Recent research by the Enterprise Research Centre found the UK has what it described as a 'clear arc of innovation' running from Cambridge through the south east Midlands and along the M4 corridor taking in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
The research was based on six key factors, including the new products being brought to market, levels of R&D and collaboration activity. Although it covered the period 2010 to 2012, the data was collected from more than 14,000 companies and found that while, in general, there was less innovation activity in more northern and peripheral areas, there were pockets of 'above average' innovation right across the UK.
According to the report's lead author Stephen Roper: "The findings run counter to the dominant narrative of a country dependent on London, with innovation being much more dispersed across the country than was previously thought.
"Innovation is strongly linked to growth, exports and productivity – all areas in which the UK economy needs to improve if we want to boost our international competitiveness."
Roper argues that policymakers and researchers need to examine the local factors that could be contributing to regional variations so the UK could better create the conditions for firms to 'become more innovative, creating jobs and growth in every corner of the UK'.
According to Kevin Baughan, director of technology and innovation at Innovate UK: "Innovation is taking place right across the UK. From our experiences, there is no so called 'golden triangle phenomenon'. We are seeing strong innovation taking place across areas like the North East and South West and it is certainly not centred around London and the South.
"Just as it is important that research, innovation and commercialisation is developed across all parts of the economy, so is it important to society that it is now developed right across all parts of the UK. Innovate UK's role is to respond to the innovation needs of businesses, wherever they are located, as well as to develop the strengths of local areas in the pursuit of the global markets of the future."
In this month's budget, the Chancellor, George Osborne, spoke of the importance attached to encouraging and promoting innovation and will be inviting universities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), businesses and city councils to work with each other to map regional strengths in science and innovation, to identify 'areas of strategic focus for different regions' through a series of science and innovation audits.
The Government will look to invite universities to develop proposals for supporting local collaboration, building on successful university collaborative partnership models such as the N8, M6 and GW4, which will then be supported through funding streams such as the Research Partnership Investment Fund.
Craig Wright, CEO of Wright Industries, a specialist technology, business growth and acquisition investment group believes the UK has seen as marked surge in innovation and greater corporate creativity in recent years.
"Research and development is certainly recovering and, from the evidence I see, there is certainly more investment in innovation, driven in no small part by the huge investment we've been seeing in universities, which are fast becoming centres of excellence, supporting business across numerous sectors."
Neill Rickett, CEO of Versarian, a developer of advanced engineering materials, agrees: "Generally, hives of activity build up around universities, as the tech culture that exists there is a powerful catalyst for innovation, as well as being a valuable pool for recruiting engineering staff. Key locations include Cambridge, Southampton, London, Oxford, Liverpool and Manchester.
"We have worked very closely with the Materials Science Department at University of Liverpool on the development of our thermal management solutions and the University of Manchester (along with the National Graphene Institute) has proved an important partner for us in relation to our graphene manufacturing division 2-DTech. In both cases, we have been able to form mutually beneficially relationships – so that game changing IP can be commercialised."
University research collaborations have a key role to play in taking technical innovations and turning them into viable commercial propositions.
In Belfast, for example, the Centre for Secure Information Technology (CSIT) at Queen's University supports work being done to enhance security in virtual environments and connected devices, tackle malware threats and detect and prevent fraud or the theft of personal information.
The CSIT in Belfast is one of seven Innovation and Knowledge Centres being funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Supported by co-funding from InnovateUK and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), these centres look to commercialise emerging technologies through creating early stage critical mass is areas of disruptive technology.
"Queen's focus on cyber security has helped to create a cluster of technology companies and is boosting both innovation and facilitating the commercialisation of cutting edge technologies," suggests Baughan. "There are more than 250 companies working around the university and more than 900 new jobs have been created as a result."
"Over the last five years, we have successfully blended world class research and innovation to deliver economic impact nationally, internationally and regionally," explained Professor John McCanny from CSIT.
Looking to the future, how can the UK accelerate economic growth and productivity both locally and regionally?
Innovate UK and the Research Councils have a powerful role to play in that process because, by looking at previous investments, they will be able to create a geographic picture right across the UK.
"If we can see where businesses and universities are investing, we can see where our economy is heading and how we are thinking about the future; not just as it was in the past," explains Baughan. "This will help provide everyone involved in technology and innovation with a very different, evidence based discussion about local and regional economic growth and how it can be best supported to get the biggest impact."
The recently published Dowling Review of Business-University Research Collaborations made a number of recommendations including reducing complexity, fostering relationships and introducing effective brokerage, particularly for small businesses.
Collaborations between business and universities provide a "myriad of benefits to their participants," according to the report.
Investment in collaborative research R&D delivers numerous benefits to the UK, helping to drive growth and productivity improvements for firms and high quality research outputs. The report, however, warned that the UK was failing to fully reap the benefits provided by the opportunity to connect innovative businesses with the excellence in the UK's academic research base.
Despite that, the UK remains a good place to set up and run a business.
As Rickett said: "Yes, it is still tough and there is a lot of competition to contend with, so we can't afford to be complacent. But I'm a firm believer that the Government, working with universities and business, is building a strong foundation for a more robust, high achieving tech industry in the UK."
