Regional Technology Foresight
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Information School
Abstract
Over the last decades manufacturing in UK regions has been exposed to intense global competition, particularly as a consequence of trade liberalisation. At the same time, there is an increasing recognition that regions play a central role in national development, and there are mounting pressures on regions' ability to independently strategise and interconnect globally. These trends are particularly visible in the redistribution of power and funding from national to local government currently occurring through the so-called devolution deals, and through the emergence of Local Enterprise Partnerships that since 2010 have succeeded Regional Development Agencies.
The renaissance of industry and manufacturing and the recognition that industry plays a central role in job creation, growth, and regions' economic recovery is also a priority in the policy agenda, with the 'Northern Powerhouse' strategy dominating the political lexicon, and setting the ambition to deliver business and enterprise growth with economic benefits for local communities.
However, without adequate technology foresight and the identification of emergent technologies that may lead to innovations in practice, industrial manufacturing regions face the challenge of industrial stagnation and the threats of global outsourcing. Therefore, it is critical for regions to overcome the debilitating problem of poor innovation capabilities reinforced by the frequent overspecialisation of the knowledge infrastructure in these areas. It is also necessary to identify the technology enablers that may lead to opportunities for development and growth: the upgrading or revitalisation of businesses; the development of new business activities in areas related to the existing industries; or new industries based in new technologies.
Focusing on Sheffield City Region as an internationally recognised manufacturing hub, and on the Advance Manufacturing and Materials sector, this project will generate new knowledge and procedural solutions to the extremely important issue relating to the enhancement of a region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability.
Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms.
The renaissance of industry and manufacturing and the recognition that industry plays a central role in job creation, growth, and regions' economic recovery is also a priority in the policy agenda, with the 'Northern Powerhouse' strategy dominating the political lexicon, and setting the ambition to deliver business and enterprise growth with economic benefits for local communities.
However, without adequate technology foresight and the identification of emergent technologies that may lead to innovations in practice, industrial manufacturing regions face the challenge of industrial stagnation and the threats of global outsourcing. Therefore, it is critical for regions to overcome the debilitating problem of poor innovation capabilities reinforced by the frequent overspecialisation of the knowledge infrastructure in these areas. It is also necessary to identify the technology enablers that may lead to opportunities for development and growth: the upgrading or revitalisation of businesses; the development of new business activities in areas related to the existing industries; or new industries based in new technologies.
Focusing on Sheffield City Region as an internationally recognised manufacturing hub, and on the Advance Manufacturing and Materials sector, this project will generate new knowledge and procedural solutions to the extremely important issue relating to the enhancement of a region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability.
Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms.
Planned Impact
Technology foresight is a critical component in the development of industrial strategy. It offers a promising new lens to address the challenge of regional growth. It holds the potential to help regions identify, absorb and exploit a variety of technological innovations that can drive transformation across UK manufacturing. On a practical level, the project outcomes are focused on strengthening regional knowledge assets, internal and external linkages and the dynamics of entrepreneurial environment within regions. The project contributes concrete regional practices and processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. The results of the project will be highly valuable to city governors, chambers of commerce and industry, and firms that are interested and involved both in technology management and regional innovation systems policy and practice.
More specifically, the project will:
* Develop of a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to technology. This will benefit Innovate UK strategy for business innovation and their focus on stimulating emerging technologies, particularly in the fields of advanced materials and advanced manufacturing, nanotechnology, electrical systems, etc.;
* Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight, particularly in collaboration with UK Local Enterprise Partnerships;
* Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes.
Specific impact-related mechanisms include:
* An Advisory Board, whose membership includes a variety of experts in regional development, manufacturing and knowledge transfer, who are at the same time beneficiaries of the research (Innovate UK, Confederation of British Industry, Sheffield City Region Growth Hub, Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, etc.);
* A Policy Learning Lab bringing together communities of like-minded policymakers, practitioners and experts working to improve the Sheffield City Region development;
* A Workshop to increase exploitation of emerging enabling technologies, which provide the basis for innovation in a wide range of industries;
* A Peer to Peer event to provide firms, innovation experts, policy makers, R&D centres with an opportunity to cross-fertilise practice, explore the potential to combine emerging technologies as a means to foster innovation, create new markets, and strengthen collaboration between different companies and stakeholders along the value chain;
* An end of project workshop - bringing together Northern Powerhouse Local Enterprise Partnerships, advanced manufacturing firms, City Councils, Innovate UK, Confederation of British Industry, and policy makers - to promote takeover and adaptation of the action-oriented regional technology foresight framework.
* A project website to publicise work and allow for interaction with external actors on the findings;
Details are outlined in the Pathways to Impact section of the proposal.
More specifically, the project will:
* Develop of a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to technology. This will benefit Innovate UK strategy for business innovation and their focus on stimulating emerging technologies, particularly in the fields of advanced materials and advanced manufacturing, nanotechnology, electrical systems, etc.;
* Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight, particularly in collaboration with UK Local Enterprise Partnerships;
* Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes.
Specific impact-related mechanisms include:
* An Advisory Board, whose membership includes a variety of experts in regional development, manufacturing and knowledge transfer, who are at the same time beneficiaries of the research (Innovate UK, Confederation of British Industry, Sheffield City Region Growth Hub, Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, etc.);
* A Policy Learning Lab bringing together communities of like-minded policymakers, practitioners and experts working to improve the Sheffield City Region development;
* A Workshop to increase exploitation of emerging enabling technologies, which provide the basis for innovation in a wide range of industries;
* A Peer to Peer event to provide firms, innovation experts, policy makers, R&D centres with an opportunity to cross-fertilise practice, explore the potential to combine emerging technologies as a means to foster innovation, create new markets, and strengthen collaboration between different companies and stakeholders along the value chain;
* An end of project workshop - bringing together Northern Powerhouse Local Enterprise Partnerships, advanced manufacturing firms, City Councils, Innovate UK, Confederation of British Industry, and policy makers - to promote takeover and adaptation of the action-oriented regional technology foresight framework.
* A project website to publicise work and allow for interaction with external actors on the findings;
Details are outlined in the Pathways to Impact section of the proposal.
Organisations
- University of Sheffield (Lead Research Organisation)
- Confederation of British Industry (CBI) (Collaboration)
- JRI Orthapaedics (Collaboration)
- University of Turku (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Sheffield City Region Local Economic Partnership (Collaboration)
- INNOVATE UK (Collaboration)
- University of Sheffield (Collaboration)
- Gripple (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Make UK (Collaboration)
- Durham Duplex (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM (Collaboration)
- ObjectForm (Project Partner)
- Sheffield City Region Growth Hub (Project Partner)
- Innovate UK (Project Partner)
- University of Birmingham (Project Partner)
- Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Project Partner)
- Confederation of British Industry (Project Partner)
- JRI Orthopaedics (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Jorge Tiago Martins (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Martins J
(2023)
Boundary organisations in regional innovation systems: traversing knowledge boundaries for industry 4.0 regional transformations
in R&D Management
| Description | Our findings to date present an exploratory assessment of how new technologies can help manufacturing firms in the Sheffield City Region either overcome challenges or exploit business opportunities. Yet, an integral part of any foresight exercise is not just the assessment of what is possible, but also the creation of a preferred future vision and building collaboration to increase the chances of that vision being realised. Specific constraints on technology foresight vision creation in the Sheffield City Region With regards to placing any vision within existing frameworks, our findings indicate the lack of strong cooperation between relevant actors, both in the region, and nationally. Concerning connecting future visions with firms' more immediate concerns, our findings do point to certain issues that have to be carefully considered. Some companies have a future vision that contains a significant element of new technologies. However, in many other cases, companies' future plans are mainly focused on objectives such as new geographical markets, new sales channels, minor product modifications, or even just continued growth in existing product lines. In other words, these are plans that may contain some element of technological upgrading, but, in the main, they represent incremental changes and do not make any large leaps away from where companies find themselves currently. Two future technology visions for manufacturing in the Sheffield City Region - Smart Factories The concept of smart factories currently stands very high on the policy agenda in the UK. It can go under a different name as well, such as a digital factory, but whatever it is called, it encompasses two key elements - it is supposed to be as automated as possible and the systems it relies on should be interconnected. Such a vision is still not attainable even for very large companies, and certainly not for SMEs, both due to technological and financial and skills constraints. Nevertheless, whether realistic or not in the near future, there is simply a lot of support, such as grants, currently on offer for innovation plans that fit into this vision. This goes both for companies that are looking to upgrade some part of their production, and for policy and research stakeholders. Additionally, working towards such a vision almost invariably involves cooperation with external partners, and partnering is also high on the agenda of various funding institutions and in government policy. The identification of unique regional strengths and tapping into them is also, at least for the time being, a dominant part of policy making in the UK and more widely. We believe that a number of technology areas that we have identified with our interviewees - asset monitoring, metrology, ERP software, and robotics and automation - can easily be shown to reflect shared regional strengths - both in firms and in the regional research community - and business opportunities, while also fitting into the smart factory concept. Finally, based on our findings, it seems that regional firms have more immediate problems to solve or opportunities to exploit that nevertheless fit into the smart factory concept. This is so even in cases when the actions that firms would take represent only the very first steps towards a smart factory. - Advanced materials in the Sheffield City Region The main conclusion related to materials is that most manufacturing companies in the region are not in a position to be looking much into advanced materials. We also noted that some other areas relevant for materials, such as casting, rolling and forging, are not directly relevant for most companies, simply because they do not have these processes in their production. We are therefore aware that it seems paradoxical at first glance that we would identify materials as one of the overarching visions for the region. However, we believe that there are a number of good reasons for this. First, even though the number of firms that may be engaged in innovation in materials is relatively small, some of them are very significant regional actors either in terms of their size or in terms of their technical capabilities, or both. In our sample, these are Forgemasters, Liberty Speciality Steels, Metalysis, Atomising Systems, and Rolls Royce. There are, of course, other companies in the region that could be included in this list. From that perspective, innovation that helps these companies can directly help the regional economy. Second, innovation in materials involves much R&D work, which offers ample scope to include the region's research community. Both universities, as well as the AMRC and Nuclear AMRC, have very strong capabilities in various research areas relevant for materials - either in actual development of new materials (e.g. high-entropy alloys, steel, reuse of titanium swarf), or in adjacent technology fields that support the use of materials (e.g. machining of complex materials for aerospace). Therefore, there is ample scope for collaboration between businesses and the research community, which is one of the key elements that the current innovation policy framework demands. Our project has offered unique insights into the regions' capabilities in materials, although given the limitations in our sample, it needs to be supplemented by a more detailed mapping exercise in this area, which to our knowledge does not exist. Third, advanced materials and, particularly, lightweighting are shaping up to be quite high on the policy and innovation agenda in the region, and it would be a missed opportunity to not develop more joined up projects in this area, particularly since the mentioned firms are anyway working on such problems. Fourth, there is indication that there is growing awareness in the region that there is no direct and immediate path for material improvements to filter through from those who develop them to regional manufacturers. Therefore, there is increasing awareness that a strategy to help this needs to be devised. If this were to happen, then we see the potential for, for example, regional firms to be among the first to adopt some new or improved materials developed in the region. |
| Exploitation Route | Concentrating on what the regional stakeholders have identified as the most promising technology areas, the Regional Technology Foresight is continuing work to deepen the understanding of their potential applicability in the Sheffield City Region (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations). In terms of methodology, this stage of the project is following a qualitative foresight approach where the identification of technological innovations and enablers of change in path dependencies is critical. In operational terms, this process corresponds to a focus group, where a group of firms, innovation experts, policy makers, and research and technology organisations will engage in a discussion and exploration of critical topics such as the relationship between technology areas and the region's production strategy, the relationship between technology areas and the regions' R&D infrastructure, and the design of adequate policy interventions. |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Energy,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Description | Influence on policy and practice at regional and national levels is taking place via the project's focus on technological systems, more concretely on the network of agents in the advanced materials and manufacturing sector and the institutional infrastructure involved in the production and diffusion of industrial technologies. The technology foresight process currently being developed by the project is alleviating rigidities of innovation agents and bridging the fragmentation between them. This is happening with the stimulation of interlocking systemic capacities: (1) the scanning of the socio-technical environment for the identification of technological opportunities; (2) the creation of new social structures and linkages for the circulation of information on those opportunities; (3) the exploration of future opportunities with a view to setting up priorities for investment in science and technology and re-orienting the regional and national innovation system. These stages contribute to a reformulation of the traditional, linear conception of policy processes. We postulate a learning-based cyclical model of policy-making, where new actors (i.e. firms; academics; research and technology organisations; national and international industrial technology experts) are brought into the strategy debate and ultimately shape science and innovation policy. The Regional Technology Foresight process therefore performs three main high-impact functions of informing, offering strategic counselling and facilitating: (1) it provides policy advice by emphasising a long-term perspective on transformative technologies for the advanced materials and manufacturing sector; (2) it builds advocacy coalitions and an interaction space where the stakeholders community (Innovate UK; Sheffield City RegionGrowth Hub; Confederation of British Industry; Northern Powerhouse Partnership and advanced materials and manufacturing firms) co-develop a common vision; (3) and it provides a social forum for strategic reflection, widening change capacities through enabling the transposition of foresight results towards policies and firms' exploitation of novel industrial technologies. |
| Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Impact Types | Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Department | Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Technology foresight is a critical component in the development of industrial strategy. It offers a new lens to address the challenge of regional growth. It holds the potential to help regions identify, absorb and exploit a variety of technological innovations that can drive transformation across UK manufacturing. On a practical level, the project outcomes are focused on strengthening regional knowledge assets, internal and external linkages and the dynamics of entrepreneurial environment within regions. The project contributes concrete regional practices and processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. For the benefit of the AMRC, the project will: - Develop of a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to technology. This will benefit the AMRC's business innovation support toles and their focus on stimulating emerging technologies, particularly in the fields of advanced materials and advanced manufacturing, nanotechnology, electrical systems, etc.; - Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight, particularly in collaboration with the Sheffield City Region Growth Hub; - Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partnership will enable the development of new knowledge and procedural solutions concerning the Sheffield City Region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability. Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms. The AMRC's participation spans all of these objectives, particularly though participation in the project's Advisory Board. |
| Impact | Report - 'Looking Back, Moving Forward: An analysis of economic strategy and policy debates in the Sheffield City Region'; Report - 'Manufacturing Futures'. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Birmingham Business School |
| Organisation | University of Birmingham |
| Department | Birmingham Business School |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Technology foresight is a critical component in the development of industrial strategy. It offers a new lens to address the challenge of regional growth. It holds the potential to help regions identify, absorb and exploit a variety of technological innovations that can drive transformation across UK manufacturing. On a practical level, the project outcomes are focused on strengthening regional knowledge assets, internal and external linkages and the dynamics of entrepreneurial environment within regions. The project contributes concrete regional practices and processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. For the benefit of Birmingham Business School, the project will: - Develop a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to technology; - Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight; - Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes by firms, which might benefit other regions. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partnership will enable the development of new knowledge and procedural solutions concerning the Sheffield City Region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability. Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms. Birmingham Business School's participation spans all of these objectives, particularly though participation in the project's Advisory Board. |
| Impact | Report - 'Looking Back, Moving Forward: An analysis of economic strategy and policy debates in the Sheffield City Region'; Report - 'Manufacturing Futures'. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Confederation of British Industry |
| Organisation | Confederation of British Industry (CBI) |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Technology foresight is a critical component in the development of industrial strategy. It offers a new lens to address the challenge of regional growth. It holds the potential to help regions identify, absorb and exploit a variety of technological innovations that can drive transformation across UK manufacturing. On a practical level, the project outcomes are focused on strengthening regional knowledge assets, internal and external linkages and the dynamics of entrepreneurial environment within regions. The project contributes concrete regional practices and processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. For the benefit of the Confederation of British Industry, the project will: - Develop of a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to technology; - Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight; - Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes by firms in the Sheffield City Region. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partnership will enable the development of new knowledge and procedural solutions concerning the Sheffield City Region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability. Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms. The Confederation of British Industry's participation spans all of these objectives, particularly though participation in the project's Advisory Board. |
| Impact | Report - 'Looking Back, Moving Forward: An analysis of economic strategy and policy debates in the Sheffield City Region'; Report - 'Manufacturing Futures'. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Durham Duplex |
| Organisation | Durham Duplex |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Technology foresight is a critical component in the development of industrial strategy. It offers a new lens to address the challenge of regional growth. It holds the potential to help regions identify, absorb and exploit a variety of technological innovations that can drive transformation across UK manufacturing. On a practical level, the project outcomes are focused on strengthening regional knowledge assets, internal and external linkages and the dynamics of entrepreneurial environment within regions. The project contributes concrete regional practices and processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. For the benefit of Durham Duplex, the project will: - Develop of a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to relevant industrial technologies; - Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight and inclusion of firms in the foresight process; - Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partnership will enable the development of new knowledge and procedural solutions concerning the Sheffield City Region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability. Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms. Durham Duplex's participation spans all of these objectives, particularly though participation in the following stages and objectives of the foresight process: 1. Identification of emerging technologies that may have potential to produce positive impact in the Sheffield city region; 2. Exploration of potential applicability of emerging technologies within the region; 3. Matching the emerging technologies to regional users requirements. |
| Impact | Report - 'Looking Back, Moving Forward: An analysis of economic strategy and policy debates in the Sheffield City Region'; Report - 'Manufacturing Futures'. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Finland Futures Research Centre |
| Organisation | University of Turku |
| Department | Finland Futures Research Centre |
| Country | Finland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Technology foresight is a critical component in the development of industrial strategy. It offers a new lens to address the challenge of regional growth. It holds the potential to help regions identify, absorb and exploit a variety of technological innovations that can drive transformation across UK manufacturing. On a practical level, the project outcomes are focused on strengthening regional knowledge assets, internal and external linkages and the dynamics of entrepreneurial environment within regions. The project contributes concrete regional practices and processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. For the benefit of the Finland Futures Research Centre, the project will: - Develop of a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to technology; - Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight, which may be applicable nationally and internationally; - Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes, which may be transferrable to firms in other regions with a strong manufacturing base. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partnership will enable the development of new knowledge and procedural solutions concerning the Sheffield City Region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability. Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms. The Finland Future Research Centre's participation spans all of these objectives, particularly though participation in the project's Advisory Board. |
| Impact | Report - 'Looking Back, Moving Forward: An analysis of economic strategy and policy debates in the Sheffield City Region'; Report - 'Manufacturing Futures'. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Gripple |
| Organisation | Gripple |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The partnership will enable the development of new knowledge and procedural solutions concerning the Sheffield City Region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability. Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms. Gripple's participation spans all of these objectives, particularly though participation in the following stages and objectives of the foresight process: 1. Identification of emerging technologies that may have potential to produce positive impact in the Sheffield city region; 2. Exploration of potential applicability of emerging technologies within the region; 3. Matching the emerging technologies to regional users requirements. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Technology foresight is a critical component in the development of industrial strategy. It offers a new lens to address the challenge of regional growth. It holds the potential to help regions identify, absorb and exploit a variety of technological innovations that can drive transformation across UK manufacturing. On a practical level, the project outcomes are focused on strengthening regional knowledge assets, internal and external linkages and the dynamics of entrepreneurial environment within regions. The project contributes concrete regional practices and processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. For the benefit of Gripple, the project will: - Develop of a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to relevant industrial technologies; - Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight and inclusion of firms in the foresight process; - Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes. |
| Impact | Report - 'Looking Back, Moving Forward: An analysis of economic strategy and policy debates in the Sheffield City Region'; Report - 'Manufacturing Futures'. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Innovate UK |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Technology foresight is a critical component in the development of industrial strategy. It offers a new lens to address the challenge of regional growth. It holds the potential to help regions identify, absorb and exploit a variety of technological innovations that can drive transformation across UK manufacturing. On a practical level, the project outcomes are focused on strengthening regional knowledge assets, internal and external linkages and the dynamics of entrepreneurial environment within regions. The project contributes concrete regional practices and processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. For the benefit of Innovate UK, the project will: - Develop of a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to technology. This will benefit Innovate UK strategy for business innovation and their focus on stimulating emerging technologies, particularly in the fields of advanced materials and advanced manufacturing, nanotechnology, electrical systems, etc.; - Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight, particularly in collaboration with UK Local Enterprise Partnerships; - Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partnership will enable the development of new knowledge and procedural solutions concerning the Sheffield City Region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability. Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms. Innovate UK's participation spans all of these objectives, particularly though participation in the project's Advisory Board. |
| Impact | Report - 'Looking Back, Moving Forward: An analysis of economic strategy and policy debates in the Sheffield City Region'; Report - 'Manufacturing Futures'. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | JRI Orthopaedics |
| Organisation | JRI Orthapaedics |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Technology foresight is a critical component in the development of industrial strategy. It offers a new lens to address the challenge of regional growth. It holds the potential to help regions identify, absorb and exploit a variety of technological innovations that can drive transformation across UK manufacturing. On a practical level, the project outcomes are focused on strengthening regional knowledge assets, internal and external linkages and the dynamics of entrepreneurial environment within regions. The project contributes concrete regional practices and processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. For the benefit of JRI Orthopaedics, the project will: - Develop of a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to relevant industrial technologies; - Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight and inclusion of firms in the foresight process; - Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partnership will enable the development of new knowledge and procedural solutions concerning the Sheffield City Region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability. Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms. JRI Orthopaedics' participation spans all of these objectives, particularly though participation in the following stages and objectives of the foresight process: 1. Identification of emerging technologies that may have potential to produce positive impact in the Sheffield city region; 2. Exploration of potential applicability of emerging technologies within the region; 3. Matching the emerging technologies to regional users requirements. |
| Impact | Report - 'Looking Back, Moving Forward: An analysis of economic strategy and policy debates in the Sheffield City Region'; Report - 'Manufacturing Futures'. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Make UK |
| Organisation | Make UK |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Technology foresight is a critical component in the development of industrial strategy. It offers a new lens to address the challenge of regional growth. It holds the potential to help regions identify, absorb and exploit a variety of technological innovations that can drive transformation across UK manufacturing. On a practical level, the project outcomes are focused on strengthening regional knowledge assets, internal and external linkages and the dynamics of entrepreneurial environment within regions. The project contributes concrete regional practices and processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. For the benefit of Make UK, the project will: - Develop of a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to technology; - Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight; - Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes by firms in the Sheffield City Region. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partnership will enable the development of new knowledge and procedural solutions concerning the Sheffield City Region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability. Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms. Make UK's participation spans all of these objectives, particularly though participation in the project's engagement events with firms on topics related to the digitalisation of manufacturing. |
| Impact | Report - 'Manufacturing Futures'. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Sheffield City Region Growth Hub |
| Organisation | Sheffield City Region Local Economic Partnership |
| Department | Sheffield City Region (SCR) Growth Hub |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Technology foresight is a critical component in the development of industrial strategy. It offers a new lens to address the challenge of regional growth. It holds the potential to help regions identify, absorb and exploit a variety of technological innovations that can drive transformation across UK manufacturing. On a practical level, the project outcomes are focused on strengthening regional knowledge assets, internal and external linkages and the dynamics of entrepreneurial environment within regions. The project contributes concrete regional practices and processes of identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. For the benefit of the Sheffield City Region Growth Hub, the project will: - Develop a process for strategic intelligence through identifying technology innovation sources, building links across sources, and improving accessibility to technology; - Develop regional knowledge transfer and collective learning mechanisms to facilitate foresight; - Articulate regional information brokerage structures and activities required to translate technology foresight into the development of new products, services and processes by firms in the Sheffield City Region. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partnership will enable the development of new knowledge and procedural solutions concerning the Sheffield City Region's ability to identify and exploit knowledge of technological innovations, in order to maximise competitiveness and sustainability. Working closely with firms, local enterprise partnerships, policy makers and innovation experts, the project focuses on the understanding and development of concrete regional practices and processes for identifying, transferring and integrating technological innovations. This set of practices and processes includes the identification of relevant emergent technologies, the production of visions concerning their applicability (e.g. ability to generate product, processes or business innovations), and the contextualisation and application of the knowledge produced (brokerage activities) to allow exploitation and use in practice by firms. The Sheffield City Region Growth Hub's participation spans all of these objectives, particularly though participation in the project's Advisory Board. |
| Impact | Report - 'Looking Back, Moving Forward: An analysis of economic strategy and policy debates in the Sheffield City Region'; Report - 'Manufacturing Futures'. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | 'Policy Learning Lab', at the Factory 2050 - Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, 9th January 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Actors in the Sheffield City Region are increasingly engaged in setting out a future vision for the region. The policies to achieve that vision include investment in infrastructure, skills, innovation and technology, business support measures, the building of stronger collaboration networks, and calls for more devolution. The Regional Technology Foresight project aims to support this process by identifying the most impactful future technologies for the advanced manufacturing and materials sectors in the Sheffield City Region, and by building consensus among key regional stakeholders around exploiting these technologies. The project will also draw useful lessons for other UK regions. Since the start of the project, we have been analysing the economic strategy and policy documents produced in and for the Sheffield City Region over the last five years. This has been a useful exercise in appraising the key strengths, areas for improvement, and the role of technology in the policy debates in the region. The output of this has been the 'Looking Back, Moving Forward: An analysis of economic strategy and policy debates in the Sheffield City Region' report. We felt it was of crucial importance to share the insights emerging from our analysis with a wide range of actors, and to engage them in the production of a more collaborative type of analysis and reflection on policy making in the region. For this reason, we are organised the Policy Learning Lab, a half-day workshop targeted exactly at key regional stakeholders - members of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and Combined Authority, regional growth hubs, local councils, the two universities and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, business organisations and trade unions, as well as several organisations external to the region, but with close links to it. In total, 32 participants took part. The Policy Learning Lab addressed a number of key objectives: to think more broadly about how to support businesses in the region and how policies can be tailored more closely in particular to the technological needs and opportunities for local firms. In addition to a number of pre-set topics that were shared with participants in advance, there was time allowed for participants to raise issues and suggestions that they considered important. This all happened in a collaborative environment with other key stakeholders, with time for networking as well. The conclusions of the discussion directly shaped the final version of the 'Looking Back, Moving Forward' report, the Regional Technology Foresight project first output. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/regiotechforesight/news/policylearninglab-1.825880 |
| Description | Ahead of the Curve: The Use of Technology Foresight in Regional Industrial Strategy, 21st March 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The workshop engaged 20 participants comprising national policy makers, politicians, foresight and industrial technology experts in an exploration of how technology foresight can help revive regional economies and bolster businesses in the UK. The presentations: Keynote: The importance of technology & innovation strategy for the revival of UK industry By Chi Onwurah MP, Shadow Secretary for Industrial Strategy, Science & Innovation The role of foresight in policy planning By Dr Patrick Noack, Senior Policy Adviser, the Royal Society Technology & innovation policies in practice By Dr Jonathan Bray, Deputy Head of Digital, Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Building future visions for local areas: a participatory approach By Laurie Smith, Senior Researcher - Explorations, Nesta In the second half workshop, attendees and researchers working on technology foresight participated in facilitated, round table discussions. Discussion topics: Topic 1: Reviewing existing approaches to regional development. Topic 2: Improving development strategies with technology foresight. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://mailchi.mp/96137b65303e/invitation-ahead-of-the-curve-workshop-21-march-40121?e=34a3b9ab55 |
| Description | Invited research seminar - 'Knowledge collaboration routines at the organisation-region boundary: a Community of Practice approach' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited research seminar on 'Knowledge collaboration routines at the organisation-region boundary: a Community of Practice approach' - at the Turku School of Economics, Finland (January 2019); |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited research seminar - 'Regional Technology Foresight: linking foresight to the innovation capability of regions' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited research seminar on 'Regional Technology Foresight: linking foresight to the innovation capability of regions' - at the Helsinki and Turku offices of the Finland Futures Research Centre (January 2019). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Invited research seminar - 'Regional Technology Foresight: setting out paths to digitise industry' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited research seminar on 9th April 2019 at Instituto Politecnico Nacional - Mexico: 'Regional Technology Foresight: setting out paths to digitise industry'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Made Smarter Ecosystem mapping workshop, 24th October 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Made Smarter Expert Stakeholder Panel provides a connection between the Made Smarter Commission and the wider community of UK and international academics and experts. The panel acts as an arms-length group, conducting horizon scanning and providing expert insight to inform the work of the Made Smarter Commission. It is chaired by the Royal Academy of Engineering CEO, Dr Hayaatun Sillem. The Workshop brought together stakeholders together to map ongoing activities across the industrial digitalisation landscape, including Made Smarter and beyond. It provided an opportunity to connect stakeholders from research, industry and policy communities to identify synergies and find ways to leverage better outcomes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Manufacturing Connect : Integrating legacy machines into the digital age, 21st November 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Organised by Make UK and hosted by Colchester Machine Tools Solutions, this Manufacturing Connect event was attended by representatives of 15 manufacturing businesses, Make UK and the Leeds Local Enterprise Partnership. It provided an opportunity to discover, learn and connect with a community of practitioners who share an interest in discovering how manufacturers can cost-effectively introduce digitisation into production processes, without replacing existing equipment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.makeuk.org/news-and-events/events/allevents/manufacturing-connect-integrating-legacy-mac... |
| Description | New Industrial Technologies: should you care? - Spreading impact, addressing challenges, demonstrating successes, 20th November 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This workshop engaged with an audience of circa 30 participants (manufacturing and digital solutions development firms) to report on regional firms' perceived industry 4.0 needs, opportunities, challenges, as well as regional success cases. The event was co-organised with Make UK and Gripple, and hosted by Gripple at the Griple GLIDE House. Make UK presented on why is Industry 4.0 relevant and accessible to manufacturers of all sizes; the project team (PI and RA) discussed the key challenges of new industrial technologies and how to address them, and Gripple shared their experience of automating manufacturing and how that is informing the emergence of novel business models. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/new-industrial-technologies-should-you-care-tickets-81299626371?aff=e... |
| Description | New feature on "The House Magazine" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Dr Jorge Tiago Martins and Dr Ivan Rajic, from the University of Sheffield's Information School, discuss their research which aims to help regions across the UK with a manufacturing specialism make the most of innovation. The news feature was published in "The House Magazine", the leading publication for MPs and peers, with content for and about members of both houses of Parliament. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://library.myebook.com/thehouse/the-house-magazine-issue-1660-15-july-2019/1896/#page/33 |
| Description | News feature on "The Manufacturer" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The article reports on the first comprehensive review of smart industrial technology uptake in the Sheffield City Region, to conclude that investment in digital manufacturing is being held back despite proven benefits. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/investment-in-digital-manufacturing-being-held-back-despite... |
| Description | Paper presentation - Technology foresight for advanced manufacturing in the Sheffield City Region: an analysis of economic strategy and policy debates |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Martins, J. T., Rajic, I. (2019) Technology foresight for advanced manufacturing in the Sheffield City Region: an analysis of economic strategy and policy debates. 59th ERSA Congress - Cities, regions and digital transformations: opportunities, risks and challenges, Lyon. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Paper presentation - The future of advanced manufacturing in the Sheffield City region: an analysis of economic strategy and policy debates |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Martins, J. T., Rajic, I. (2019) The future of advanced manufacturing in the Sheffield City region: an analysis of economic strategy and policy debates. Regional Studies Association Annual Conference, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Working in partnership showcase: uniting industry and research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Showcase examined the components of successful research collaborations for both industry and academia. We shared case studies from Leeds, Sheffield and York that demonstrate how strong relationships have been developed, in areas related to the Industrial Strategy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://businessboostwrdtp.uk/ |
| Description | Workshop on Emerging Technologies, 19th September 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Based on industrial technology expert and manufacturing firms, the project developed two future technology visions for manufacturing in the Sheffield City Region - one centred around "smart factories", the other around "advanced materials". Both were a set of ideas about how companies and other actors can find common interests and cooperate towards the goal of a wider adoption of the technology areas that emerged as the most important ones for regional firms. This workshop, engaging 20 participants originating in manufacturing firms, research and technology organisations and local administration, was focused on the prioritisation of the most relevant industrial technologies for firms in the Sheffield City Region. Presented with 'Smart Factory' and 'Advanced Materials' as the two core visions for the future of advanced manufacturing in the Sheffield City region, participants at the Workshop were asked to use a scale of 0-10 (where 0 is lowest and 10 is highest) to rank technology areas within each vision, according to a pre-defined set of criteria: benefit for the company; ease of implementation and need for external support/ collaboration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |