University backs regional innovation and enterprise plan

Skyline of Liverpool

The University of Liverpool, in conjunction with Liverpool John Moores University, is helping to boost growth in high-value sectors of the Liverpool City Region’s economy.

A plan to accelerate growth in key areas of the economy has been devised by the city region’s ‘Knowledge Economy’ group, comprising representatives from universities, industry, the NHS, Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus and local bodies such as Liverpool Vision, the Northwest Science Council and The Mersey Partnership.

The plan will encourage growth in areas of the economy in which the city region has distinctive strengths and the potential to be a UK leader, such as life sciences, advanced manufacturing, creative and digital industries, and financial and professional services.

Proposals in the Knowledge Economy Plan could secure an additional 58,000 jobs for the region’s knowledge economy by 2022 – an increase of 15%. It will help to realise the full potential of major projects such as the Royal Liverpool Biomedical Campus and the further development of Liverpool Science Park, Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus and Knowsley Industrial Park. The plan also supports the development of ‘Superport’, designed to re-establish the Mersey as the principal logistics centre and port of the North.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Howard Newby, who is chairing the Knowledge Economy Group, said: “In recent years, employment in knowledge-intensive sectors has grown at almost two-and-a-half times the rate of the rest of the city region’s economy. The current economic climate means that the city region must work smarter to derive maximum value from its full range of knowledge assets if it is to continue to thrive.

“Leveraging the expertise and talent within the city region’s universities and further education colleges will help build on recent business growth and enable Liverpool to make the transition to sustainable private sector-led growth and prosperity.”

The plan is available at to view on The Mersey Partnership’s website: http://www.merseyside.org.uk/displaypage.asp?page=240

Leave a comment