An Innovation System for the Manchester City Region in 2015

Aims of this Review

• Are the key actions emerging from the foresight workshop still important and achievable?

• Who can take responsibility for delivery?

• Which key actions shall we recommend to the MIG/LEP for priority action?

5 dimensions of actions

People and skills (1)

• Establish a City-region mentoring scheme whereby CEOs and CFOs or large firms mentor– Equivalents in SMEs– Equivalents in public organisations– Annual rotation

• Organise professional advisers MCC, Pro M/C and M:KC to– Identify best practice– Seed and grow networks– Badge and make available– Tie into funding– Promote IP understanding programmes

People and skills (2)• Higher education to

– Respond quickly to user demand for curriculum changes and encourage user-generated training

– Embed entrepreneurship modules throughout higher education system

– Increase mobility between academic staff and business

• Schools to– Improve career advice so children consider setting up businesses– Enshrine creativity as core component of education

• Embrace higher education as a key sector for Manchester region – A business and provider– Mutual support and mutual brands with City and Business

Connected innovation ecosystems

• Make open innovation a key characteristic of Manchester– Build on strategic links between universities and their corporate

partners to engage SMEs

• Support networking– Innovation social network and innovation cafe

– Bring together actors in learning spaces and places

– Dialogue and mobility between private and public sector

– Incentives for networking not just outcomes

• Break down cross-sector barriers– Artists-in-residence in companies

– Programme of events to focus on key issues (eg low carbon) and meet people cross-sector

Connected innovation eco-systems (2)

• Make Manchester a market friendly to innovation– Demand innovation in publicly procured goods and

services– Find ways to shift public sector spend to region –

new openings with likely outsourcing etc in wake of cuts

– Buy more goods and services from SMEs– Find ways to harness demand from private sector

to drive innovation

Public and private innovation opportunities

• Business creation programmes for public service management to transform into private sector delivery companies

• Laboratory Manchester project for testing of new products and services for consumers

• Embrace low carbon ahead of the curve• Bring together funders who want to address social issues

(litter, crime…) and third sector (for community engagement) to co-fund employment/skills development and innovation

Finance

• Establish proof of concept fund– Local and national government deliver a city-specific fund– Easy to access, fast decisions– Long and short term support flexibility in context to idea– Link to management and business training for beneficiaries– Pick up proven concepts with further advice and support

• Angel networks– Educate wealthy individuals about investment in innovation– Create more opportunities for business angel networks to

engage with investment opportunities

• Business co-finance for graduate and PhD students

Telling the story• Promote Manchester

– Improve the narrative and commission series which exploits past, present and future

– Build the narrative around creative, environment, health and life sciences and sport (performance and rehabilitation)

– Encourage shared marketing messages between universities and City to attract and retain students/graduates

• Talent marketing strategy to communicate the long term attractions of Manchester as a place to live and work– To potential students– To retain or re-attract the best graduates

Telling the story (2)

• Create a C21st Knowledge Hub using Web 2.0 platform to include– Innovation stories open to media– University data– IP applications…

Summary

• A vision of the City region in a post-austerity 2015 which depends upon our own actions not those of central government

• An understanding that innovation is about– Changing cultures and practices– Addressing both the supply side and the demand

side– A detailed action agenda– Turning an already good story into a great one

• Above all building a connected ecosystem where all parts work together for the greater good

How do we present Manchester as a vibrant and skilled environment for innovative solutions to corporate business needs ?

• A simpler innovation ecosystem is required. This will require the creation of a clear road-map.

• Manchester needs to establish a clear Innovation brand equity. All stakeholders will need to come together to develop this. The Universities are key in this context.

• Manchester as a city should be intentional about marketing its innovation capabilities. People with significant global marketing pedigree must be recruited for this task.

• The Universities should enhance their interconnectivity.  

• Manchester should aim to be the second-city hub for Britain as an innovation hot-bed. Manchester should lead the establishment of Fraunhofer Institute equivalents across the N8.

• Experienced big-business innovators should be the ones who are central to taking these initiatives to the global R&D world. They speak the global language of R&D. Manchester should use the leadership of the North West Science Council to develop this thinking.  

How does Manchester provide the support structures that make SMEs more efficient and inter-connected, as a

precursor to dramatic growth ?

• Manchester can use its digital leadership to create the best innovation communication infrastructure in the world. That the BBC is coming here should catalyse this.

• The Science Parks can take the lead in creating a virtual SME innovation system. The SME Solutions Network. Using the best in augmented reality technology.

• The Universities should fund and create easy-to-navigate cross departmental service structures that support SMEs.

How does Manchester use its public issues as the catalyst for the creation of innovative societal solutions ?

• The city should create a Cost Innovation challenge. This would support the creation of new businesses that are wholly focussed on increasing cost efficiencies in the public services.

• A concept of “What can you do that is new?” should be pioneered in deprived communities. The basis for new programs should be social business, creativity and innovation. Manchester should look again at funding through micro-financing. The banks (and big businesses with a direct stake in the city region) should be directly challenged to support this kind of community initiative.

How does Manchester build further the creative and innovative culture within its schools ?

• Manchester should formally establish structures that links schools directly with businesses and the Universities. There is a need to get business people and university faculty more engaged in classrooms and for a broader set of students to get more experience and awareness of business and higher education. The city region could and should drive this kind of initiative.

• Manchester should actively identify charismatic business and University leaders in the city region and get them in front of as many children as possible……not a piecemeal school-by-school activity, a regional initiative.