UK Innovation Map
Compare placesDifferent, not ranked.
Two or three clusters, read side by side across sectors, research, companies, capital, infrastructure, government designations and UKIZ relevance. There is no score and no ranking: British clusters are different from one another, not better or worse than one another.
Choose up to three clusters
- London
- Cambridge
- Oxford
- Manchester
- Birmingham & the West Midlands
- Bristol & Bath
- Sheffield & Rotherham
- Leeds & West Yorkshire
- Liverpool City Region
- Newcastle & the North East
- Teesside & the Humber
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow & the Central Belt
- Belfast
- Cardiff & South Wales
- Southampton & Portsmouth
- Cornwall & Plymouth
- Nottingham & Derby
- Norwich & the East
Side by side
| Dimension | Cornwall & PlymouthSouth West | BelfastNorthern Ireland | Norwich & the EastEast of England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sectors | Space, Clean Energy, Robotics & Autonomous Systems Supporting: Advanced Materials, AgriTech & FoodTech, Digital Technologies | Defence & Security, Advanced Materials, Financial Technology, Creative Industries Supporting: Digital Technologies, AgriTech & FoodTech, Advanced Manufacturing | AgriTech & FoodTech, Engineering Biology, Clean Energy Supporting: Life Sciences, Digital Technologies |
| Research |
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| Companies | Not recorded on the map. |
| Not recorded on the map. |
| Infrastructure |
Aerodrome and space capability, marine research and test facilities and naval infrastructure. | Not recorded on the map. Cyber security innovation centre, composites and aerostructures manufacturing and agri-food research facilities. | Not recorded on the map. Plant and food research institutes, genomics facilities and offshore energy operations bases. |
| Capital | Public programmes and a small local investor base; almost all growth capital is external. | A small local venture base supported by public co-investment; growth capital typically comes from Dublin, London or the US. | Research council and charitable funding dominate; venture capital is scarce. |
| Government programmes | No place-based designation recorded. | No place-based designation recorded. |
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| What exists | Space launch and Earth observation capability, marine autonomy and ocean research, and a distinctive combination of coastline, test space and specialist facilities. | Cyber security research and commercialisation of international standing, aerospace and composites manufacturing, agri-food research and a fast-growing software sector. | Plant, food and genomics research of international standing, offshore energy operations and maintenance, and a significant agricultural production base on the doorstep. |
| What's missing · UKIZ interpretation | Company density and connectivity. Excellent facilities are not always well connected to capital, customers and complementary suppliers elsewhere in Britain, and skilled people are difficult to retain. | Scale-up capital and market access. Companies reach a ceiling and are acquired, and dual-market access advantages are under-exploited commercially. | Commercial translation of agri-food science, and connection between offshore energy operations and the research base inland. |
| What could connect · UKIZ interpretation | Launch and Earth observation connected to Glasgow satellite manufacture and Harwell applications, and marine autonomy connected to Solent defence and offshore energy demand. | Belfast cyber capability connected to UK defence and financial services demand, and composites manufacturing connected to Bristol and Midlands aerospace supply chains. | Agri-food and genomics research connected to national food manufacturing and to engineering biology capacity, and offshore operations connected to the Humber and North East energy supply chain. |
| UKIZ relevance | The proposed Cornwall & Devon mission treats the sea and the satellite economy as one system rather than two separate sectors. | Northern Ireland's position between two markets is a commercial asset that is under-used. The proposed Northern Ireland mission treats it as the organising advantage. | Food security and biotechnology intersect here more clearly than anywhere else in Britain, and connect to the proposed Oxford-Cambridge mission. |
| Last verified | 15 August 2026 | 15 August 2026 | 15 August 2026 |
Proposed by UKIZ · independent · not a government designation