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	Liverpool City RegionNorth West	Leeds & West YorkshireYorkshire and the Humber	Southampton & PortsmouthSouth East
Sectors	Life Sciences, Engineering Biology, Advanced Materials Supporting: Digital Technologies, Clean Energy, Creative Industries	Life Sciences, Digital Technologies, Financial Technology Supporting: Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Manufacturing, Creative Industries	Defence & Security, Robotics & Autonomous Systems, Advanced Manufacturing Supporting: Clean Energy, Digital Technologies, Advanced Materials
Research	University of Liverpool Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine	University of Leeds	University of Southampton National Oceanography Centre
Companies	Not recorded on the map.	Leeds health data and digital health cluster	Not recorded on the map.
Infrastructure	Not recorded on the map. University research institutes, automated chemistry facilities and port and logistics assets.	Not recorded on the map. Health data infrastructure, teaching hospitals and university research facilities.	Not recorded on the map. Naval and maritime engineering facilities, photonics research centres and port infrastructure.
Capital	A modest local investor base; public and charitable research funding dominate.	Financial services depth locally, but early-stage health technology capital remains limited.	Prime contractor supply chain finance and public programmes rather than venture capital.
Government programmes	Liverpool City Region Freeport, Freeports	No place-based designation recorded.	Solent Freeport, Freeports
What exists	Infection and tropical medicine research of international standing, materials chemistry and automated discovery, a large port and a Freeport designation.	National health data organisations, medical technology, a large financial and professional services base and a research university with data and materials strength.	Maritime, naval and defence engineering, marine autonomy, photonics research and a major port and logistics complex.
What's missing · UKIZ interpretation	Translation capacity: strong discovery science with limited local scale-up manufacturing and limited early-stage capital to hold companies in the city region.	A clear route for companies to work with health data at scale, and clinical adoption pathways that move faster than pilot projects.	Routes for smaller innovators into defence and maritime procurement, and a civil market for capability developed for defence customers.
What could connect · UKIZ interpretation	Infection and biologics research connected to North West and Teesside biomanufacturing capacity, with the port used for export rather than only import.	Leeds health data capability connected to Manchester clinical research and to medical technology manufacturing, giving companies discovery, evidence and production in one region.	Marine autonomy and photonics connected to Plymouth marine capability, Bristol robotics and offshore energy operations: the same technologies serving defence, energy and shipping.
UKIZ relevance	Discovery and manufacture here are unusually well connected, with scale-up routes that are already in use. The proposed Manchester mission treats the North West as one health and biomanufacturing geography.	Health data at population scale is a national asset. The proposed Manchester mission and Leeds capability are complementary rather than competing.	Marine autonomy is where defence, robotics and clean energy meet. The proposed Cornwall & Devon marine mission connects to this capability directly.
Last verified	15 August 2026	15 August 2026	15 August 2026

Proposed by UKIZ · independent · not a government designation

Back to the map →Methodology →