Launch of Big Innovation Centre

Championing a world class innovation and investment ecosystem in the UK

The Big Innovation Centre will think, influence and do, so contributing to make Britain a global innovation hub.

“Our vision is to make the UK a World Class Global Innovation and Investment Hub by 2025, and to build similar initiatives elsewhere.” Director of Big Innovation Centre vision, Professor Birgitte Andersen

“I hope that in 15 years’ time Britain has recognisably lifted its growth rate and its sustainability, and that one of the drivers of improvement will have been the thinking, ideas and example set by the Big Innovation Centre.” Chair of Steering Group, Will Hutton

We aim to change Britain – to deliver a step-change in its capacity to innovate and generate wealth. Nothing more; nothing less 

Launch week:

• Vision 2025 blog: Fast forward to 2025: Britain established as a global innovation hub (6^th of September 2011, Professor Birgitte Andersen) – LINK TO SHOWCASE
• Catalyst blog: A step-change for UK growth and innovation (7^th of September 2011, Professor Birgitte Andersen and Will Hutton) – LINK TO SHOWCASE
• Launch report: Making the UK a Global Innovation Hub How business, finance and an enterprising state can transform the UK (8^th of September 2011, Birgitte Andersen, Ian Brinkley and Will Hutton) – LINK TO REPORT

• EVENT 1: OFFICIAL LAUNCH EVENT of BIG INNOVATION CENTRE (8^th of September 2018) – See event details below.
• Partner blog: Why the GSK is proud to be a part of the Big Innovation Centre (12th September 2011, Dr Jackie Parkin) – LINK TO SHOWCASE
• EVENT 2: PARTNER EVENT with Google: THE BIG DIGITAL DEBATE – See event details below. (see also “Why is it so hard to make money on the web?” – LINK TO SHOWCASE
• EVENT 3: HUB IN A DAY: Silicon Roundabout to Silicon Valley: The future of Tech. (14 September 2011) This event was co-hosted with the Future of London. – See event details below.
• EVENT 4: TASKFORCE MEETING: The Public Innovation Challenge. This was a high-profile roundtable conversation between the Big Innovation Centre, government (Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, UK) and key figures from the innovation community. (15 September 2011)

Launch of taskforces:

The five working groups or taskforces that Big Innovation Centre defined for the launch in 2011 address the founding pillars of the ecosystem which need to work together for building innovation and investment hubs:

1. Building innovative markets, places and networks
2. Building an innovation friendly financial system
3. Universities as interactive partners
4. Skills for Innovation
5. Enterprising state: Public action to drive private innovation

The Roundel of Big Innovation Centre logo is formed from those five overlapping crescents, one for each taskforce. Collectively, the roundel of the Big Innovation Centre logo signifies a ‘hub’ where people and ideas can come together in open innovation forums:

Vision and mission at launch 2011

• The Big Innovation Centre exists to help catalyse the development of the UK to build a world class innovation ecosystem by 2025 and grow the UK economy out of its current crisis.
• The UK would become one of the hubs of the global innovation system – one of the principal ‘go-to’ places where ideas are shared, tested and realised.
• Our aim is to exhibit this approach – co-creation and open innovation – in our own structures and processes.

Business concept

• Ecosystem approach (markets-places-networks, banking and innovation finance, university-business links, business models, skills, enterprising state)
• Open Innovation (business models, university as co-creator, policy)
• Independent view: Evidence based policy recommendations
• Committed: To be working closely with the government on innovation and growth and to build a truly enterprising state.

Founding strategic sponsoring partners at launch: representation of the ecosystem

Companies

1. BAE Systems
2. Barclays
3. EDF Energy
4. Guardian
5. Google
6. GSK
7. MAN Group
8. NESTA
9. PwC
10. Unilever

Public innovation agent, universities and trusts

11. Technology Strategy Board
12. University Consortium (Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), University of Bristol, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University of Leeds, Newcastle University, University of Oxford, Sheffield University, UCL (University College London), University Alliance
13. Lord Sainsbury
14. Jon Moulton

Very shortly after the launch we were also joined by

15. UK Design Council
16. Experian
17. IPA
18. Logica

Provocation questions for the event:

The digital dilemma

The internet has changed the economy – and our lives – for good. Over the last decade the internet economy has been a key driver of growth and jobs and today Britain leads the world on ecommerce, spending more and exporting more than anyone else. By 2015, the internet economy is forecast to rise to 10% of UK GDP.

But while the internet economy is a powerhouse of growth for the UK, creative industries, from film-makers to newspapers, are under more pressure than ever before to make the web pay for their content.

The result is an explosion of innovation in high-quality content online. Great content is being delivered in new ways, through platforms like Netflix or iTunes, to new fast-growing formats, like Kindle or tablets. But what are the models of innovation that will help high-quality providers grow?

Different players are betting on different models: advertising-driven, or subscription-based. But can either approach succeed?

And consumer demands are changing too – with news becoming quicker, faster, and fewer than 140 characters. And with the bulk of the world’s online videos just a few minutes long – how will what we think of as high-quality content evolve in the future?

This debate addressed such questions as:

• What business models can firms adopt to make money in the digital economy?
• What will high-quality content look like in 15 years: could YouTube ever produce an Oscar winner, or a Twitter feed win the Man Booker Prize?
• If traditional content providers, such as newspapers, are forced to cut back on journalists, what would the implications be for British society?
• What does this mean for policy? Should we be intervening differently?

Event publications

• Film of the event
• Blog of the Event “Why is it so hard to make money on the web?”(Birgitte Andersen) – LINK TO BLOG)
• Publication of the Event: “The Big Digital Dilemma – How should we pay for the web”  LINK to report