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Innovation and Sustainability in a Historic City: The Cambridge Case
nnovation is one of the key drivers of economic growth and urban transformation. Since the 1970s, the ancient university city of Cambridge in East Anglia has been a European pioneer in technology enterprise and has been emulated in many other places seeking to promote innovation. However, in spite of its scientific excellence and unparalleled number of Nobel Prize winners, the emergence of technology clusters in Cambridge was both unexpected and unplanned. Elsewhere, a presence of strong scientific base is just one among many factors driving technological innovation. Other contributory factors include government spending and initiatives (e.g., in Sophia Antipolis), corporate spending and spin-outs (e.g., Munich and Stockholm), military budgets (e.g., Toulouse and Bristol), and metropolitan influence, as in London and Paris. What makes Cambridge unique is that the factors contributing to the emergence of technology clusters elsewhere were largely absent—with the critical exception of public investment in science. The case study of Cambridge illustrates both the strengths and limitations of self-organized clustering in a laisser-faire policy environment. Limitations include infrastructural deficiencies with eco-innovations lagging behind business innovation. Since the financial crisis, government has recognized the importance of expert-intensive technology industry in spurring economic growth and the need for proactive policies. In this seminar, Professor Elizabeth Garnsey traces the emergence of high-tech Cambridge and shows how early spin-outs from the university were followed by the inflow of innovative businesses and the creation of a highly skilled and specialized technology labor market which has drawn more innovative companies and investors to the area. Old divisions between ‘town and gown’ are giving way to collaborative efforts from the community, universities, and local authorities to support environmental innovation and urban transformation. Lessons will be drawn for other cities seeking innovation and sustainability.
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By World Bank's Open Learning Campusnnovation is one of the key drivers of economic growth and urban transformation. Since the 1970s, the ancient university city of Cambridge in East Anglia has been a European pioneer in technology enterprise and has been emulated in many other places seeking to promote innovation. However, in spite of its scientific excellence and unparalleled number of Nobel Prize winners, the emergence of technology clusters in Cambridge was both unexpected and unplanned. Elsewhere, a presence of strong scientific base is just one among many factors driving technological innovation. Other contributory factors include government spending and initiatives (e.g., in Sophia Antipolis), corporate spending and spin-outs (e.g., Munich and Stockholm), military budgets (e.g., Toulouse and Bristol), and metropolitan influence, as in London and Paris. What makes Cambridge unique is that the factors contributing to the emergence of technology clusters elsewhere were largely absent—with the critical exception of public investment in science. The case study of Cambridge illustrates both the strengths and limitations of self-organized clustering in a laisser-faire policy environment. Limitations include infrastructural deficiencies with eco-innovations lagging behind business innovation. Since the financial crisis, government has recognized the importance of expert-intensive technology industry in spurring economic growth and the need for proactive policies. In this seminar, Professor Elizabeth Garnsey traces the emergence of high-tech Cambridge and shows how early spin-outs from the university were followed by the inflow of innovative businesses and the creation of a highly skilled and specialized technology labor market which has drawn more innovative companies and investors to the area. Old divisions between ‘town and gown’ are giving way to collaborative efforts from the community, universities, and local authorities to support environmental innovation and urban transformation. Lessons will be drawn for other cities seeking innovation and sustainability.