Spotlight on innovation

Innovation means many things to many people, from new tangible business processes and manufacturing techniques to AI, and from cutting edge leadership to societal disruption.

Greater Lincolnshire has long held an innovative spirit and approach to business which enables positive disruption of the market, and mould breaking, which drives success where others fail. The university itself was forged by the will of a community and not by government - the first new city centre campus to be built in the UK for decades - and was described as having achieved the most dramatic transformation of a university in recent times.

The LEP has long been instrumental in forging business-led collaborations which deliver results. Last year alone, the Agri-food Centre of Excellence opened, a freeport deal was struck with government, and our UK Food Valley concept was unveiled. Meanwhile, the Institute of Technology and the South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zones are both due to complete and launch in the spring. These are just a snapshot of the projects under way, but all have a strong focus on innovation. 

Created by the Greater Lincolnshire LEP and led by the University of Lincoln, we are also home to a forward-thinking, passionate and driven Innovation Council which collaborates across a range of concepts, bringing specialised knowledge and expertise that is championing and driving innovation activity and key projects, and fostering a culture of innovation.

Prior to the pandemic, most commercial innovation initiatives were focused on increased profits and battling competition. The Covid-19 disruption has forced many organisations to review and set innovation targets, with a clear theme emerging – resilience. The pandemic has had a positive impact on opening the eyes of leaders, academics and governments to the risks of enterprise and organisational inertia. Businesses everywhere have reassessed their ability to adapt rapidly in response to unexpected events, global shifts in priorities, skills for the future, and evolving customer needs.

Meanwhile the western world has begun a global race to reduce the use of fossil fuels and CO₂ emissions to reach net carbon neutrality. By replacing these with clean, renewable energy, and by harnessing innovative technologies such as the Humber Zero project - which is creating a carbon capture and hydrogen hub providing an affordable low carbon energy supply to homes and businesses - we have already positioned the Humber South Bank at the cutting edge of the UK’s Green Industrial Revolution.  Along with our status in offshore wind with Hornsea 1 and 2 off the coast of Grimsby, we are well on the way to realising our potential to become a powerhouse of innovation in renewable energy.

A further major opportunity is focused on the food and drink sector and our UK Food Valley brings together innovation across food production and sustainable supply chains, to include net zero storage and logistics, R&D and manufacturing, and supports the protein transition and naturally-good-for-you foods. This in turn strengthens solutions and links with diet and health and a real-time social inequality issue, heightened dramatically by the pandemic. We are developing the skills and capability for extensive glasshouse growth at pace and the first insect protein farm could be in Lincolnshire by the end of this year.

The future of health is preventative, personalised medicine where data collected helps doctors prioritise which patients need to be seen most urgently and is developing sophisticated ways of diagnosing and treating illness tailored to individuals’ genetics and lifestyle. We secured funding for the Centre for Innovation in Rural Health and the brand new University of Lincoln’s Medical School which incorporates state-of-the-art laboratories, building an ecosystem of businesses, universities and applied research institutions to better co-develop innovation and transform business practice. Meanwhile the Boole Technology Centre on the Lincoln Science and Innovation Park goes from strength to strength, with business growth in cyber security and pharmaceuticals emerging as two standout trailblazers. Joint working across sectors is essential and we have promoted this with the National Centre for Rural Health and Care, Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health, and the National Centre for Organisation Resilience, bringing together the strategically important alignment with social inequality, diet, and health.

More broadly, global civic and social transformations are predicted to undergo unprecedented transformation across the decade which could ease some of the major shifts related to fake news and disinformation - which feed authoritarian governments and social inequalities. Economists, influencers, and academics suggest there could be seismic changes in the overall environment of social media during the next decade with a reckoning for technology companies which could see major revisions to their platforms. Some expect serious efforts to break up such firms, while others predict the rise of new platforms designed to make their users’ best interests paramount.

Across the last two years, businesses have adapted at a vastly increased pace, innovating through necessity and achieving positive change across their working practices and processes - which without the pandemic would have taken years. Now going forwards, leaders need to develop innovative products, processes, and ideas that remain flexible enough to handle society-ide disruptions and utilise the best of AI, automation, alongside human skill and intelligence, to maximise our opportunities and benefits for wider society. 

Never more than now do we stand at the brink of abrupt and rapid change, much of this a force for good. And it is our collective responsibility as leaders, academics, businesses and citizens to drive and support positive innovation. Our Innovation Council represents a credible authoritative voice representing our interests locally, nationally and internationally. As new strategies and funding opportunities emerge, we are well positioned to challenge and help shape programmes of activity to address the innovation needs of Greater Lincolnshire.

Professor Andrew Hunter

Greater Lincolnshire LEP Director and Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Research & Innovation, University of Lincoln