Big Innovation Centre | Markets, places and networks

Building innovative markets, places and networks

Innovation can come from anywhere, but it tends to be concentrated in certain areas. New technologies – from the steam engine to the internet – can generate waves of rapid innovation. New demands and challenges on the economy – such as ageing populations or climate change – provide huge opportunities for innovators. This means that some parts of the economy grow faster than others and that some places benefit while others struggle. If we are to build a national innovation ecosystem in the UK we need to understand these trends and reflect how innovation works in practice.

The Big Innovation Centre will pursue a wide-ranging research agenda in this area, broadly covering three areas:

Innovative markets – growth tends to be concentrated in relatively few industries. Which parts of the UK economy are most likely to experience rapid growth over the coming decades? What can we do to ensure their success?
Changing networks and business models – as the global economy changes, businesses are adopting new models and forming new networks with one another. How can we support these networks to make UK business successful?
Innovative places – some towns and cities are more innovative than others, which can create serious disparities within the UK. How can we help innovative places grow while enabling struggling areas to catch up?

Current research

What are the business models of the future in areas such as the digital economy and the low-carbon economy? How can government help to make new business models viable and work effectively without creating an unlevel playing field?
How does demand interact with and drive innovation? How can businesses respond to and shape consumer demand?
What is open innovation? What can be done by different players to foster and benefit from open innovation practices?
How can service firms harmonise open business models with intellectual property rights?
How does the UK's design industry fit into a global context? How can UK design firms better interact with the intellectual property system?
How does increasing globalisation interact with the innovation system at a local level?
How can the UK build on its historical success in the creative industries? What can be done by various industry actors to foster innovation in this area?
How can an enterprising state take action to create new markets and make existing ones more efficient and dynamic?

Related Reports

Econometric Analysis of Four Waves of International Procurement and Investment Decisions
This report for UKTI investigates what drives the investment or procurement decisions of multinational firms.

Hiba Sameen and Neil Lee
31 January 2013

Market Making - A modern approach to industrial policy
Markets for new technologies do not emerge instantaneously – they have to be imagined and made. This report looks at how government can help create new markets.

Andrew Sissons and Spencer Thompson
04 December 2012

Self-driving cars
Self-driving cars exist, but they are a long way from taking over the roads. What would need to happen before we all travel in driverless cars?

Luis Araujo, Katy Mason and Martin Spring
04 December 2012

Related Events

Andrew Sissons on the future of UK design rights at the Westminster Forum
How the UK’s intellectual property framework can support innovation and growth in design - and develop the growing contribution of design business and design-intensive industries to the UK economy.

Tuesday, 23 October 2012

Birgitte Andersen on Creativity & Sustainability in the Digital Age at Google Campus
Birgitte gave a talk on Sustainability in the Digital Age at a Being Human event hosted at Google Campus.

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Birgitte Andersen on Expanding the Entrepreneurial Economy, Tory Reform
Birgitte Andersen speaks at a TRG event at the 2012 Conservative Party Conference.

Tuesday, 09 October 2012

Related Blogs

Innovative firms face greater obstacles in obtaining finance, despite being crucial to the recovery
After the launch of the 'Credit and the Crisis' report last week, Hiba takes us through the key findings of her research and their implications.

Hiba Sameen
11 June 2013

Supporting our strengths?: Industrial strategy, the creative economy and open innovation

Ben Reid
24 April 2013

The policy agenda for data
His final blog in the series on data, Andrew takes a look at the concerns of policy makers regarding data and the recommendation he would give them.

Andrew Sissons
18 January 2013

Related NewsCoverage

Our report on innovative SMEs facing obstacles to finance was reported by Bdaily Business News

Bdaily
17 June 2013

Innovative SMEs stifled by lack of funds, is4profit comment on our report

is4profit
11 June 2013

The TAA publish an article on our 'Credit and the Crisis' report

TaxAssist Accountants
10 June 2013

Related PressReleases

Banks are failing to lend to firms which will drive the recovery, new report shows
A new report published today (7 June) by the Big Innovation Centre warns that innovative small firms – those most crucial to jobs and growth – are finding it significantly more difficult than their peers to secure the funding they need to grow.

Tom Phillips
07 June 2013

Government doing too little to secure jobs and growth from new technologies, such as self-driving cars and 3D printing
The government must do more to turn new technologies into jobs and growth, according to a report published today (4 December) by the business-backed Big Innovation Centre. There are many new technologies with the potential to transform the UK economy but the government is not putting enough emphasis on creating markets for them.

Anna Kharbanda
04 December 2012

Encouraging jobs figures but poor economic performance means real wages still falling
Commenting on today’s labour market statistics, Charles Levy, senior economist, at The Work Foundation, said:

Charles Levy
14 November 2012

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