Abstract
Science and innovation are increasingly seen by the UK government as central to regional economic development policy, with a new emphasis on ‘place’ a prominent feature of related policy initiatives. This is reflected in debates over the ‘Northern Powerhouse’, most visibly through the £235 million investment in the ‘Crick of the North’ Royce Institute for Advanced Materials Research and Innovation, which is the largest single investment in science in the North of England in a generation. At the same time, public investment in science and innovation is ever more focused within the South-East ‘Golden Triangle’, with concentration driven by the Research Excellence Framework and by the pulling power of the labour market in London and the South East. This chapter teases apart the rhetoric from the reality of science and innovation investment in the North, ask what decision makers in the North can do to harness science and innovation in support of economic development, and examining the changing role of universities in local political economies.
References
BEIS. 2016. Science and innovation audits: Wave 1 summary reports. London: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Bentley, G., and L. Pugalis. 2013. New directions in economic development: Localist policy discourses and the Localism Act. Local Economy 28 (3): 257–274.
Bhidé, A. 2010. The venturesome economy: How innovation sustains prosperity in a more connected world. New York: Princeton University Press.
BIS. 2015. Public research and innovation expenditure: Geographic breakdown of public research and innovation expenditure. London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
BIS. 2016. Case for the creation of UK research and innovation. London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Callaway, E. 2015. Sir Paul’s Cathedral: Europe’s superlab. Nature 552 (7557): 406–408.
Centre for Cities. 2015. Northern Powerhouse factsheet: Key figures on the city regions in the Northern Powerhouse. London: Centre for Cities.
Charles, D.R., and P. Benneworth. 2001. Are we realizing our potential? Joining up science and technology policy in English regions. Regional Studies 35 (1): 73–79.
CLES. 2015. Creating a good local economy: The role of anchor institutions. Manchester: Centre for Local Economic Strategies.
Cookson, C. 2013. Building on London’s scientific tradition. Financial Times, December 4, 2013. Available from: https://www.ft.com/content/9b1b2222-55bb-11e3-96f5-00144feabdc0. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Curry, S. 2016. Why the higher education and research bill must be amended. The Guardian, October 18, 2016. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2016/oct/18/higher-education-research-bill-needs-amended. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Donald, A. 2017. All eyes are on Sir Mark Walport, the new supremo of UK science. The Guardian, February 9, 2017. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2017/feb/09/all-eyes-are-on-sir-mark-walport-the-new-supremo-of-uk-science. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Ehlenz, M.M. 2015. Neighborhood revitalization and the anchor institution. Urban Affairs Review 52 (5): 714–50.
Else, H. 2015. N8 remains optimistic despite REF slide. Times Higher Education, April 9, 2015. Available from: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/n8-remains-optimistic-despite-ref-slide/2019541.article. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Flanagan, K. 2017. The six billion dollar man. Research Fortnight, February 15, 2017. Available from: http://www.researchresearch.com/news/article/?articleId=1365986. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Flanagan, K., and M.P. Keenan. 1998. Trends in UK science policy. In Science and technology in the United Kingdom, ed. P.N. Cunningham. London: Cartermill. Available from: https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/files/32298306/FULL_TEXT.PDF. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Flanagan, K., E. Uyarra, and F. Kitagawa. 2017. The university as a city-regional governance actor: The case of the University of Manchester in Greater Manchester. In The urban university and the knowledge economy: New spaces of interaction, ed. P. Ingallina and D. Charles. London: Routledge, forthcoming.
Greenhalgh, T., J. Raftery, S. Hanney, and M. Glover. 2016. Research impact: A narrative review. BMC Medicine 14 (1): 78. doi:10.1186/s12916-016-0620-8.
HEFCE. 2016. Consultation on the second research excellence framework. Bristol: Higher Education Funding Council for England.
HM Government. 2017. Building our industrial strategy. London: HM Government.
HM Treasury. 2015. Summer budget. London: HM Treasury.
HM Treasury. 2016. Northern Powerhouse strategy. London: HM Treasury.
HM Treasury and BIS. 2014. Our plan for growth: Science and innovation. London: HM Treasury and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
House of Lords. 2003. Science and the RDAs: Setting the regional agenda: Fifth report of the House of Lords select committee on science and technology. London: House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology.
Kingman, J. 2016. UK research and innovation: “Nine brains in one body”. Times Higher Education, June 2, 2016. Available from: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/comment/uk-research-and-innovation-nine-brains-in-one-body. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Kitagawa, F. 2004. Universities and regional advantage: Higher education and innovation policies in English regions. European Planning Studies 12 (6): 835–852.
Lowe, N., and M. Feldman. 2008. Constructing entrepreneurial advantage: Consensus building, technological uncertainty and emerging industries. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy Society 1 (2): 265–284.
McKenzie, L. 2016. Regional science audits “lacking in hard data”. Research Fortnight, November 23, 2016.
McLeish, T. 2015. New science policy initiatives threaten to destroy UK’s research excellence. The Conversation, January 13, 2015. Available from: https://theconversation.com/new-science-policy-initiatives-threaten-to-destroy-uks-research-excellence-36147. Accessed 14 Feb 2017.
Merton, R.K. 1968. The Matthew effect in science. Science 159: 56–62.
Nathan, M. 2015. After Florida: Towards an economics of diversity. European Urban and Regional Studies 22 (1): 3–19.
Nightingale, P., and A. Coad. 2014. The myth of the science park economy. DEMOS Quarterly, April 23, 2014. Available from: https://quarterly.demos.co.uk/article/issue-2/innovation-and-growth/. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Osborne, G. 2014. We need a Northern Powerhouse. Speech delivered in Manchester on June 23, 2014. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/chancellor-we-need-a-northern-powerhouse. Accessed 21 Feb 2017.
Perraudin, F. 2016. BIS confirms Sheffield office will close with jobs moving to London. The Guardian, May 26, 2016. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/26/department-business-innovation-skills-confirms-sheffield-office-close-jobs-moving-london. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Perry, B. 2007. The multi-level governance of science policy in England. Regional Studies 41: 1051–1067.
Perry, B. 2008. Academic knowledge and urban development: Theory, policy and practice. In Knowledge-based urban development: Planning and applications in the information era, ed. T. Yigitcanlar, K. Velibeyoglu, and S. Baum, 21–41. London: IGI Global.
Rankin, J. 2013. AstraZeneca’s move south will leave the north-west without a vital element. The Observer, March 31, 2013. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/mar/31/astra-zeneca-move-south-north-west-vital-element. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Rigby, E. 2015. Sajid Javid raises doubts over industrial policy. Financial Time., July 1, 2015. Available from: https://www.ft.com/content/eda7ebb6-1f44-11e5-aa5a-398b2169cf79. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Smith, H.L. 2007. Universities, innovation, and territorial development: A review of the evidence. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 25: 98–114.
Uyarra, E. 2010. Conceptualizing the regional roles of universities, implications and contradictions. European Planning Studies 18: 1227–1246.
Warren, L., F. Kitagawa, and M. Eatough. 2010. Developing the knowledge economy through university linkages: An exploration of RDA strategies through case studies of two English regions. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 11 (4): 293–306.
Wilsdon, J. 2015. Sajid Javid’s blueprint for BIS heightens fears for research funding. The Guardian, October 1, 2015. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2015/oct/01/sajid-javids-blueprint-for-bis-heightens-fears-for-research-funding. Accessed 7 Mar 2013.
Wilsdon, J. 2016. UKRI if you want to: How to read the new research landscape. Wonkhe, May 18, 2016. Available from: http://wonkhe.com/blogs/analysis-ukri-if-you-want-to-how-to-read-the-new-research-funding-landscape/. Accessed 15 Feb 2017.
Wilsdon, J., K. Flanagan, and S. Westlake. 2016. What will an extra £4.7 billion do for UK science and innovation? The Guardian, November 24, 2016. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2016/nov/24/autumn-statement-what-will-an-extra-47-billion-do-for-uk-science-and-innovation. Accessed 7 Mar 2017.
Work Foundation. 2006. Ideopolis: Manchester case study. London: Work Foundation.
Wray, F., and D. Charles. 2009. Science fiction? Science cities in an international context: Report to NESTA. Newcastle: KITE, Newcastle University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Flanagan, K., Wilsdon, J. (2018). Powerhouse of Science? Prospects and Pitfalls of Place-Based Science and Innovation Policies in Northern England. In: Berry, C., Giovannini, A. (eds) Developing England’s North. Building a Sustainable Political Economy: SPERI Research & Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62560-7_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62560-7_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-62559-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-62560-7
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)