Tagged / cross-disciplinary

Innovation defined? Outcomes and connections ….

innovation, Knowledge Exchange

Innovate 2011v4

Following on from the blog post yesterday on  Innovation the next set of outcomes and connections introduces the concept:

Game changer 2 = UK innovators + regional priorities

It was as Minister for Universities, Science and Cities in December 2014 that the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP launched “Our plan for Growth: science and innovation“.

It was the first time that the importance of place was recognised in the science and innovation strategy and set in motion a series of new conversations and the development of a new set of connections.

Now, eighteen months on, Innovate UK has in place a team of Regional Managers to understand the intercepts between regional priorities and UK excellence and we will be opening shortly our first regional hubs.

Our UK-wide competitions, not only ensures that the best results are obtained for the public money invested but the approach raises the game of every business participating in them.

If you are competing globally, it is not sufficient that you are the best in your locality; you need an intensity of competition, which ensures you are up there with the best in the world.

There is a powerful opportunity now for Innovate UK to partner with other funders in order to combine UK excellence with regional priorities.

Innovate UK consistently receives more proposals over the quality line than it can fund itself.

Going forward we look forward to working with a wide range of funders to invest in many more proposals, which are both over the quality line and aligned to regional priorities. It’s an exciting way forward and is already in trial with Scottish Enterprise in the Biomedical Catalyst.

Read the blog post in full on Innovate UK’s website.

Innovation defined? Outcomes and connections ….

innovation

Innovate 2011v4

Everyone has a different definition for “innovation”.  Is the view of Kevin Baughan Director of Technology and Innovation at Innovate UK.  For him innovation defined simply as  “delivering better outcomes”.

It is broad enough in scope to reflect the importance of innovation in enhancing every aspect of our lives, whilst at the same time emphasising the criticality of delivery and the need for leadership and collaborations in order to achieve those better outcomes.

Better connections was a key theme of the new Secretary of State’s early speeches on introducing his new ministerial team The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, observed that: “[An industrial] strategy makes connections between what might otherwise be disparate forces; aligning them, rather than leaving them isolated or even opposed.”

So how do you use industrial strategy to make effective connections between what might otherwise be disparate forces and how do you then use those connections to deliver better outcomes? As part of a series of blog posts these ideas are introduced:

Game changer 1 = UK innovators + cross disciplinary science

Each sector of the economy is of course very different and the journey from concept to commercialisation is rarely a linear one but a clear industrial strategy fosters connections and alignment.

We have all experienced the powerful difference when you are in a team with a common purpose.

Following Sir Paul’s Nurse’s review, the government has set in motion legislation, which will bring together the Research Councils, Innovate UK and Research England into a single organisation – UKRI. Creating new opportunities to build even stronger connections both between research disciplines and between cross-disciplinary research and innovation.

This not only fits well with the benefits demonstrated by the earlier automotive example, but it moves the entire game on, by ensuring that it’s cross disciplinary research teams, which are integrated into cross technology innovation initiatives which are in pursuit of our future industrial strategies.

Read the blog post in full on Innovate UK’s website.