Agenda item

Oxfordshire's Innovation Ecosystem Update

To consider a presentation to be given to the Future Oxfordshire Partnership by Prof Chas Bountra (Pro-Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Professor of Translational Medicine, University of Oxford) concerning the opportunities presented by Oxfordshire’s Innovation Ecosystem.

Minutes:

The Panel received a verbal presentation from Professor Chas Bountra, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Professor of Translational Medicine, University of Oxford and Dr Phil Clare,Director of Innovation & Engagement, Research Services at the University of Oxford. concerning the opportunities presented by Oxfordshire’s Innovation Ecosystem.

 

Prof Bountra and Dr Clare set out how the University of Oxford had worked with colleagues within industry, HM Government, regulators, and others to develop and bring to market a number of important innovations in recent years, including the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. Oxfordshire as a county already has a strong innovation ecosystem, through the University of Oxford itself, but also Oxford Brookes University, its hospitals, local companies.  The University of Oxford and other partners such as the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, (OxLEP) were looking to help meet the wider challenges faced by the world and society in general by engaging and working with both local, national, and international partners and stakeholders. As part of this innovation process, the contribution made by Oxfordshire’s local authorities and other stakeholders to supporting innovation was valued and recognised, and the University of Oxford wished to further engage and work with local authorities to develop the opportunities offered.

 

Richard Byard, Director of Business Development, OxLEP referred to the work being undertaken around the innovation eco-system which linked into the direction of travel of the Oxfordshire economy and the objectives of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership around the global competitiveness of Oxfordshire and productivity.

 

Members of the Panel commented that they strongly supported the work being undertaken to support innovation within Oxfordshire by the University of Oxford and others. As representatives of local authorities, they felt that the links between the academic sector and local authorities could be strengthened as their perception was that there was currently not a great deal of direct engagement. It was suggested that a list of practical level asks where local authorities could assist the universities would be a useful step forward. 

 

Other members of the Panel commented that it was important that engagement by the University of Oxford around innovation was undertaking in a way that was inclusive, taking account of the needs of women as well as men, for example through the use of disaggregated data, so as to encourage more women to contribute to the solutions. In response, Prof Bountra referred the Panel to the University of Oxford’s Increasing Diversity in Enterprising Activities, (IDEA) programme which aimed to address inequalities in entrepreneurship.

 

Members of the Panel also referred to the need for innovation to have a wider context that included place-shaping and infrastructure. It was noted that as well as commercial innovation enterprises, the University of Oxford was also part of a number of social enterprises.

 

After further discussion it was suggested that it could be useful for a number of members of the Panel to be delegated authority to further engage with Prof Bountra, Dr Clare and Richard Byard to seek to identify and communicate specific innovations that local authorities should be aware of that specifically linked to the remit of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership. 

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.     That the Future Oxfordshire Scrutiny Panel recommends that the Future Oxfordshire Partnership:

 

a.     liaise with Oxfordshire’s universities to promote innovation.

 

b.     support the need for gender inclusivity in innovation and STEM.

 

2.     That Cllrs Neil, Miles and Hicks be delegated authority on behalf of the Scrutiny Panel to engage and liaise with OxLEP and the University of Oxford in order to report back to a future Scrutiny Panel meeting on how the engagement and communication between the university and local authorities can be facilitated.

 

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