Sharing best practice and regional insight
Colin Sinclair, CEO of KQ Liverpool and Sciontec Liverpool, and Director of LSP and Sensor City, shares his thoughts on the role of innovation centres, future regional developments and levelling up, at a number of online events.
UKSPA: COVID-19 Update: Lessons from the past, the present and future challenges
Thursday 21st January @ 12-1:15pm
UKSPA’s first webinar of 2021 looked at the lessons learnt from the past nine months and considered the challenges, as well as the opportunities, ahead.
Alongside speakers from The Coalition for a Digital Economy, Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands, Exeter Science Park and Harwell Campus, Colin discussed the impact of the pandemic and the role of innovation centres in a post pandemic world.
Colin explained: “Adaptation is key. Innovation centres have to create pandemic resilient buildings and workspaces of the future, as well as dovetailing their region’s specialisms.”
With overall unemployment figures on the rise as a result of the pandemic, it is key that we continue to push ahead with shovel ready schemes, like HEMISPHERE in KQ Liverpool’s Paddington Village,
in order to create new employment opportunities (both knowledge intensive and supply chain).
The future focus should not just be on building buildings however, but on regional strengths. For Liverpool City Region, this is Health and Life Sciences, which is highly relevant in pandemic resilience and recovery.
Liverpool’s unique value proposition is a city powered by knowledge and fuelled by culture, which is now increasingly driven by health innovation. This focus on health, life sciences and tech, and the depth of our talent pool, will improve health outcomes, drive our economic recovery, and become our future USP.
Innovation centres therefore have a significant role to play in providing an environment where this expertise can thrive, making a real difference to the UK’s recovery and future pandemic defence.
Other key themes discussed during the session included Government support for tech start-ups, innovation culture, and customer wellbeing and mental health.
If you missed the webinar or would like to read all speakers’ presentation slides, please click here
Built Environment Network: Future Development Plans – Science & Innovation Parks
Monday 8th February @ 9:45-11:30am
This event will focus on the ever-growing sector that is science parks and innovation corridors – as the UK continues to be a hub for inward investment, education and new emerging technology.
A number of expert speakers from the realm of science parks and innovation corridors, including Rachael Patterson, Policy and Marketing Manager at Sciontec Liverpool, will come together on this unique panel to discuss their future development ambitions, the state of the market, the role that their facilities will play in a post-Brexit world and how their ongoing projects are key to creating a knowledge-based economy.
Registration link: https://www.built-environment-networking.com/event/future-development-plans-science-parks/
Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology: Roundtable on levelling up (R&D funding)
Monday 8th February – PM
At the request of Sir Patrick Vallance and Dame Nancy Rothwell, Colin Sinclair has been invited to join a virtual roundtable discussion, to consider the role that research and innovation activity can play in ‘levelling up’; to reduce economic disparities across the UK and promote equality of opportunity.
This exclusive event will be co-hosted by the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology (CST) and the Industrial Strategy Council (ISC) and will build on the CST’s previous advice to the Prime Minister.
The objective of the roundtable is to consider ‘what works’ in place-based R&D investments, from identifying local strengths, needs and opportunities, to ensuring decision-makers – both local and national – have the information and support to enable effective placed-based R&D decision-making.
Colin plans to raise the opportunity to level up in the North by recognising and promoting Liverpool City Region, Manchester and Cheshire’s strengths in Health and Life Sciences, focusing in particular on what the KQ Liverpool partners are doing on pandemic resilience, including mass testing, vaccine trials and digital health/civic data.
We are honoured to have a voice at this table, and Colin’s valuable input will help to inform the advice given to Government.
This is a private event and not available for public registration.
