Latest News

“One of the most vibrant regions in the UK” – South West England and South East Wales Science and Innovation Audit (SWW-SIA)

Diagram from the SWW SIA report

A consortium of major businesses, Local Enterprise Partnerships and higher education institutions found that the South West England and South East Wales region can lead the UK and compete with the world in the areas of advanced engineering and digital innovation.

The consortium welcomes the government’s announcement this week to establish an Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to support collaborations between business and the UK’s science base.

Yesterday’s Autumn Statement confirmed an additional £4.7 billion by 2020-21 in R&D funding help boost UK productivity, and the consortium is ready to use the findings of this audit to launch effective initiatives to take up these new opportunities.

The Government invited the SWW-IA audit, which was led by 6 universities working with key organisations, including Airbus, the Met Office, Rolls Royce and Johnson Matthey, and Local Enterprise Partnerships across the region.

It identified that South West England and South East Wales is home to the largest aerospace sector in the UK and pioneering automotive, nuclear, marine and marine renewables and microelectronics industries.

The region also has strengths in digital innovation: it’s home to the largest silicon design cluster outside of the USA; there’s more climate expertise here than any other area worldwide; it’s a global powerhouse for microelectronics industry; and a national exemplar for smart cities.

Opportunities to raise Productivity include integrating the scientific and industrial strengths of the region, such as investment in the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult, the proposed Institute for Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems, and a National Composites Materials Centre.

The SWW SIA process has provided real impetus for cohesive working across the region, which offers great benefits to be realised by investment by Government in partnership with the private sector.

The government has thanked the consortium for the audit and its findings have been incorporated into Autumn Statement and proposals for the new Industrial Strategy to raise Productivity through science, research and innovation.

Steve Hindley, Chair of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We at the LEP have long been aware of area’s significant strengths in these sectors, which our forthcoming Devolution plan underpins.

“The findings of the audit are immensely encouraging but do remind us of the missing links that need to be put into place by investment in order for us to fulfil the enormous potential that’s been recognised here. Therefore HotSW LEP welcomes the proposal for a nationwide Industrial Strategy to enable this area to harness the opportunities and address the gaps in funding and infrastructure that the audit highlighted.”

Prof Judith Petts, HotSW LEP Board Member and Vice Chancellor of the University of Plymouth y, which was part of the consortium, said: “The audit shows that the South West has world-leading capabilities to make a real impact on productivity across a variety of sectors. It highlighted strengths such as big data, sensors, cyber-security and autonomous systems, which means we can really hone in on our specialisms to help the country achieve growth.

“With the new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund announced this week, we can look forward to building on these strengths and by sharing expertise and collaborating across the South West economy.”

The full report and summary document are available through these links.

The South West England and South East Wales Science and Innovation Audit (SWW-SIA) has been undertaken by a consortium that brings together key organisations and businesses from South West England (Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Gloucestershire, Heart of the South West, Swindon and Wiltshire, and West of England LEPs) and South East Wales. The SWW region has a population of 6.2m people and has 14 research institutions, 15 Higher Education Institutions, 27 Further Education Colleges, and over 35 science parks and innovation centres.

Archives
OUR BOARD

Comprised of business leaders from across our key sectors, the LEP Board oversees the programme of infrastructure, business support and skills projects being delivered by 2025.

Find out more about our board >

LEP board meetings & documents >

Newsletter Sign-up






    Complete the short form and we will add you to our mailing list.

    We use MailChimp as our marketing automation platform. By clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provide will be transferred to MailChimp in the USA for processing in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Terms.

    Business engagement is really important to us. We handle and process all personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulations. For further information please refer to our Privacy Policy.

    Send us a message


      David Ralph

      Chief Executive

      David Ralph started as Chief Executive of Heart of South West LEP at the beginning of June 2018. Previously, he had spent 5 years as CEO of the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire (D2N2) LEP from 2013 where he oversaw the development of the D2N2 Strategic Economic Plan and sector strategies, 3 Growth Deals with HM Government to deliver a £1billion capital investment programme, securing and implementing £200m ESIF programme, the Derby and Nottingham Enterprise Zone, the D2N2 Skills Deal and Time for Innovation programme, community fund and led the executive team to develop the HS2 East Midlands hub. He was also closely involved in the proposed North Midlands Devolution Deal and one of the key architects in establishing the Midlands Engine, chairing the officer steering group. Whilst in this role David was a NED of the Nottingham Enterprise Zone, and Marketing NG, the Outer Estates Foundation and a Governor of Nottingham College and on the advisory Board of Nottingham Business School.

      Before the East Midlands, David was CEO of the Have Gateway Partnership working closely with local stakeholders including the ports of Felixstowe, Harwich and Ipswich and BT Adadastral Park across Suffolk and Essex and prior to that was Chief Exec of the Barton Hill New Deal for Communities programme in Bristol and the Nelm Development Trust in Norwich.

      David is a keen sailor, walker and trail runner.