Manchester City Region’s scientific research strengths: their relationship to the wider UK economy and existing non-university public sector research - Annexes
Final report to the Commission for the New Economy, NWDA & AGMA

Manchester City Region’s scientific research strengths: their relationship to the wider UK economy and existing non-university public sector research - Annexes

Manchester City Region’s scientific research strengths: their relationship to the wider UK economy and existing non-university public sector research - Annexes

Annex A:Strategic directions for the Manchester City Region

A.1The Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) strengths within the Manchester City Region and the wider North West have been steered, and reviewed by a number of documents, which provide different perspectives on the STI strengths across different geographies. The key sectors, sub-sectors and strategic sites have been presented in Table A-1 for each of these guiding documents.

Table A-1: Key documents, identifying key strategic sites and sectors within the North West, and Manchester City Region

Resource / Strategic focus / Summary and scientific relevance
OECD (2008) Reviews of Regional Innovation: The North of England, UK / Strategic review / Sector clusters:
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Fine chemicals
  • Nuclear technology
  • Advanced materials
  • Precision engineering
  • Business & Financial Services
  • Creative & Media
Places:
  • Science City
  • Daresbury
  • Manchester Science Park

The Northern Way (2008)
Major Innovation Assets in the North of England / Major innovation assets /
  • Daresbury Science & Innovation Campus
  • Alderley Park (Macclesfield) AstraZeneca
  • Emerging media/creative cluster (Manchester)

North West Regional Economic Strategy (2006) / Regional by sector and sites / Priority sectors[1]:
  • Biomedical: biotechnology, pharmaceuticals & medical devices
  • Energy and Environmental Technologies (EET)
  • Manufacturing:Advanced Engineering & Materials (AEM comprises: Chemicals, Aerospace, Automotive, Advanced Flexible Materials), Food & Drink and General Manufacturing
  • Digital and Creative Industries
  • Financial & Professional
Major research concentrations:
  • M:KC/ Science City
  • Daresbury
  • Alderley Park (Macclesfield) AstraZeneca
  • NHS research programmes
Strategic Regional Sites (See below)
Strategic Regional Sites Review – Technical Report (February 2009) / Strategic Regional Sites / Places:
  • Daresbury Park, Halton
  • Central Park (MSP), Manchester
  • Alderley Park (Macclesfield) – AZ
  • Manchester Piccadilly Basin/Oxford road area

Northwest Science Strategy (2007-2010) / Strategic Priorities in Science / Sector clusters:
  • Aerospace
  • Biohealth
  • Chemicals
  • Nuclear
  • Emerging Opportunities
Scientific strategic sites:
  • Science City, including Oxford Road and Manchester Science Park (MSP)
  • Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus

Northwest Science Council / R&D expenditure [2] / Private sector R&D strengths by expenditure:
  • AstraZeneca (£2.5 billion)
  • BAE Systems (£176 m)
  • Unilever (£736m)
  • Rolls-Royce (£454m)
  • Renovo (£20 m)

Greater Manchester Strategy (August, 2009) / Sub-regional by sector and sites / Research Area:
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Bio-technology
  • Climate change
  • Digital research.
Research places:
  • Daresbury
  • Manchester Corridor

The Manchester City Region Development Plan (CRDP, 2006) / Business Sector Accelerators /
  • Manchester Airport
  • Financial & Professional Services
  • Life Science Industries
  • Creative/ Digital/ New media
  • Manufacturing
  • ICT Digital/ Communications

Manchester City Region Innovation Prospectus (2009) / Thematic /
  • The Manchester Corridor
  • MediaCityUK
  • SportCity
  • and Manchester Airport / City Leadership.

Manchester City Region – Public Sector Report (MIDAS, 2009) / Public/private sector inward investment / Public Sector: [3]
  • General Medical Council (GMC)
  • Ofsted
  • National Institute for Clinical Health & Excellence (NICE)
  • Arts Council
  • Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)
Private sector examples:
  • Digital & Creative: BBC, ITV Granada, Guardian Media Group, Siemens, Fujitsu, Cisco and Google
  • Service sector: AIG, Rothschild’s, the Bank of New York Mellon, HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Manchester Independent Economic Review (2009)
The Reviewers Report / Commercial trade / MCR Trade linkages – 6 sectors:
  • Engineering & Textiles
  • Financial & Professional Services
  • ICT/ Digital Communications
  • Creative/ Digital/ New Media
  • Life Sciences
  • Hospitality/ Tourism

Original Modern: Manchester’s journey to innovation and growth
(NESTA, Sept 2009) / Media / creative sector:
  • Architecture
  • Advertising
  • Software
  • Computer Games
  • Electronic publishing
  • Radio and TV
  • Business Services:
  • Other – e.g. Consultancy
Public/ Private sector assets:
  • University of Manchester
  • Daresbury campus
  • AstraZeneca (Macclesfield)
  • Shell Automotive ( Wythenshawe)
  • Developments in Media City, the Sharp Project and the Corridor

Source: SQW (as per individual reports)

1

Manchester City Region’s scientific research strengths: their relationship to the wider UK economy and existing non-university public sector research - Annexes

Annex B:Assets in the Manchester City Region

Introduction

B.1This annex serves to illustrate assets present within the Manchester City Region (MCR) which can contribute to the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) capabilities of the city region. The first section is organised by type of asset and and this is followed by a thematic grouping

Asset Type

B.2The primary classification of these assets are:

  • Higher Education Institutes
  • Research Institutes/ Facilities affiliated with Universities within the MCR
  • Incubation facilities
  • Science Parks
  • Examples of private sector companies – including university spin-outs

Higher Education Institutes within the Manchester City Region

B.3Whilst other Further Education Colleges and Higher Education Institutes exist within MCR, such as The University of Chester (Warrington campus), The University of Derby (Buxton campus) along with The Open University and The Royal Northern College of Music in Greater Manchester, their strengths lie outside of the STI agenda. The Universities which do contribute significantly to STI research all lie within Greater Manchester, these are presented in Table B-1

Table B-1: Distribution of Universities in the Manchester City Region

Sub-region / University
Greater Manchester
The University of Bolton
The University of Manchester
The University of Salford
Manchester Metropolitan University

Source: North West Universities Alliance

Research Institutes and Facilities

B.4The significant number of research institutes and facilities within the city region are predominantly located in Greater Manchester, especially with organisations along the Manchester Corridor, extending out to the Universities of Salford and Bolton. Outside of the Greater Manchester boundary, lies a number institutes within Cheshire including several capabilities at Daresbury in Table B-2.

Table B-2: Capabilities of Research Institutes within the Manchester City Region

Research Institute/ Facility / Overview
Cheshire
CLIK (Halton) / CLIK is the wholly-owned technology exploitation company of the STFC, located at Daresbury in the North West. CLIK promotes the commercialisation of businesses through spin-outs or licensing of Intellectual Property.
The Daresbury Laboratory (Halton) / The Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) of the Daresbury Laboratory has supported cutting-edge research for over 30 years in physics, chemistry and materials science. Additionally, this technology has opened up many new areas of research in fields such as medicine, geological and environmental studies and structural genomics.
Cockcroft Institute (Halton) / The Cockcroft Institute opened in 2006 as an international centre for Accelerator Science and Technology (AST) in the UK.
Centre for Accelerator Science Imaging and Medicine - CASIM (Halton) / CASIM is located at the Daresbury Laboratory for research into accelerator science, imaging and medicine. CASIM will facilitate linking up the scientific expertise at Daresbury with North West hospitals, universities and industry.
Jodrell Bank Observatory (Macclesfield) / The Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics comprises the research activities in astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Manchester, the world leading facilities of the Jodrell Bank Observatory and MERLIN/VLBI National Facility and public outreach via the Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre.
Institute for Biophysical and Clinical Research into Human Movement (Congleton) / A research institute of the Manchester Metropolitan University, which focuses on biomedical and clinical research into human movement.
Greater Manchester
University of Bolton
Bolton Automotive and Aerospace Research Institute (BAARG) / BAARG was founded in 1992, and is now recognised as a centre of excellence for structural crashworthiness, impact biomechanics, safety and accident investigation.
The Centre for Materials Research and Innovation| (CMRI) / The| CMRI is a Centre of Excellence focusing of advanced work in smart materials, auxetic fibres, medical and bio textiles.
The Institute for Educational Cybernetics (IEC) / The IEC is a research centre for e-learning and technology enhanced learning
The University of Bolton Computer & Cyberpsychology Research Unit (UBCCRU) / UBCCRU, formed in 2007,currently consists of three members of psychology staff in the School of Health and Social Sciences with interests related to computers and the internet
University of Manchester
Aerospace Research Institute / The Aerospace Research Institute plays a vital role in positioning the University of Manchester at the forefront of international aerospace research. The Institute researches into key areas of the aerospace sector, ranging from Advanced Materials and Structures to Synthetic Environments and Autonomous Systems.
Biomedical Imaging Institute / The Biomedical Imaging Institute is a hub for interdisciplinary activity across the University of Manchester. It encompasses the University’s extensive medical imaging facilities situated at the Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre, the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Facility, and at other sites across the University. The Institute promotes the development and application of advanced imaging methods in biomedical science; with particularly strong expertise in neuroimaging and cancer imaging, as well as PET and MRI methodology and image analysis.
Dalton Nuclear Institute / The Institute was launched in 2005, to provide the focal point for the University of Manchester’s nuclear research, such as Reactor Technology and Radiation Sciences R&D.
The Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation (iSEI) / iSEI brings together researchers in ethics, law, philosophy, science and medicine to examine how the social and ethical consequences of science and technology can be managed in a way that protects people and makes their lives better.
The Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB) / The Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre promotes interdisciplinary, challenge-oriented bioscience and biotechnology at the highest international level. MIB offers research themes in the fields of Biomolecular Mechanism and Catalysis, Systems Biology and Molecular Bioengineering
The Neuroscience Research Institute / The Neuroscience Research Institute brings together researchers from science, engineering and medicine backgrounds to produce high-quality research in the area of neuroscience. Our aim is a seamless integration of bench-to-bedside research that will involve a free-flowing interchange between basic and clinical studies.
The Photon Science Institute / The Institute provides an innovative and interdisciplinary environment for research into and the application of photon science - the understanding of how light interacts with matter. The Institute fosters collaborations across the physical, engineering, material, medical and biological sciences
Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI) / The Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI) is a centre of excellence researching sustainability in the retail sector and encouraging consumers to adopt more sustainable lifestyles. The SCI has been set up against the background of the global threat from climate change and the economic benefits of early action highlighted by the Stern Review.
Centre Of Excellence for biocatalysis, biotransformations and biocatalytic manufacturing (COEBIO3) / COEBIO3 is designed to provide a world-class scientific environment in which the necessary research and development can be carried out to create new biocatalyst-based processes to meet the changing needs of industry in the next 10-20 years.
Centre for Integrated Genomic Medical Research (CIGMR) / CIGMR opened in 2002 within the University of Manchester’s Faculty of Life Sciences for genomic medical research in areas of arthritis, cancer, infectious disease, inflammatory conditions, degenerative disease and tissue regeneration.
The Centre for Functional Genomics of Microbial Euklaryotes (COGEME) / COGEMEis a UK-based microbial functional genomics consortium and an international platform for fungal research, offering publicly available services and resources for functional genomics. The COGEME resource consortium consists of three service facilities and a bioinformatics centre located in three UK universities (Aberdeen, Exeter and Manchester).
Centre for Nanoporous Materials (CNM) / The CNM was established in 1995 at UMIST to create a centre of excellence in the field of nano-porous materials. Such materials provide many industrial opportunities; e.g. in catalysis, water treatment and environmental clean-up.
The Healing Foundation Centre / The Healing Foundation Centre represents a 25 year, £10 million commitment between The Healing Foundation and The University of Manchester to advance the understanding of wound healing and tissue regeneration. The ultimate goal of the centre is to identify treatments that will improve the lives of patients with disfigurements, either congenital, or following accident and disease.
Joule Centre / The Joule Centre focuses on energy R&D and is located within the University of Manchester as a partnership of North West Universities, commercial organisations and other stakeholders within the energy sector.
Manchester Breast Centre & Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit / The key Manchester breast research groups amalgamated to form the Manchester Breast Centre (MBC) early in 2005. The mission of the Manchester Breast Centre is to create a world-class centre for basic and translational breast cancer research.
The Manchester Centre for Integrative Systems Biology (MCISB) / The MCISB is intended to provide a hub for cutting-edge systems biology research in the Manchester, It is located within the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB).
The Michael Barber Centre for mass spectrometry (MBCMS) / The Michael Barber Centre is a leading research group at The University of Manchester devoted to developing mass spectrometry based technologies and their application to biological problems.
Molecular Materials Centre / The Centre was established in 2001 within the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, as a centre of expertise to investigate the chemistry and processing of materials for desired properties.
The National Centre for Text Mining (NaCTeM) / NACTEM is the first publicly-funded text mining centre in the world, which provides text mining services in response to the requirements of the UK academic community. NaCTeM is operated by the University of Manchester with close collaboration with the University of Tokyo.
The Neuroscience Research Institute / The Neuroscience Research Institute brings together researchers from science, engineering and medicine backgrounds to produce high-quality research in the area of neuroscience. Our aim is a seamless integration of bench-to-bedside research that will involve a free-flowing interchange between basic and clinical studies.
North West Laser Engineering Consortium (NWLEC) / NWLEC is a strategic alliance between the Universities of Manchester and Liverpool, aiming to position the North West as the leading national region for laser engineering. The application of new laser technology will benefit the region’s key clusters including aerospace, automotive, biotechnology & chemical sectors.
North West Composites Centre / The Northwest Composites Centre is a pan-university venture located at the University of Manchester, which undertakes research into the low cost manufacture of high strength composites materials. Applications include within the rail, marine, automotive and medical sectors.
North West Institute for Biohealth Informatics (NIHBI) / NIHBI is centred within the University of Manchester, and aims to build capacity across bioinformatics, health informatics and public health. NIHBI leads path-finding e-Health research across disciplines, particularly health informatics, bioinformatics and statistics/epidemiology
North West Embryonic Stem Cell Centre (NWESCC) / NWESCC was launched in 2007 within the Core Technology Facility at the University of Manchester, to produce clinical grade human embryonic stem cells for treatment of a wide range of diseases and for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
Organic Materials Innovation Centre (OMIC) / OMIC is a UK government supported University Innovation Centre for the speciality organic materials and polymer industries, and is bridging the gap between the knowledge which UK Universities generate and that which businesses need in order to innovate and grow. The Centre is based in the School of Chemistry at the University of Manchester and encompasses expertise in organic materials at other universities in the Northwest.
Patterson Cancer Research Institute / The Paterson Institute is an internationally renowned centre for cancer research which is supported by major core funding from Cancer Research UK in the order of £8.5 million per year. The Paterson Institute is an integral part of the oncology centre at Christie Hospital - a specialist cancer hospital serving the North West of England - and is part of the University of Manchester.
UK Centre of Tissue Engineering (UKCTE) / The UKCTE has a facility at the University of Manchester, and conducts research into tissue engineering under three themes:
1. Skin and Laminar Structures
2. Cartilage, Intervertebral Disc, Tensile and Compressive Structures
3. Vascular and Tubular Structures
UK Centre for Tissue Regeneration / Based within the Core Technology Facility at the University of Manchester. Research focuses on pre-clinical testing of tissue regeneration and to translate this research into commercial products.
The Blond McIndoe Research Laboratories forms part of the UKCTE, focusing on the research in tissue engineering of nerve regeneration and developing an artificial nerve as an alternative clinical approach to nerve reconstruction.
The University of Manchester Bio-informatics and Specialist Node of EMBnet / The University of Manchester is one of the UK's leading research and education centres for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, applying computational, mathematical and statistical approaches to the study of biological molecules and systems. UMBER (University of Manchester: Bioinformatics Education and Research) is a Specialist Node, with main expertise in database development, design of visualisation, database search & protein family annotation software, and provision of bioinformatics training.