Alex King, MBE Chairman Technology Enterprise Kent

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Alex King, MBEChairman Technology Enterprise
Kent Deputy Leader Kent County CouncilPeter
Parsons Chief ExecutiveTechnology Enterprise
Kent

• New Regional Innovation Strategy for Kent
• Building on experience

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Kent Location
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Kent

• Part of South East Region (excluding London)
• 216 Billion (16 UK GDP)
• 25 of UK R D business expenditure
• Kent
• Population 1.5 Million
• 56,549 companies
• 732,039 workforce
• GDP 24.6 billion
• Pharma-Bio, Electronics, Paper, Finance, Tourism
  Agriculture

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Kent Prospects (1997-2002)

• County Area Strategic Plan
• Economic Development
• Health
• Environment
• Infrastructure

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Kent Prospects (1997-2002)

• Partnership
• Local Government
• Business
• Business Support Organisations
• Regional Government
• Regional Development Authority
• Health Authority
• Identified innovation technology as a key
  driver

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KENT RITTS Stage 1

• Key strategic issues identified
• These were
• The transparency of support infrastructure
• SMEs understanding of the benefits of innovation
• The quality of the networks
• The provision of hands on services
• Number and range of technology providers
• Evaluation of company needs

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Constraints on innovation
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KENT RITTS Stage 2

• The task
• Design a Kent Innovation Strategy
• Develop concrete programmes based on SMEs needs
• Reinforce the existing support infrastructure to
  meet these needs
• Develop and test a means of identifying and
  categorising TBFs

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Outputs Strategic Framework
Weaknesses
Assets
Lack of TBFs
SMEs in search of assistance

• Kent Innovation and
• Technology Plan
• Assist existing SMEs
• Attract and create more TBFs
• Public Sector driven

Few local knowledge providers
Capacity of support infrastructure
Low level of technology of start-ups
Potential in South-East
Relatively low economic impact of current
programmes
Geographic Assets
Five Priority Action Programmes
Support to TBFs



Clusters
Start-ups
Inward investors property provision
Transversal Programme Human Resources
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Achievementstargets and budget

• 20 target lines
• Original budget estimate of 2 million over two
  years
• Government policy changes reduced budget to zero
  new money
• Influenced existing programmes to deliver
  majority of targets
• Old money value 1 million

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Achievements

• 20 target lines
• 8 achieved fully
• 4 substantially achieved
• 5 partially achieved
• 3 not achieved (no existing programmes)
• Overall 65 of targets achieved
• Budget 50 of estimated need
• Excluding targets with zero budget e.g. clusters
  80 of targets with 63 budget

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Lessons Learned

• Government Policy changes need to be flexible
• No pot of gold
• Funds for Coordinator only
• Slower start
• Need to convince partners of benefits of actions
• Organic approach increases commitment

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Lessons Learned

• Increased sustainability, didnt leave when the
  money was spent
• Concentrated on main Kent regional partners, e.g.
  Universities and main business support
  organisation
• Should have encouraged more support from local
  and national partners

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What happened next?

• TRIPS Project Innovation Supply Chains
• Kent Trilogy
• Kent Prospects Regeneration Strategy
• Kent Vision
• Towards 2010
• ARISE 2007
• Regional Innovation Policy Impact Assessment and
  Benchmarking
• Kent Year of Innovation 2007

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New Strategy

• Kent Year of Innovation ARISE
• Stimulated the recognition of the need for a new
  dedicated Innovation Strategy within the
  overarching Kent Strategy

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NOW IS THE TIME!

• Natural development
• impacted on by
• Economic circumstances
• leading to
• A new world order

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THE New World Order

• Innovate or die
• Wider horizons
• Europe coming together

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In Kent

• Encouraging Kent Innovation
• A strong Economic Board representing the Economic
  Community across the Kent Region
• Preparing to face the economic storm

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What will it look like?

• Defining new horizons
• Building on existing ideas
• Taking advantage of new opportunities
• Looking at new ways of finding and providing
  financial returns
• Rewarding risk taken

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The fundamental task for the Kent Region

• Keeping Kent Working

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The Fundamental task for Europe

• Encouraging new ideas and opportunities to
• Ensure Europes place in a (very different) world