Oxfordshire plays a pivotal role in UK’s ambition to be a scientific superpower

The new insightful Oxfordshire’s Innovation Engine 2023 report, published by Advanced Oxford in conjunction with Elsevier, assesses the growth of the region’s science and technology ecosystem over the last 10 years, the challenges ahead and puts forward six actionable recommendations to help Oxfordshire support the government’s ambition for the UK to be a scientific superpower by 2030.

As a member of Advanced Oxford’s board, The Oxford Trust was pleased to host the launch of the report at a prestigious event at our  Wood Centre for Innovation on 6^th June 2023, which was attended by over 100 guests, including Professor Sir John Bell and leading Research & Development based companies from across Oxfordshire.

Oxfordshire’s thriving innovation ecosystem

This latest research looks at the progress that has been made in the decade since the first Oxfordshire Innovation Engine report, Realising the Growth Potential 2013, and its update in 2016 were published, with the support of The Oxford Trust. Pulling together a wealth of data, the new report reveals the region has 2,950 high-tech businesses employing nearly 29,000 people, while Oxfordshire’s knowledge economy contributed £2.4 billion to the UK economy (Gross Value Added in 2021) – a 72% growth in GVA compared to 2013.

It is clear from the report that Oxfordshire has a thriving innovation ecosystem with a flourishing community of spin-outs and start-ups. In fact, 64% of the region’s businesses are innovation-active according to the UK Innovation Survey and 5,700 patent applications have been made by Oxfordshire based firms and institutions in the last five years (to 2022).

As well as confirming Oxfordshire’s position as a global scientific powerhouse, the report identifies constraints which could impede future growth of the science and research sector in Oxfordshire, and similarly other regions in the UK. The report highlights the need to improve data connectivity, power infrastructure and the transport system, which could all be a block to future growth and need to be addressed if the UK’s ambition to be a scientific superpower is to be realised.

 

Although the region’s science parks and campuses have grown substantially in the last decade, space also remains a challenge with the demand for office and laboratory floorspace exceeding one million square foot. This mismatch of supply and demand is driving inflation in rents. Furthermore, the report reveals that technology-focused businesses in the county still tend to be male dominated, in both their formation and leadership, with only 18% having at least one female founder.

Sarah Haywood, Managing Director of Advanced Oxford, explained: “Advanced Oxford intends that this report acts as a stimulus to Oxfordshire’s innovation community, to come together, to drive the next decade of prosperity, to build a forward-looking and resilient economy. New mechanisms and structures are needed – Advanced Oxford will play its part – but a collective endeavour is needed if Oxfordshire’s innovation ecosystem is to flourish, strengthen and play a pivotal role in making the UK a beacon for science, technology, and innovation.”

An interactive innovation dashboard

Oxfordshire’s Innovation Engine 2023 is published alongside a new ‘innovation dashboard’ designed by Elsevier for the Oxfordshire region. The dashboard draws together a set of indicators that attempt to characterise the ecosystem, giving a timely and relevant picture of the knowledge economy across the region. It is intended that this dashboard will be enhanced and developed as new data inputs become available.

Speaking at the launch event, Professor Sir John Bell said: “I welcome the work by Advanced Oxford and Elsevier to draw together this report and dashboard. It is timely, given the UK’s ambition to be a scientific superpower. Oxfordshire has an enormous contribution to make to the UK ambition, but we cannot be complacent. There is still a lot that needs to be done if we want to realise the full potential of this region to solve some of the most pressing, global challenges we face.

“The Oxford region has the ideas and the talent to be a leader in innovation, but we need to see greater leadership, investment and we need to solve some of our most pressing infrastructure problems. Oxfordshire’s Innovation Engine 2023 provides a stimulus for the region to come together to drive forward our innovation ecosystem.”

Steve Burgess, CEO, The Oxford Trust says: “The Oxford Trust is proud to support Advanced Oxford and the launch of Oxfordshire’s Innovation Engine 2023 report at our Wood Centre for Innovation. It is good to see that the region is building on its position as a leading high-tech cluster and fulfilling its potential for growth. We hope the report will drive the next decade of prosperity in the region.”

Six recommendations

The report calls for action to address the challenges and sets out six recommendations:

• Strengthen leadership across the region in relation to innovation.
• The City Council and the County Council need to work together to develop a much needed, future-looking transport system, which is Oxfordshire-wide, not just focused on the City of Oxford.
• Grow and diversify the number of risk capital investors operating within the region.
• Develop a new, clear, strategy, with collective buy-in, for inward investment into the region. Different players within the ecosystem need to work together to ensure that Oxfordshire is open, coherent and can respond to potential investors.
• Join up nodes of innovation across the region and help internal and external stakeholders to navigate the landscape through better defined pathways and connectors.
• Develop a suite of communications tools and assets, tailored to the needs of different audiences, which can be used by all players, to tell Oxfordshire’s innovation story.

A united voice for the high-tech and innovation industry, Advanced Oxford is a research-led membership organisation of senior leaders from the major knowledge-intensive businesses in the Oxford region. Members include companies, universities, the NHS through Oxford Academic Health Science Network and providers of innovation infrastructure and support such as The Oxford Trust and Oxford Innovation Advice.

Download the full report or register your interest in supporting the report’s recommendations, at www.advancedoxford.com/innovation-engine

For more information on Advanced Oxford, visit www.AdvancedOxford.com.