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News & Events

Stay up to date with the latest news and events from the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board. This page is your gateway to our most recent announcements, insights and upcoming events related to the Supercluster.

Supercluster launches policies to kickstart
knowledge intensive economic growth

23 July 2024
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We are delighted to launch the Supercluster Board’s policy recommendations to kickstart knowledge intensive economic growth.

 

The Oxford-Cambridge region, boasting an unmatched density of research, scientific talent and global enterprise, currently contributes approximately 7% of UK GDP. However, the constrained scale of the cluster presents a significant hurdle to greater productivity gains. We believe that with the right reforms, the UK can cultivate the champions of advanced industry and capitalise on its scientific expertise on the world stage.

Unlocking growth in Oxford-Cambridge region will bring extensive, direct, and spillover effects across the whole country and provide a model to drive cluster growth within other regions. To achieve this, we propose six critical policy areas designed to attract, retain, grow, and cultivate British companies with transformational capacity on UK growth, jobs, productivity and global reach. These policies are:

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  1. Make the Oxford-Cambridge region the ‘crown jewel’ of European science and innovation.

  2. Accelerate the delivery of lab space through the introduction of an ‘innovation’ use class.

  3. Allocate each regionally and nationally significant infrastructure project its own independently supervised taskforce.

  4. Improve R&D incentives and permit permanent top-up tax relief for new-to-market R&D.

  5. Broaden training in R&D-intensive industries through the early introduction of a Growth and Skills Levy.

  6. Work with universities to support spinouts, and with industry to ensure start-ups have access to the finance they need to grow.

Creating a Scientific Superpower Conference

18th June 2024, QEII London
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In its third year, Creating a Scientific Superpower,  will highlight the UK's potential in science and innovation.

 

Exploring the challenges of establishing an environment that attracts global talent and international business, while facilitating the journey from spin-out to IPO, and securing venture capital during a period of economic uncertainty.

The Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board welcomes the Chancellor’s recent announcements on life sciences and East West Rail

15 June 2023
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We have strongly supported calls for East West Rail and believe that full delivery of the railway, including the route selection via Cambridge Biomedical Campus, will have a transformative impact on the scientific ecosystem within the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster. 

 

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Through enhancing access to the clusters of scientific enterprise East West Rail will unlock much needed employment opportunities for people across the region. Aligned with the Chancellor’s positive interventions to support UK Life Sciences, the proposal for East West Rail will support the UK's goal of establishing itself as a leader in scientific research and innovation, and take further steps towards the nation’s ambition of becoming a true scientific superpower.

Securing the UK's position as a global science supercluster

26 May 2023
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Today's Government announcement and the updated East West Railway Company route will boost business confidence in the region taking us one step further towards transforming the Arc into a global science destination fit to compete with other superclusters like Silicon Valley.

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We congratulate Dr Richard Hutchins on his appointment as the new Managing Director for the Oxford to Cambridge Partnership

24 May 2023
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Richard’s appointment is a significant development in enabling the region to realise its economic potential. The Supercluster Board looks forward to working alongside Richard and the Ox-Cam Partnership team to champion the region as a world leader in innovation and I wish Richard every success in fulfilling the Partnership's vision.

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OxCam Partnership event at UKREiiF

18 May 2023

Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board chair Andy Williams and board member Andy Neely from University of Cambridge speaking alongside Lord Dominic Johnson, Peter Horrocks CBE and Naomi Green at the OxCam Partnership event at UKREiiF.

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Lord Dominic Johnson, Minister of State in the Department for Business and Trade said:

"It is the intention of this government to create a science and technology superpower with a desire for this region to be a success under strong civic leadership, and the universities around to make sure that their intellectual capital is developed in the best way possible."

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Andy Williams, chair of the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board:

"We need a united front. So, you now have a Supercluster Board which provides access to a set of organisations which are global. Across our board, we have representatives in nearly every country in the world, providing a unique opportunity to get into those countries through a non-governmental route, via introductions to people who want to do want to do business with us"

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What are the barriers to economic growth in the UK ahead of the Budget?

18 May 2023
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The chair of Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board Andy Williams speaking to Paul Kelso Sky News in March on the economic growth opportunities presented by the clusters within the Oxford-Cambridge region.

Oxford-Cambridge Arc revived via new British regional partnership

25 April 2023
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Coinciding with the formation of the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board our chair Andy Williams was delighted to contribute to Peter Foster's article in the Financial Times on the revival of the Government's Oxford to Cambridge project in response to the formation of the Oxford-Cambridge Partnership.

East West Rail as a Catalyst for Turbocharged Economic Growth

Feb 2023

At the start of the year the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board was delighted to be commissioned by East West Railway Company to produce a report on East West Rail as a Catalyst for Turbocharged Economic Growth.

Thanks to Prof Tim Vorley OBE, Dr Tim Moonen, Jen Nelles and Sue Foxley for their insightful contributions to this paper.
 

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