Leaders from industry, government, academia and civic organisations gathered yesterday (March 25) to demonstrate how Greater Manchester is strengthening its position as one of the UK's most dynamic centres of innovation and economic growth.
Hosted by Manchester Metropolitan University, in partnership with The University of Manchester, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), The Growth Company, and University of Salford, the flagship Made in Greater Manchester event demonstrated how coordinated regional action is accelerating delivery of the Government's Modern Industrial Strategy.
Recent national data shows that Greater Manchester is the UK's fastest growing city region, with productivity growth outpacing national averages for more than a decade.
The city region has long been recognised as a testbed for the future UK economy, bringing together universities, business and civic partners to tackle national challenges at regional scale.
That collaborative model now supports Greater Manchester's approach to good growth, as it leads the UK's ambitions in five 'frontier' sectors - advanced materials and manufacturing; creative industries; digital, cyber and AI; health innovation and life sciences; and low carbon.
These are aligned to five of the sectors identified as having the greatest potential for growth in the Modern Industrial Strategy.
Professor Steve Rothberg, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Manchester Met, said: "With universities acting as powerful anchor institutions for growth, there has never been a more important time to connect, collaborate and drive collective impact.
"Here in Greater Manchester, we have a long tradition of being at the forefront of innovation. This event was a fantastic opportunity for organisations across the city-region to come together and re‑emphasise this commitment while exploring future ways to deliver for the UK."
Speakers at the event outlined how universities, industry and civic partners are aligning investment, skills pipelines, research strengths and business support to accelerate the industrial strategy in real time.
By uniting academic expertise, cutting edge R&D facilities, industry ambitions and civic leadership, Greater Manchester is building the environment required for long term national competitiveness.
Professor John Holden, Vice-President for Civic Engagement and Innovation, said: "Yesterday's Made in Greater Manchester event showed exactly what our city‑region does best by bringing universities, industry and civic partners together to drive innovation. Our universities must ensure that innovation fuels growth that is fast, ambitious and inclusive so the benefits of our progress as a region are shared across every community.
"Through the University's innovation arm, Unit M, we are partnering with the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council to ensure this collaboration shapes national priorities. Our recently launched deep tech accelerator is a demonstration of a cross-Greater Manchester initiative with shared purpose and dedicated resources to boost innovation.
"We are also working with GMCA and Rochdale Development Agency to scope out the next phase of development of the Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre (SMMC), the first major development in the Atom Valley Mayoral Development Zone. Through the Cambridge x Manchester Partnership we're proving that our ambition and impact extends well beyond the region, strengthening national capability through collaboration between two of the UK's most globally recognised innovation ecosystems."
Speaking at the event, Jo Ahmed MBE, Practice Senior Partner at Deloitte, said: "What we do brilliantly in this city region is that we come together across the public and private sectors and academia to deliver impact and, importantly, to deliver action.
"When I speak to national and international colleagues, they all want to know what it is we are doing in Greater Manchester to create the growth we are seeing here. My answer is that it's a blend of the spirit this place, it's how we connect, how we collaborate, and how we support each other for collective long term growth and opportunity.
"I am truly optimistic about the future opportunities that can be delivered through a continued place-based approach to deliver the Modern Industrial Strategy and Greater Manchester Sector Development Plans, and to continue that collaboration between sectors to benefit the broadest possible cross section of businesses and the communities around us."
