Norwich Research Park has been shortlisted for a prestigious industry award – the UKSPA 40th Anniversary ‘Community Award for Driving an Interactive Community’.
UKSPA is the UK Science Park Association which represents the UK’s science and business parks. Its role is to foster innovation locations and to support and encourage business growth at science parks, innovation centres and technology incubators. This year UKSPA is celebrating its 40th anniversary so it is especially rewarding that Norwich Research Park to be shortlisted. The winners will be announced at a gala dinner on Thursday 17 October.
The ‘Community Award for Driving an Interactive Community’ recognises those science and research parks that have community at the heart of what they do, where they can demonstrate a novel approach to building a community at their location that facilitates collaboration and innovation, as well as creating novel ways of bringing an on-site community together.
Specifically the award judges were looking for evidence of:
- A programme of networking activity that has helped deliver significantly high levels of collaboration between businesses and the wider innovation ecosystem such as universities, research institutes, investors, business support agencies and grant funders
- A programme of networking activity that has helped deliver significantly high levels of innovation within businesses
- The ability to demonstrate novel ways to successfully connect different parts of the on-site community together
- Hurdles that have been overcome to ensure its success
Anglia Innovation Partnership, the campus management organisation at Norwich Research Park, was able to meet all of these key criteria. It has established a regular programme of events and networking activity that has helped deliver significant high levels of collaboration between businesses. The programme includes three large showcase enterprise events each year that attract audiences consisting of businesses, investors and researchers covering a variety of topics such as healthy ageing, access to technology platforms, food and nutrition, successful industry collaborations and a Dragon’s Den-style business pitching competition.
Anglia Innovation Partnership also organises a series of ‘Explorer Forums’ aimed at working with industry partners that are facing into a problem that the research community on campus can potentially help to solve. These workshops, bring industry and research representatives together, for one day, to find solutions. They have helped to deliver high levels of collaboration between businesses at Norwich Research Park and the wider innovation ecosystem including the university, research institutes, grant funders and business support agencies.
Anglia Innovation Partnership also hosts industry events, such as the first event of Agritech Week every year which focuses on real world solutions to tackle the impacts of climate change and the opportunities and applications of genetic technology.
One of the most important aspects of the Anglia Innovation Partnership’s community activities is its Sports and Social programme including quiz nights, charity events, an ‘old school sports day’, Summer barbecues, regular occupier networking events and lunchtime classes such as tai chi and Pilates.
Anglia Innovation Partnership has worked closely with the LGBTQ+ and the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Groups to support new events that will significantly raise the profile and voice of these minority groups across the campus. Its latest contribution to campus life is to organise a conference later this month on Black Health and Research covering topics such as experiences in maternity, birthing and early parenthood, mental health challenges and outcomes and diversity in research, science and health.
Roz Bird, CEO, Anglia Innovation Partnership, said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for this award in what are milestone awards for UKSPA and the country’s science park community. We hope this further raises the profile of Norwich Research Park nationally and gives people an insight to why our environment is so welcoming.
“People and community are the ‘silver bullet’ that makes our research and innovation campus successful. With 30,000 people on site, every day, at the hospital, university, four research institutes and at over 40 companies, Norwich Research Park has a diverse talent pool and an amazing growth trajectory. Harnessing that sense of community is at the heart of what we offer and will be the key to our future collective success.
“None of this would have been possible without the expertise, commitment and drive of the Anglia Innovation Partnership team. It’s a small team but they deliver big things that are appreciated across the campus.”
