities. The primary purpose of this, our third such report, is to examine opportunities now existing for successful commercial exploitation of world-class science, technology and innovation in the North West and to consider – in the context of the national objective of a globally competitive UK economy – whether more could and should be done to maximise the economic potential of this region of excellence. The