Innovation

Photo: Educators and climate scientists developing the Morecambe Bay Curriculum.

The Key Cities Innovation Network is a group of universities based in and working with Key Cities to bring forward new approaches to scalable innovation and effective place-based policy.

Since its establishment in 2022, KCIN has contributed to Key Cities reports on culture, skills and decarbonisation, and published a compendium of peer-reviewed innovation projects about universities partnering with local authorities to help deliver net zero targets. The network is currently carrying out a policy review on coastal communities on behalf of Key Cities.

The Network engages directly with government ministers, departments and funding agencies to develop opportunities for research and innovation for the benefit of all towns and cities across the UK. The programme is structured around a Parliamentary dinner in the spring and an annual conference hosted by a member university in the autumn. Member universities also take part in policy consultations and engagement as associate members of the Key Cities APPG.

KCIN is led by a steering group currently comprising Prof. Shirley Congdon, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford (Chair), Prof. Jane Falkingham, Vice-President of the University of Southampton, and Prof. Nic Beech, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Salford, supported by an advisory group which includes Prof. Chris White, director of the High-Value Manufacturing Catapult’s Manufacturing Technology Centre and the former Home and Education Secretary, the Rt Hon. Charles Clarke.

The Key Cities Innovation Network currently comprises the universities of Bath, Bradford, Coventry, East Anglia, Essex, Lancaster, Lincoln, Plymouth, Salford, South Wales, Southampton, Staffordshire, Sunderland and Wrexham.

The 2024 annual conference, on the topic of Culture, Place and Development, will take place at the University of Bradford on 27 November, five weeks before Bradford takes on the mantle of UK City of Culture, with speakers including AHRC executive chair Professor Christopher Smith, Arts Council England chief executive Darren Henley and BD2025 Creative Director Shanaz Gulzar.

For more information about the conference and about the Innovation Network, contact secretariat@keycitiesinnovation.org.