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

Side by side

Dimension	Cornwall & PlymouthSouth West	CambridgeEast of England	Leeds & West YorkshireYorkshire and the Humber
Sectors	Space, Clean Energy, Robotics & Autonomous Systems Supporting: Advanced Materials, AgriTech & FoodTech, Digital Technologies	Life Sciences, Semiconductors, Engineering Biology, Artificial Intelligence Supporting: Quantum Technologies, Advanced Materials, AgriTech & FoodTech, Digital Technologies	Life Sciences, Digital Technologies, Financial Technology Supporting: Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Manufacturing, Creative Industries
Research	University of Plymouth Plymouth Marine Laboratory	University of Cambridge Wellcome Sanger Institute MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology	University of Leeds
Companies	Not recorded on the map.	Cambridge semiconductor and processor IP cluster	Leeds health data and digital health cluster
Infrastructure	Space and Earth observation capability, Cornwall Aerodrome and space capability, marine research and test facilities and naval infrastructure.	Babraham Research Campus Cambridge Science Park University and institute laboratories, genomics and biomedical campus facilities, and semiconductor design capability.	Not recorded on the map. Health data infrastructure, teaching hospitals and university research facilities.
Capital	Public programmes and a small local investor base; almost all growth capital is external.	Specialist deep tech and life science funds, university-linked funds, and corporate partners; strong at seed, thinner at growth stage relative to demand.	Financial services depth locally, but early-stage health technology capital remains limited.
Government programmes	No place-based designation recorded.	No place-based designation recorded.	No place-based designation recorded.
What exists	Space launch and Earth observation capability, marine autonomy and ocean research, and a distinctive combination of coastline, test space and specialist facilities.	Extreme research density for its size: life sciences and genomics, semiconductor and processor IP, engineering biology and AI, with a mature spin-out culture and specialist investors who understand long timelines.	National health data organisations, medical technology, a large financial and professional services base and a research university with data and materials strength.
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.	Ownership retention. Discovery and early company formation work; the Series B onward stage frequently transfers ownership overseas. Laboratory and scale-up space, power and housing also constrain growth.	A clear route for companies to work with health data at scale, and clinical adoption pathways that move faster than pilot projects.
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.	Cambridge discovery connected to UK manufacturing and biomanufacturing capacity, and to later-stage domestic capital, so that value created here is realised here rather than acquired out of the country.	Leeds health data capability connected to Manchester clinical research and to medical technology manufacturing, giving companies discovery, evidence and production in one region.
UKIZ relevance	The proposed Cornwall & Devon mission treats the sea and the satellite economy as one system rather than two separate sectors.	Cambridge produces intellectual property at a rate few places match, and loses ownership of too much of it at Series B. The proposed Oxford-Cambridge zone concentrates on commercialisation and retention rather than on more discovery.	Health data at population scale is a national asset. The proposed Manchester mission and Leeds capability are complementary rather than competing.
Last verified	15 August 2026	15 August 2026	15 August 2026

Proposed by UKIZ · independent · not a government designation

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