Science City
Announcement by Gordon Brown in Dec 2004 prebudget statement that there would be three Science
Cities – Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne and York
Budget : Birmingham, Bristol and Nottingham
Key objective: to establish Britain as the optimal place
in the world for science-led business
Science City
• Lambert review December 2003
• Evidence from worldwide studies of the
importance of the physical nature of a
place to its success in undertaking science
and technology
• Focus on how science and technology
policy and expenditure could be integrated
with physical regeneration policy and
expenditure
Newcastle Science City
• Strategy for Success One North East
• Newcastle University’s plans for its
campus development
• City Council’s plans for the development of
the Discovery Quarter in the west central
area
Timetable
• Dec 2004 three RDA’s asked to develop
plans to take forward the Science City in
their region
• February 2005 initial document submitted
to the Chancellor
• June 2005 deadline for submission of
detailed plans for consideration in 2006
spending review
Structure
• Leadership group chaired by Paul Walker
• Task Group chaired by Pat Ritchie
executive management and co-ordination
(senior representatives of partner
organisations)
• Workstream Groups detailed development
of each of the main areas of activity
Objectives of Newcastle Science
City
• Development of internationally leading scientific
based research, business and education, in a
globally competitive environment, in the City of
Newcastle
• Integration of science and technological
research in areas of current and future strength
with related commercial and business
development
• Thus providing a key driver for the development
of the City, the City Region, the NE of England
and the UK
Newcastle Science City
• Hub to a wider network across the City
Region and Region
• Partnership of City Council, ONE, the
University of Newcastle, NHS and
businesses
• Other stakeholders Northumbria and
Durham Universities, Central Government
and Science and Industry Council
What are the advantages of being
a Science City?
• Being named a science city helps to
attract investment in science and
technology to the area.
• It allows universities and regional
businesses to bid for extra funds for
research.
Key Areas
• Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine
(collaboration of Newcastle University with ICfL,
Durham, Harvard and Monash Universities)
• Ageing and Health especially assistive
technologies
• Molecular Engineering (Chemical Engineering,
Chemistry, Physics, Engineering and
Nanotechnology (DTI UIC))
• Energy and the Environment
Technology Village
Biology
Civil Engineering and Geosciences
Agriculture, Food and Rural Development
Natural Sciences
Mechanical and Systems Engineering
Chemical Eng. and Advanced Materials
We map squarely onto *all* the Centres of Excellence and the Clusters
Science and Industry Council
Research base
Mathematics and Statistics
Marine Science and Technology
Electrical Electronic and Comp. Eng.
Computing Science
Centres of Excellence
Digital
Technology
and Media
New and
Renewable
Energy
Process
Industries
NorthSTAR
Nanotech,
Photonics& Life Sciences
MicroSystems
Northern Business
School
Clusters
Stephenson Centre,
RCID, EDC, ISRU, Design Unit
What will it cost?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Stem cells £34m
Ageing and health £25m
Molecular Engineering £25m
Energy and Environment £10.5m
Technology Village £43m
IHG relocation £15m
• Total £152.5m
Where will the money come from?
•
•
•
•
Specific Government grants
ONE (dedicated secretariat)
SRIF and its successor
Private sector
Workstreams
• Scientific research base (Malcolm Young)
• Commercialisation and Business support
(Douglas Robertson)
• Physical development (Larry Heslop)
• Public engagement and Education (Erica
Haimes)
Branding
• Historical context: Joseph Swan 125th
anniversary
• “From the darkness of the North he brought light
to London”
• York City and its taxi drivers
• NGI
• Stem cell publicity
• Launch of regional marketing strategy (£7m over
3 years : Passionate people, passionate places)
Richard Sykes
Financial Times March 11th 2004
• “There is a big problem in this country….that
all the excellence is concentrated in the
South of England ….That’s where the GDP is
generated…..You can’t just send it to the
North-East of England. People won’t go”
Sir Richard Sykes
th
FT March 11 2004
“You can't start funding things on
geography, you've got to fund things on
the basis of excellence and quality."
THE INSTITUTE FOR
AGEING AND HEALTH
Interdisciplinary research to promote the health and
well-being of older people
The North of England Science
Initiative
A major collaboration between the
Universities of Durham, Lancaster,
Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester,
Newcastle, Sheffield and York
‘Part of the Northern Way:
Improving the economic performance of
the North of England’
The Northern Way Growth
Strategy
• Discussed summer 2004; launched in October 2004
• Championed/led by John Prescott and Gordon Brown
• Primarily focused on improving the economy of the North of England
by c.£29Billion/annum by 2025
• It will achieve this by addressing issues of:
– Bringing more people into work - meeting the skills needs;
– Housing and building sustainable communities;
– Strengthening the knowledge economy to support innovation –
building an entrepreneurial culture;
– Improving transport and access to ports and airports;
– Marketing the North to capture a larger share of global trade;
The North of England Eight
‘Research’ Universities
The Universities of Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool,
Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, York
• Total annual turnover is around £1.75 Billion
• Total Research income is over £620M
• ~8,000 academic staff; ~160,000 students
By comparison, the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge,
Imperial, UCL, London School of Economics
• Total annual turnover is around £1.75 Billion
• Total Research income is around £820m
• ~7,200 academic staff; ~85,000 students
Research Themes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Ageing and obesity – the quality of life of our population
– Profs. Tom Kirkwood & Anne Dickinson
Water and water quality, water governance, flooding and erosion
– Profs Enda O’Conell and Jim Hall
The Molecular Engineering Industrial Toolkit (chemistry, 21st Century
chemical engineering, catalysis, biomanufacture, nanotechnology,
photonics,)
– Profs Nick Wright, Elaine Martin & Trevor Page
The Energy ‘Thinktank’ - sustainability issues and the Nuclear
Question
– Profs Alan Jack & Paul Chistensen
Tissue Regeneration, Stem Cells & Tissue Engineering - regenerative
medicine
– Prof Michael Whitaker
[these involve our leading researchers and at least FOUR of our Research
Institutes]
Timetable
• The timetable has been unbelievably tight, the original expression of
interest for ODPM was submitted in <3 weeks, with the final FIVE
MAJOR PROPOSALS being written in 7 weeks (including Easter)
• TODAY is the deadline for the bids to be submitted
• Following the election purdah, they are being sent to the three RDAs,
the three SICs, the DTI & the Treasury.
• Funding decisions are expected within the next few weeks.
• Irrespective of success now, further proposals, based on these bids, will
go directly to the Research Councils and the forthcoming EU FP7
programme – their possible match to the strategic ‘forward looks’ of
these bodies has already been tested.