At the ‘Innovation in the East of England’ event, held at Norwich Research Park, at the start of the month, in partnership with Eastern Powerhouse, Anglia Innovation Partnership CEO, Roz Bird, outlined, in her speech, why now is a great moment in the history of the Park. Four separate developments will each give a boost to the latest plans for the park, enabling the growth of this significant biotech regional cluster:
In February, the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill received Royal Ascent, and this allows more of the ground-breaking research at Norwich Research Park to be commercialised in England.
At the start of May, the Government Office for Science launched the results of a study: Life Science: beyond Human Health which recognises the untapped potential in ‘Modern Industrial Biotechnology’. It mentioned Norwich Research Park as a case in point, highlighting its impact in agribiotech, food biotech and industrial biotechnology.
At the end of May £164m of investment was announced by the BBSRC, as part of their five-yearly strategic research programme, for institutions at Norwich Research Park. That figure makes up 40% of BBSRC’s total investment in research institutions, nationally, and will fund ambitious, highly collaborative and multidisciplinary research which will be transformative and benefit global society.
In early June UKRI confirmed a major investment in a plant and microbial research hub at Norwich Research Park, totalling £317m over ten years. This infrastructure fund will create an interdisciplinary hub, providing new facilities for the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory on site.
These developments demonstrate the UK government’s confidence in the future of the Norwich Research Park and enables the research and development activity to continue to grow and maintain its significant contribution to the UK’s life science research capabilities.
It also strengthens the park’s offer, and proposition to businesses, who want to move to, stay and grow at Norwich Research Park, benefitting from access to great scientific facilities and expertise, as well as the friendly and engaging community which can help companies to attract and retain the best people and support their business growth aspirations.
For a summary of the event, watch our video on youtube.
