Enterprise and Innovation
A range of initiatives support the promotion of innovation in the South West. These include:
- Developing business incubation units and science parks;
- Developing a strategy to increase business birth-rate;
- Establishing a Regional Venture Capital Fund;
- Supporting priority sectors for the Region;
- Developing the South West Regional Observatory.
The South West of England Regional Development Agency has innovation as one of its key areas of work. It undertakes specific projects to encourage innovation in business and increases the rate of technology transfer between further and higher education, as well as public sector research establishments and businesses, particularly internationally.
Specific projects include:
- Knowledge Exploitation South West, which is a major initiative of the Higher Education Regional Development Association - South West to improve the productivity and competitiveness of regional businesses through better exploitation of the HE knowledge base in the Region;
- South West Science & Industry Council, which was recently established to promote a stronger understanding of the contribution science and technology can make to the economy of the Region and to improve the dialogue between key stakeholders from the business and academic communities.
The South West of England Regional Development Agency also works to encourage new enterprise and business growth to improve productivity and sustainable productivity. It also works to attract and retain foreign direct investment. The RDA engages in three market segments:
- Strategic businesses
- Growth businesses
- SMEs
The RDA focuses on key sectors: advanced engineering, ICT, marine, food & drink, tourism, creative industries, environmental technologies and biomedical.
