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<p>THE DIGITAL POWERHOUSE THE INNOVATION POTENTIAL OF TECH CLUSTERS IN THE NORTH MAY 2016 #DigitalPowerhouse Employment 18% of the nation’s tech workers are based in the North 1-in-20 of the North’s workforce is employed in the digital economy 283,500 How big is the North’s digital economy? Why is the North’s digital economy significant? What are the North’s tech specialisms? What is a fully charged Digital Powerhouse worth? more productive Productivity Pay The region’s tech businesses produce £9.9bn GVA Raising tech worker productivity in line with the national average would create an extra £5.7bn in GVA Increasing the rate of tech self- employment in line with the rest of the UK would result in over 9,700 more tech founders The North’s digital workforce grew by 28% in the last 5 years, compared with 3.1% for the region’s non-digital workforce Connected devices and the Internet of Things Digital advertising and marketing E-commerce and marketplaces Gaming Social networking Online gambling The North’s digital economy is creating jobs at 10 times the rate of the region’s non-digital sectors Productivity in the North’s digital sector is growing 4 times faster than productivity in the North’s non- digital sectors Digital workers in the North are 53% more productive than the region’s non-digital workers In the last 5 years, the productivity of the digital economy grew by 11.3%. The figure was 2.5% for the non-digital economy Manchester is the UK’s largest tech cluster (by employee size) outside of London Sage UK, based in Newcastle, is one of the few tech companies in the FTSE 100 The North is home to 283,500 tech workers The digital economy accounts for 5.2% of the region’s economic output £9.9bn GVA £5.7bn 9,700 5.2% GVA faster faster jobs 4× 10× 53% 18% 82% 3.1% 2.5% 28% 11.3% Digital workers in the North are paid on average 60% more than non-digital workers Liverpool Sheffield Leeds Median hourly digital wage vs. non-digital wage £15.00 £15.50 £15.70 £9.90 £10.00 £10.20 founders GVA workers The North is on course to have 363,000 digital workers by 2020 363k Analysis by Employment 18% of the nation’s tech workers are based in the North 1-in-20 of the North’s workforce is employed in the digital economy 283,500 How big is the North’s digital economy? Why is the North’s digital economy significant? What are the North’s tech specialisms? What is a fully charged Digital Powerhouse worth? more productive Productivity Pay The region’s tech businesses produce £9.9bn GVA Raising tech worker productivity in line with the national average would create an extra £5.7bn in GVA Increasing the rate of tech self- employment in line with the rest of the UK would result in over 9,700 more tech founders The North’s digital workforce grew by 28% in the last 5 years, compared with 3.1% for the region’s non-digital workforce Connected devices and the Internet of Things Digital advertising and marketing E-commerce and marketplaces Gaming Social networking Online gambling The North’s digital economy is creating jobs at 10 times the rate of the region’s non-digital sectors Productivity in the North’s digital sector is growing 4 times faster than productivity in the North’s non- digital sectors Digital workers in the North are 53% more productive than the region’s non-digital workers In the last 5 years, the productivity of the digital economy grew by 11.3%. The figure was 2.5% for the non-digital economy Manchester is the UK’s largest tech cluster (by employee size) outside of London Sage UK, based in Newcastle, is one of the few tech companies in the FTSE 100 The North is home to 283,500 tech workers The digital economy accounts for 5.2% of the region’s economic output £9.9bn GVA £5.7bn 9,700 5.2% GVA faster faster jobs 4× 10× 53% 18% 82% 3.1% 2.5% 28% 11.3% Digital workers in the North are paid on average 60% more than non-digital workers Liverpool Sheffield Leeds Median hourly digital wage vs. non-digital wage £15.00 £15.50 £15.70 £9.90 £10.00 £10.20 founders GVA workers The North is on course to have 363,000 digital workers by 2020 363k Introduce Tech Taster vouchers The introduction of vouchers should be considered as a way of allowing businesses to get a taste of what tech could do for their operations Kickstart new corporate-backed accelerators Northern tech groups, together with Tech North, should consider identifying corporates that may be interested in backing tech startup accelerators Move towards ‘problem-based’ commissioning Public sector commissioners should consider the benefits of problem-based procurement, which does not define solutions from the outset Encourage the use of open source software Partners in the North should champion the use of open source software to enable collaborative innovation, opening software markets up to more local competition Establish a ‘Founder of Founders’ award A Founder of Founders award could be given to business owners who do the most to support their fellow entrepreneurs Establish a Digital Powerhouse Contract Portal A portal could be created that collates private and public sector contracts in one place, establishing a Northern hub of commercial opportunities Make the North a testbed for experimental tech Northern tech clusters should look at ways they could be proving grounds for experimental technologies (e.g. the use of robotics in social care or blockchain technology in the welfare system) Open up data on KPIs and procurement results Local authorities and public services should consider releasing their data on procurement history and key performance indicators (KPIs), so as to help tech communities understand the opportunities available Pool the resources of university outreach teams The outreach teams of Northern universities should consider joining forces to present a single unified offer to local tech businesses Champion the tech co-operative model Tech co-operatives should be promoted in the North as a means of helping tech firms band together and achieve economies of scale Establish digital immersion events Public service teams should consider organising events with nearby tech communities in order to share procurement knowledge and better understand local needs and strengths Create a ‘Procurement Powerhouse’ social enterprise Northern entrepreneurs should consider creating a social enterprise to link public sector buyers with tech businesses in the region, providing a sustainable solution to matchmaking Organise a ‘600 that Share’ movement The region’s 600 very large businesses could be encouraged to pledge to do more to support their local tech community Consider a ‘what works’ review of tech business support A ‘what works’ review could be undertaken to better understand how the region’s business support offer might be improved for tech businesses Recommendations The Digital Powerhouse 2 About the RSA The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) believes that everyone should have the freedom and power to turn their ideas into reality – we call this the Power to Create. Through our ideas, research and 27,000-strong Fellowship, we seek to realise a society where creative power is distributed, where concentrations of power are confronted, and where creative values are nurtured. The RSA Action and Research Centre combines practical experimentation with rigorous research to achieve these goals. About Tech North Established in 2015, Tech North is a government-funded initiative delivered through Tech City UK. The specific goal of Tech North is to accelerate the development of the North’s digital economy through the promotion and support of digital entrepreneurship. Its remit is to attract talent, entrepreneurs and investment to the North of England, specifi- cally the seven cities of Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Sunderland. Tech North champion initiatives that support the development of the North’s digital economy, working with local and central government to inform policies that help accelerate growth. About Impact Hub Impact Hub is a global network of centres for social innovation and social entrepreneurship. The first Impact Hub opened in London in 2005 – one of 85 Impact Hubs in cities across six continents. Altogether, the Impact Hub Network has over 13,000 members working at the cutting edge of social innovation, social entrepreneurship and the impact economy. By building a network of spaces and communities – collaborative, inspiring, mixed-used, resource-rich and diverse – we have established a locally- rooted, globally-connected ecosystem perfect for the birth, growth and scaling of impact-driven ideas and businesses. 3 Contents Contents The Vision 7 Private Sector Collaboration 17 Public Sector Collaboration 28 Knowledge Exchange 38 Next Steps 48 Appendix 50 Acknowledgements Special thanks go to everyone that participated in the research, includ- ing the three workshops that were held in Manchester, Leeds and Hull. Our interviewees included Martha Sama, Toby Rhodes, Nigel Lockett, Si Hanson, Hans Moller, Dan Sutch, Colin White, Alasdair Greig, Sarah Clinch, Lee Strafford, Kevin McManus, Volker Hirsch, Ken Swain, Liz Whiteley, Tim Difford, Simon Ho, David Dunn, Alexander Kurukulasuriya, Daniel Saunders, Greg Berry, Nele Kapretz, Leon Reiner, Michael Mellinghoff, Geoff Mamlet, Bianca Oudshoff and Ruben Nieuwenhuis. Thanks must also go to the team at Nesta, Tech City UK, Burning Glass Technologies and GrowthIntel for sharing their data, as well as to James Bedford at Tech North for his invaluable pointers and feedback, and to Claire Braithwaite for her role in initiating the project. Research team: Benedict Dellot, Fabian Wallace-Stephens, Rowan Conway, Jack Robson, Clare Devaney, Jonathan Schifferes, Alberto Masetti- Zannini, Alex Soskin, Eleanor Whitley and Howard Reed. For more information about the report and our research, please contact Benedict Dellot at benedict.dellot@rsa.org.uk, or James Bedford from Tech North at james@techcityuk.com The definitions and part of the data and analysis documented in this report are based on Nesta’s seminal work in Tech Nation 2016, undertaken in partnership with Tech City UK. For more information about their study, please contact Juan Mateos- Garcia at juan.mateos-garcia@nesta.org.uk Research partners: About Tech City UK Tech City UK is a government-backed organisation charged with accelerating the growth of the digital economy in London and the UK. We focus on areas like digital skills, smart capital investment, infrastruc- ture, international development and leadership. 5 Forewords Forewords The North of England, long famous for its industrial might and entrepre- neurial drive, is now being recognised for its creative clout and innovative thinking. These attributes explain the recent surge in growth in the tech communities across the North, from Newcastle to Manchester, from Liverpool to the Tees Valley. This Government is determined to rebalance the economy by building a Northern Powerhouse. That is why we have tasked Tech North with unleashing the potential of Northern tech clusters using a £2m annual budget from Government to deliver initiatives such as Northern Stars and Founders Network. We have also given £11m to local authorities in Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield to support the development of Northern tech businesses. These grants will be used to help nurture start-ups, foster collaboration, and provide mentoring, learning and business support. But, as The Digital Powerhouse report sets out, there is much more to be done. There are huge opportunities for tech companies to grow: devolution, smart cities, big data, and the corporate supply chains which depend on new products to remain competitive and prosper. The potential is huge. This report identifies strong tech clusters in the North and sets out the importance of tech collaboration to economic growth. It highlights opportunities and threats for Northern entrepreneurs and tech companies and gives useful examples of how barriers to growth have previously been overcome. Tech will not be considered a separate sector for long. It is already at the centre of our lives and is an integral part of the Northern economy. It is increasing the efficiency of industry, closing the gap between custom- ers and business, and transforming data into products. Starting a tech business could be considered an act of innovation in itself; indeed creativity is a theme which runs through The Digital Powerhouse report. We know that tech businesses can help drive innova- tion throughout the wider economy, and for them to recognise their maximum potential fresh new methods of collaboration must be used. Tech North has worked with the RSA (Royal Society for the encour- agement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) and the Impact Hub network to deliver this valuable report. It is leading the way in showing that the North is filled with opportunity and innovation. Now our superb digital companies must take the opportunity to drive the growth which underpins the Northern – and increasingly Digital – Powerhouse. By working with these dynamic digital entrepreneurs, who are creating growth in their local economies, we will continue to make the North an even greater place to work, live and invest in. Ed Vaizey Digital Economy Minister James Wharton Northern Powerhouse Minister The Digital Powerhouse 6 It is with genuine excitement when we speak of or hear about initiatives boosting the Northern Powerhouse, the push to drive growth and pro- ductivity in the world-famous Northern cities of England. This Digital Powerhouse report highlights what a crucial component and role ‘digital’ plays to that growth and how the North has, in abundance, the assets, ambition and opportunities to fuel the value creation of the Northern tech clusters. This report maps out how the North can better engage with its tech clusters, drawing on respective expertise and innovation in order to provide solutions for smart cities and digitise industry strengths. A North that is fully leveraging its tech clusters can help create new products and services that will lead to new jobs, increased productivity and new busi- nesses. Establishing, expanding and realising these market opportunities will help Northern companies remain competitive and efficient – further attracting even more investment and greater value for the region. Tech North was established by government and Tech City UK to accelerate the potential of the Northern tech clusters. This report shines a brilliant light on all the assets and opportunities already un- derway which serve as a foundation for the growth of the new Digital Northern Powerhouse. Welcome to The Digital Powerhouse, a report from Tech North, in part- nership with the RSA and the Impact Hub network. We commissioned the report to investigate the opportunities that exist for the North’s digital tech sector which we believe is key to the success of the Northern Powerhouse. The Digital Powerhouse report demonstrates how the North can grow its economy by better connecting its growing tech clusters with its own market opportunities, with government devolution, digitisation of services, corporate need for disruptive tech and the power of data all examined. We’ve been delighted by the input we’ve received from across the North. Through roundtables and interviews, we’ve been able to incorpo- rate ideas and insights which form the report’s backbone. What’s clear is that new thinking is required to make best use of the tech cluster expertise, assets and opportunities here in the North, and we hope this report acts as a catalyst for this. Herb Kim Executive Chair, Tech North Eileen Burbidge Chair, Tech City UK and Partner, Passion Capital 7 The Vision The Vision Introducing the Digital Powerhouse The North’s digital economy is thriving. Today the region is home to seven of the UK’s 27 key tech clusters, each of which boast pioneering businesses, ambitious founders and accomplished innovators – all of whom Tech North was established to support. The proliferation of accelerators, co-working spaces, meetup groups and community events is testament to the North’s enthusiasm for the digital economy, and to the widespread belief that there are better things to come. From the launch of the C4DI co-working space in Hull, to the expansion of Newcastle’s well- regarded Ignite accelerator programme, through to the continued success of Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, this is the story of a ‘Digital Powerhouse’ in the making. What does this mean in economic terms? The region’s tech businesses produce £9.9bn in Gross Value Added (GVA), amounting to 5.2 percent of the North’s total economic output.1 Over 280,000 tech workers are employed either in tech businesses or traditional industries, the equivalent to one in 20 of the workforce.2 The significance of the North’s tech scene becomes more apparent when set against the picture for the UK as a whole. Eighteen percent of the nation’s tech workers are based here, and the largest tech cluster outside of London (by employee size) is in Manchester.3 Sage UK, based in Newcastle, is one of only a handful of technology companies in the FTSE 100. Northern cities are making particular headway in several subsectors of the digital economy. Manchester has a world-class digital advertising cluster, Hull is building up its expertise in e-commerce, and Liverpool is foremost among UK cities for connected devices and the Internet of Things. HealthTech has become a strong suit for Leeds, software is a spe- ciality for Sunderland, and there is a notable grouping of social network businesses taking root in Newcastle. Such is the degree of specialisation that several cities have taken on distinctive monikers, including Liverpool (‘sensor city’), Sheffield (‘maker city’) and Leeds (‘data city’). Figure 1 shows the over and underrepresentation of different digital subsectors in the North, relative to to what would be expected given the prevalence of these subsectors nationwide. These figures, from a company called GrowthIntel that uses Big Data to generate predictive marketing intelligence, are a rough approximation of the region’s current tech specialities and are liable to change as markets shift and new technologies come into play. 1. Tech City UK and Nesta (2016) Tech Nation 2016. London: UK. Figures derived from Annual Business Survey. 2. Ibid. Figures derived from Annual Population Survey. 3. Ibid. Figures derived from Annual Population Survey. The Digital Powerhouse 8 Figure 1: Digital subsector representation in the North relative to the UK average 25% connected devices/IoT cybersecurity data management and analytics digital advertising and marketing digital entertainment e-commerce/marketplace enterprise software and cloud computing fintech games hardware/devices/open source hardware online gambling other social networking software and app development telecommunications and networking 20% 15% -15% 10% -10% 5% -5% 0% Percent under/overrepresented Source: RSA analysis of GrowthIntel data (2015) sourced as part of Tech Nation 2016. The digital economy is a good economy The emergence of the North’s digital economy has received considerable attention – and for good reason. The sector UK-wide grew almost a third faster (in turnover) than the rest of the economy between 2010 and 2014, highlighting its importance as a source of prosperity and wealth.4 The digital economy also plays a significant role in job creation, not- withstanding the ongoing debate about the long-term impact of tech on employment. Research by the Kauffman Foundation in the US shows that the ICT sector is responsible for a large proportion of all new startups, and that these startups are critical for net job growth.5 Most importantly, we know that productivity – the gold standard economic indicator – is 4. Tech City UK and Nesta (2016) Op cit. Source: Annual Business Survey/Business Structure Database (2014). 5. Hathaway, I. (2013) Tech Starts: High-Technology Business Formation and Job Creation in the United States. Kauffman Foundation. Box 1: What do we mean by tech businesses? Tech businesses are those that solely provide a digital product or service, or which heavily rely on one as a primary source of revenue.5 Tech business activity encompasses the creation of information and communications technology (including servers, hardware and software) as well as digital content (including games, broadcast media and digital marketing). In this report, we are concerned with ‘native’ tech activity (eg computer programming and gaming) as well as tech activity in traditional industries (eg in health, gambling and finance). More detail on our methodology can be found in the Appendix. 9 The Vision higher among digital employees than the workforce of any other sector, bar mining.6 It is not just the founders of tech businesses who benefit from this wealth creation. According to Burning Glass Technologies, a data mining company that analyses labour market information, the average advertised salary of a digital employee in the UK is just under £50,000, 36 percent higher than the advertised average for all sectors.7 The advertised salary for a digital worker in Leeds is £47,959, while in Liverpool it is £42,153 (see Figure 2). Salary growth in the tech industry has also sped ahead of wage rises in other sectors.8 Between 2012 and 2015, advertised digital salaries grew by 29 percent in Leeds, 26 percent in Sunderland and 27 percent in Newcastle and Durham – indicating that they are among areas with the strongest growth in digital salaries.9 Figure 2: Average advertised digital salaries and digital salary premiums in Northern tech clusters Source: RSA analysis of Burning Glass data (2015) sourced as part of Tech Nation 2016. Looking at the challenging economic landscape of the North as a whole brings the advantages of a thriving digital economy into even sharper focus. If the region were classed as a country, it would be shown to have grown more slowly than all but one EU state in the past 10 years, with levels of productivity that have historically lagged behind the UK average.10 The devolution of spending powers to cities like Manchester and Leeds, coupled with major new investment programmes such as HS2, are expected by the government to boost economic growth and make real the aspirations for a Northern Powerhouse. But it is also important to recognise the role being played by the digital economy, which is grounded 6. Hourly productivity (measured as total wage bill divided by total number of hours worked) is £21.83 in the digital industries. The only sector (using one digit SIC codes) to have greater productivity is mining and quarrying at £23.57. Source: Annual Population Survey (2015). 7. See Tech Nation 2016 for a full description of Burning Glass’s methodology. 8. Tech City UK and Nesta (2016) Op cit. 9. Ibid. 10. Cox, E. (2015) Rhetoric to Reality: A Business Agenda for the Northern Powerhouse. IPPR. 0 £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 £40,000 £50,000 £60,000 Newcastle & Durham Average digital salary Average digital salary as a % of typical salary Sunderland Liverpool Manchester Hull Leeds Sheffield & Rotherham 115% 120% 125% 130% 135% 140% 145% The Digital Powerhouse 10 in innovation and led by the private sector. As Table 1 shows, employment and productivity are growing at a considerably faster rate in the North’s digital sector than in the region’s non-digital industries. Table 1: Changes in employment and productivity in the North’s digital and non-digital sectors (2011/12–14/15) Employment growth Productivity growth Digital sector 28.1% 11.3% Non-digital sectors 3.1% 2.5% Source: RSA analysis of the Annual Population Survey data Note: Productivity refers to the total weekly wage bill divided by total hours worked per week. Employment growth refers to jobs rather than hours worked. The coming wave of digitisation For these reasons alone, Northern aspirations for a bigger digital econo- my are worthy of attention. However, tech businesses will become even more relevant due to the coming wave of digitisation. Up until recently, the digital economy was primarily concerned with the creation of ICT hardware, server tools and computer software – making it a relatively siloed industry. Yet the spread of digitisation – the process of collecting and converting information into a digital format – means the digital economy is beginning to underpin the activities of nearly every sector.11 Cisco, a leading voice on the subject, predicts that the UK market for digitising healthcare, retail, transport and energy will be worth £100bn by 2025.12 Digitisation is nothing new, but the pace of change is accelerating. The media industry was one of the first sectors to be disrupted by digital innovation, allowing new online players to muscle in on the markets for film, music and news. More recently, the transport, hospitality and res- taurant industries have been shaken up by the arrival of sharing economy platforms, such as Uber, Airbnb and Deliveroo, which are now household names. Cisco expects the same forces of digital disruption to transform agriculture, manufacturing and financial services.13 But this is not just a private sector phenomenon. Education, healthcare and civic governance are all being shaped by digital innovation – often leading to better value for money and improved outcomes for students, patients and citizens in the round. What is driving digitisation? One factor is technical capabilities. Improvements in computer processing power, storage and bandwidth have ramped up the possibilities for sophisticated data analysis. The world’s stock of available data is also doubling in size every year, thanks to ubiquitous internet connectivity (including access to smart phones) and the spread 11. Source of digitisation definition: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digitization 12. Hinks, J. (2015) UK startups in line for £100bn Internet of Everything windfall [article] Tech Radar, 18th March 2015. 13. Cisco (2015) The Internet of Everything: Unlocking the opportunity for UK startups. 11 The Vision of internet-connected devices.14 One estimate suggests the number of IP-enabled sensors worldwide will reach 50bn by 2020.15 The question is whether the North’s emerging Digital Powerhouse can be alert to the pos- sibilities of these developments and sit at the forefront of digitisation. The answer of this report is a resounding yes, should the right conditions be met. The prize of the Digital Powerhouse The North has a solid foundation to build upon and an enthusiastic tech community with the right ideas and determination. Sage UK, Boohoo and Trident are home grown companies that exemplify what is possible. The task now is to ensure experiences like theirs are not rarities but rather the norm, and that the region’s nascent tech clusters move towards maturity. A fully charged Digital Powerhouse would be one that matches the per- formance of other leading tech hubs around the world – on startup rates, productivity performance and innovation activity, among other measures. This is no easy task but is a prize worth striving for: • Raising employee productivity in line with the national average for the tech industry would create an extra £5.7bn in GVA.16 • Increasing the rate of self-employment in the digital economy in line with the rest of the UK would result in over 9,700 more tech founders.17 These ambitions will only be met once several ‘creative conditions’ are in place – four of which are already under the spotlight: Talent – Successful tech clusters depend on a pool of highly skilled work- ers – not only coders and programmers but also people with sales and marketing expertise. The UK’s digital economy is expected to require an extra 760,000 digital workers between 2015 and 2020.18 The government’s long-term response has been to introduce compulsory coding within schools, while at a local level several upskilling initiatives have been launched. Examples include Northcoders, which runs coding boot camps for entry-level software developers, and Career Hacker, a new platform using Big Data to help students, teachers and careers advisers keep up with the North’s industry trends.19 The region is fortunate to already have a number of well-respected computer science university departments that can be drawn upon for talent. 14. Evans, P. and Forth, P. (2016) Navigating a world of digital disruption. Boston Consulting Group Perspectives. 15. Ibid. 16. Average GVA per tech worker in the North is £34,919, compared with £55,073 for the UK as a whole – a gap of £20,154. The £5.7bn figure was arrived at by multiplying £20,154 by the number of tech workers in the North – 283,515. Sources: Annual Population Survey data (2014) and the Annual Business Survey data/Business Structure Database (2014), both cited in Tech City UK and Nesta (2016) Op cit. 17. The current rate of tech self-employment in the North is 0.41%, compared with 0.55% for the rest of the UK. Closing the gap would mean increasing the North’s rate of tech self- employment by 0.14% in a workforce of 6.93 million. This equates to 9,700 extra tech founders. Source: Annual Population Survey data. 18. Development Economics and O2 (2015) 2.3 million digital workers required by 2020 to power the UK’s digital economy [press notice]. 19. For more information see https://northcoders.com/ and https://careerhacker.uk/ The Digital Powerhouse 12 Infrastructure – Access to superfast broadband, affordable workspace and a modern transport system are basic ingredients for a thriving tech startup ecosystem. Although Northern cities have been waylaid by a history of underinvestment, the state of the region’s infrastructure has improved in recent years, and several major projects are in the pipeline. The HS2 in- vestment, electrification of the Midland Mainline railway and the creation of the Transport for the North partnership are all promising develop- ments. So too are the recent announcements by the chancellor to build an HS3 line and widen the M62 road link between Leeds and Manchester. Meanwhile, several cities have ambitions to introduce ‘ultrafast’ broad- band (at 1GB speeds), opening up new avenues for digital innovation. By 2017, 150,000 premises in Hull and East Yorkshire will have access to Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband. Finance – Banks, grant-making bodies, angel investors and venture capitalists (VCs) are all essential players whose capital injections keep tech clusters in motion. Although the biggest VCs and wealthiest angels are based in London, the North is home to a modest but expanding invest- ment community. The tech investment firm GP Bullhound established its Manchester office in 2014, while Newcastle-based Northstar Ventures now has over £95m under management. Added to these are accelerators like Dotforge operating in Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester, and Ignite in Newcastle and Manchester, both of which offer equity-based funding to startups. Tech North is also leading the creation of a co-investment fund that aims to catalyse private investment in the North, allowing easier access to finance for the tech community. Culture – Studies show that clusters perform best when there is a tight-knit community of businesses and a culture of openness and collaboration.20 Northern cities fare strongly in this regard. Sheffield Digital, Silicon Drinkabout in Leeds and Creative Kitchen in Liverpool are among the many networking groups that bring people together to encourage col- laboration and support, and in many cases promote the local tech scene. The North also boasts several vibrant incubators and co-working spaces, such as Baltic Creative in Liverpool, as well as major tech festivals like FutureEverything and Thinking Digital. This is not to mention the wider cultural and heritage assets that draw talent to the region, from the nightlife of Newcastle to the great outdoors of the Peak District. The missing condition Finance, infrastructure, talent and culture are the bedrocks of a digital economy, and they are rightly taking centre stage in efforts to build the North’s Digital Powerhouse. However, this report argues that we also need to pay attention to a fifth creative condition: market opportunities. By this we mean the ability of tech businesses to find clients and develop digital products and services that meet their needs. As impor- tant as the aforementioned factors are, ultimately the survival and growth of digital businesses in the North rests on them winning contracts and 20. See for example Nathan, M., Vandore, E. and Whitehead, R. (2012) A Tale of Tech City: The Future of Inner East London’s Digital Economy. Centre for London. 13 The Vision having paying customers. Focusing on market opportunities would signal a step-up in the nature of business support from initiatives that boost the supply (of tech businesses) to those that stimulate demand (for their products and services). Evidence indicates tech businesses would benefit from such a focus. A recent survey undertaken as part of Tech City UK and Nesta’s Tech Nation 2016 study found that many UK tech firms believe they are being held back by a weak economic climate.21 The figures are particularly high for several Northern cities, with 25 percent of tech businesses in Hull and 36 percent of those in Sheffield and Rotherham citing a poor economic climate as a concern. The sentiment is echoed in the findings of the UK’s Small Business Survey. Its latest results show that 37 percent of businesses in the ICT industry – another way of framing the digital economy – be- lieve they are weak at entering into new markets, and 24 percent say they have difficulty introducing new products and services.22 The problem is particularly acute for tech companies in the North as they appear more dependent on revenue from customer sales to finance growth, rather than investment finance. In this report we look at how tech businesses across the North can connect more effectively with the wealth of market opportunities on their doorstep. The region has almost one million businesses and is home to several large corporates – including Sky, Asda, BAE Systems, The Co-operative Group and First Direct – a number of whom could be considered potential clients.23 As many opportunities exist in the public sector, with health services, education providers, housing associations and other bodies all tendering for products and services that the region’s tech firms could provide. Alongside these more direct business opportuni- ties, the report considers how tech businesses can make better use of the knowledge held by universities, science parks and other businesses, so as to help them innovate and develop the next generation of digital products and services. Our ultimate argument is that the North’s aspirations for a Digital Powerhouse can be best met by focusing on demand, and by encouraging tech businesses to orient themselves to mainstream market opportunities. Next generation clusters While the purpose of this report is first and foremost to identify ways of supporting the North’s digital economy, the wider population has as much to gain from collaborative innovation, where multiple parties generate new products and services for mutual advantage. Local public services have the opportunity to be at the forefront of digitisation – from delivering new educational learning tools in the classroom, to introducing telecare systems across GP surgeries. In the same way, putting digital tools at the disposal of local businesses promises to raise productivity and give 21. Tech City UK and Nesta (2016) Op cit. 22. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2016) Small Business Survey 2014: All business data. BIS. The figures refer to all respondents who said they are ‘very poor’ or ‘poor’ at the activity in question. 23. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2015) Business Population Estimates 2015. BIS. The Business Population Estimates show that together the three Northern subregions have 1,050,105 private sector businesses. The Digital Powerhouse 14 firms a competitive edge over their rivals. Not just in retail and media, but in advanced manufacturing, life sciences, logistics and energy produc- tion – all sectors where the North punches above its weight. In this way, the region can become a test-bed for innovation. Collaboration does not have to stop there. Should partnerships yield results, the next logical step would be to take locally-born and locally- tested innovations onto the world stage. A local manufacturer could showcase the machine sensor technology of a home-grown IoT startup it has worked with, while NHS commissioners could champion among their peers the pioneering technology they have purchased from a Northern HealthTech company. Around the world, hundreds of conferences, trade shows and high-level meetings are drawing together influential leaders in the public and private sectors – and these present the ideal opportunity to spread the word about Northern tech innovations. Local clients of tech businesses should fly the flag for them internationally, recognising that it will be in their benefit if the North is seen as a global centre of tech excellence. Collaborative innovation of this kind marks a departure from the usual way of ‘doing tech’. The archetypal cluster is one where tech businesses operate in siloes, untethered from the cities in which they operate. Silicon Valley – which sets the bar for all clusters – is often seen as at the extreme end of this disconnect. Measured against the number of IPOs and multi- million dollar businesses, the Californian hub is unbeatable, and the city’s highly skilled workers have certainly benefited in the form of plentiful jobs and high wages. Yet for the everyday citizen of San Francisco, and for the businesses and public services that operate in its shadow, the benefits are less obvious. Not every cluster is so detached from its surroundings, but there is a general tendency to consider only the amount of wealth generated by digital economies rather than how that wealth is created and distributed. The starting point for this report is to claim that the North’s Digital Powerhouse can forge a different path – one where tech businesses are tightly woven into the fabric of their cities, where public services and sur- rounding businesses are ready and willing to co-innovate, and where all citizens have an incentive to throw their weight behind creating a prosper- ous digital economy. We hope our report provokes a conversation about how this vision can be realised, and that it articulates the potential prizes that are at stake. We begin by exploring opportunities for collaboration in the private sector, before moving onto public sector partnerships and finally the potential for wider knowledge exchange. Box 2: How to read this report This report should be read as a prospectus of opportunities for new partner- ships. Each of the three main chapters focuses on one aspect of collaboration and considers the following questions: • What are the opportunities for tech businesses? (eg a fast-growing retail industry, desire for efficiency savings in the NHS, or potential partnership with a university). • What are the credentials of local tech businesses? (eg strong e-commerce talent in Manchester, or HealthTech expertise in Leeds) • What are the barriers to collaboration? (eg strict procurement procedures, or risk-averse corporate buyers). • How can these barriers be broken down? (eg via matchmaking services or innovation vouchers). The report is clearly segmented so that readers can go directly to the information most relevant to them. Health technology officers will be most interested in the section on public sector collaboration, corporate execu- tives might gain more from the section on private sector partnerships, and university outreach staff are likely to benefit most from the last chapter on knowledge exchange. The report draws upon and complements the findings of the Tech Nation 2016 report, compiled by Tech City UK and Nesta. Whenever data is cited in the report, we explain in the footnotes where this information originates. 15 The Vision firms a competitive edge over their rivals. Not just in retail and media, but in advanced manufacturing, life sciences, logistics and energy produc- tion – all sectors where the North punches above its weight. In this way, the region can become a test-bed for innovation. Collaboration does not have to stop there. Should partnerships yield results, the next logical step would be to take locally-born and locally- tested innovations onto the world stage. A local manufacturer could showcase the machine sensor technology of a home-grown IoT startup it has worked with, while NHS commissioners could champion among their peers the pioneering technology they have purchased from a Northern HealthTech company. Around the world, hundreds of conferences, trade shows and high-level meetings are drawing together influential leaders in the public and private sectors – and these present the ideal opportunity to spread the word about Northern tech innovations. Local clients of tech businesses should fly the flag for them internationally, recognising that it will be in their benefit if the North is seen as a global centre of tech excellence. Collaborative innovation of this kind marks a departure from the usual way of ‘doing tech’. The archetypal cluster is one where tech businesses operate in siloes, untethered from the cities in which they operate. Silicon Valley – which sets the bar for all clusters – is often seen as at the extreme end of this disconnect. Measured against the number of IPOs and multi- million dollar businesses, the Californian hub is unbeatable, and the city’s highly skilled workers have certainly benefited in the form of plentiful jobs and high wages. Yet for the everyday citizen of San Francisco, and for the businesses and public services that operate in its shadow, the benefits are less obvious. Not every cluster is so detached from its surroundings, but there is a general tendency to consider only the amount of wealth generated by digital economies rather than how that wealth is created and distributed. The starting point for this report is to claim that the North’s Digital Powerhouse can forge a different path – one where tech businesses are tightly woven into the fabric of their cities, where public services and sur- rounding businesses are ready and willing to co-innovate, and where all citizens have an incentive to throw their weight behind creating a prosper- ous digital economy. We hope our report provokes a conversation about how this vision can be realised, and that it articulates the potential prizes that are at stake. We begin by exploring opportunities for collaboration in the private sector, before moving onto public sector partnerships and finally the potential for wider knowledge exchange. Box 2: How to read this report This report should be read as a prospectus of opportunities for new partner- ships. Each of the three main chapters focuses on one aspect of collaboration and considers the following questions: • What are the opportunities for tech businesses? (eg a fast-growing retail industry, desire for efficiency savings in the NHS, or potential partnership with a university). • What are the credentials of local tech businesses? (eg strong e-commerce talent in Manchester, or HealthTech expertise in Leeds) • What are the barriers to collaboration? (eg strict procurement procedures, or risk-averse corporate buyers). • How can these barriers be broken down? (eg via matchmaking services or innovation vouchers). The report is clearly segmented so that readers can go directly to the information most relevant to them. Health technology officers will be most interested in the section on public sector collaboration, corporate execu- tives might gain more from the section on private sector partnerships, and university outreach staff are likely to benefit most from the last chapter on knowledge exchange. The report draws upon and complements the findings of the Tech Nation 2016 report, compiled by Tech City UK and Nesta. Whenever data is cited in the report, we explain in the footnotes where this information originates. Box 3: Why seven cities? For the sake of brevity and clarity, our data analysis focuses on seven locations with the greatest tech activity: Liverpool, Manchester (including Salford and Trafford), Sheffield (including Rotherham), Leeds, Hull and Newcastle (includ- ing Durham). We recognise that the North’s digital economy is not limited to these clusters, and wherever possible have sought to highlight tech companies arising elsewhere – from drone manufacturers in Wigan and telecare providers in Airedale, through to makers of EdTech tools in Barnsley and developers of loan management software in Harrogate. The Digital Powerhouse 16 Digital GVA Annual Business Survey/BSD (2014) Digital economy jobs Annual Population Survey (2014) Advertised digital salary Burning Glass analysis (2015) Digital employment growth Annual Population Survey (2014) Advertised salary growth Burning Glass analysis (2015) City data sourced from Tech City UK and Nesta’s Tech Nation 2016 report * Leeds prominent sectors information provided by Leeds Data City Liv Shf Rth New Dur Sun Man Lds Hul 19,535 £42,153 14,313 £42,058 3,675 £38,999 22,237 £44,068 23,734 £47,959 6,070 £37,258 51,901 £45,204 £269m £273m £107m £764m £671m £189m £1.7bn +7% +16% +3% +18% +17% +26% +5% +27% +7% +29% +2% +14% +13% +18% Digital economy jobs Advertised digital salary Digital economy jobs Advertised digital salary Digital economy jobs Advertised digital salary Digital economy jobs Advertised digital salary Digital economy jobs Advertised digital salary Digital economy jobs Advertised digital salary Digital economy jobs Advertised digital salary Digital GVA Digital GVA Digital GVA Digital GVA Digital GVA Digital GVA Digital GVA Digital employment growth (2011–14) Advertised salary growth (2012–15) Digital employment growth (2011–14) Advertised salary growth (2012–15) Digital employment growth (2011–14) Advertised salary growth (2012–15) Digital employment growth (2011–14) Advertised salary growth (2012–15) Digital employment growth (2011–14) Advertised salary growth (2012–15) Digital employment growth (2011–14) Advertised salary growth (2012–15) Digital employment growth (2011–14) Advertised salary growth (2012–15) Prominent sectors IoT and connected devices App and software development E-commerce and marketplace Gaming Prominent sectors E-commerce and marketplace Hardware, devices and open source hardware App and software development Enterprise software and cloud computing Prominent sectors Telecommunications and networking Gaming Hardware, devices and open source hardware App and software development Prominent sectors Social networks Data management and analytics E-commerce and marketplace Gaming Prominent sectors* E-commerce and marketplace App and software development Digital advertising and marketing Digital media and entertainment Prominent sectors E-commerce and marketplace App and software development Hardware, devices and open source hardware Data management and analytics Prominent sectors EdTech Digital advertising and marketing FinTech E-commerce and marketplace Liverpool Tech Cluster Fact Sheet Data sourced from Tech Nation 2016 Sheffield and Rotherham Sunderland Newcastle and Durham Sources Leeds Hull Manchester (includes Salford and Trafford) Analysis by 17 Private Sector Collaboration Private Sector Collaboration With the flurry of media commentary surrounding social network- ing sites like Facebook and sharing economy platforms like Uber, we could be forgiven for believing the digital economy is primarily about consumer-facing businesses. Yet the column inches these companies take up belies the fact there is equally significant innovation happening up stream in business-to-business supply chains. From AgriTech that controls the distribution of fertiliser on farms, through to sensors that monitor machinery in factories, the potential for digital innovation to augment production in all corners of the private sector is considerable. Attuned to the possibilities, many corporates have begun to partner with tech businesses and buy in their expertise. In some cases, this means purchasing off-the-shelf digital products (eg CRM software), while in others it means commissioning tailor-made tech solutions. At the more intense end of the collaborative spectrum, companies with capital are investing in fledgling tech startups or acquiring firms and their talent outright. Why would corporates go to this trouble rather than innovate in-house? According to the US academic Clayton Christen, large incum- bent businesses often struggle to generate ground-breaking innovations on their own because they are focused on meeting the needs of existing customers through incremental change.24 The scope for tech businesses to collaborate with private sector firms is as great in the North as anywhere else. The region boasts close to a million businesses, including 600 large companies employing more than 500 people.25 Among the major corporates with a presence in the region are Sopra Steria, Barclays, Sky, Siemens, BAE Systems, Asda and The Co- operative Group. Barclays is reported to spend £3bn on technology across their operations, while the Co-operative Group spends £400m – some of which may already flow to Northern companies.26 However, the opportu- nities for collaboration are far from exhausted. The UK as a whole ranks 15th out of 29 European countries on a measure of digital integration among businesses, indicating substantial room for improvement. 27 24. Christensen, C. (1997) Innovator’s Dilemma: When new technologies cause great firms to fail. Harvard University Press. 25. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (2015) Business Population Estimates 2015. BIS. 26. For more information see www.cio.co.uk/cio100/2014/barclays and www.cio.co.uk/ cio100/2014/cooperative-group/ 27. Based on data collected as part of the European Digital Economy & Society Index (DESI). For more information, visit https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi The Digital Powerhouse 18 This chapter argues that it is within the North’s gift to become a world leader in private sector-led collaborative innovation. In doing so, we home in on a handful of sectors in the region and discuss how they might benefit from working more closely with surrounding tech clusters. These indus- tries were chosen according to several factors, including their total output, growth rate, and perceived readiness for digitisation. Table 2 below lists the top 20 sectors in the North by overall turnover, clearly showing that retail, manufacturing and logistics are three large markets that deserve closer attention from the tech community. The North’s media industry is not as large in terms of total output, but is significant relative to the size of the sector in other UK regions. Table 2: Top 20 sectors in the North by overall turnover Industry Turnover (£m) Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles 95,549 Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 73,145 Wholesale and retail trade and repair 27,372 Manufacture of food products 21,540 Manufacture of C3:D23 vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers 17,482 Specialised construction activities 16,086 Gambling and betting activities 14,916 Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum 14,673 Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 14,430 Construction of buildings 13,802 Telecommunications 12,850 Warehousing and support activities for transportation 12,813 Food and beverage service activities 10,812 Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 10,646 Land transport and transport via pipelines 10,076 Office administrative, office support and other business support 9,221 Architectural and engineering activities 9,174 Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery 9,104 Computer programming, consultancy and related activities 8,555 Legal and accounting services 8,174 Source: RSA analysis of Annual Business Survey data (2013) Retail and gambling When it comes to sheer size, few sectors measure up against retail. It is the biggest industry in the North and continues to grow – by 7 percent Retail and gambling Manufacturing Logistics 19 Private Sector Collaboration in turnover between 2008/09 and 2012/13.28 Retail trade is worth £73bn in turnover to the region’s economy, while wholesale retail contributes £95.5bn.29 According to Cisco’s analysis, retail is also an industry ripe for digitisation (see Table 3). E-commerce tools, customer relationship man- agement (CRM) software and digital marketing services are nothing new in the world of retail, but they are becoming more sophisticated thanks to Big Data and improved analytical tools. New technologies including anti- theft gadgets, inventory management tools and beacon tech – devices that push signals and information to customers in store – promise to further boost the capabilities of retailers. Just as the North has a sizeable retail sector, so too does it have the talent to positively disrupt it. Nationally significant clusters in e-commerce exist in Newcastle, Manchester and Sheffield, while large digital advertising and marketing clusters have taken root in Manchester and Leeds. Rotherham-based Linktagger specialises in beacon and NFC (Near Field Communications) hardware, which, among other uses, enables retailers to send special offers to people as they shop. In Salford, a business called Formisimo has developed analytics software to help online retailers uncover pain points in their web forms and improve sales conversion rates. Meanwhile in Manchester, a company called Gnatta has created award-winning ‘omni-channel’ CRM software to seamlessly align all communication activities between vendors and their customers. The gambling sector is another strong suit for Northern cities. It ranks in the top 20 industries by turnover in all three Northern regions, and its con- siderable growth rate shows little sign of petering out.30 Overall the sector is worth £14.9bn in turnover to the North, and is nearly twice the size of the legal and accountancy trade.31 BetFred is headquartered in Warrington, Sky Bet in Leeds, Tombola in Sunderland and Bet365 in Stoke. As with the wider retail industry, there is clear potential for betting companies like these to make use of the digital expertise in nearby tech clusters. The application of digital tools, however, will pose further ethical dilemmas for an industry already faced with accusations of being indifferent to problem gambling. How advocates of BetTech approach this challenge will be a litmus test for the community-conscious vision of a Digital Powerhouse. Manufacturing International competition has made it increasingly difficult to maintain a strong industrial base, as shown recently in the problems facing the Tata steel mills. Yet while the steel industry may be under pressure, the UK is still home to world class manufacturers in automotives, pharma- ceuticals and life sciences. Manufacturing remains particularly important to the North, contributing £150.5bn in turnover to the economy and employing 805,500 people.32 Regional specialisms span food production (eg Cranswick in Hull), textiles (eg James Dewhurst in Manchester), 28. RSA analysis of Annual Business Survey data (2013). 29. Ibid. Excluding the sale of motor vehicles. 30. According to RSA analysis of Annual Business Survey data (2013), the turnover of gambling and betting activities in the North grew by 7.1% between 2008/09 and 2012/13. 31. The turnover of the North’s legal and accountancy sector was £8.2bn in 2013 (Annual Business Survey). 32. RSA analysis of Annual Business Survey data (2013). “The North of England was the global powerhouse of the industrial revolution, and the legacy of this is the largest pan regional cluster of knowledge intensive supply chain activity in the UK… As we embrace the era of ‘software eating industry’, through the process of digitising our supply chains, we can play a major role in shaping and driving the adoption of the innovations which will define the 21st century.” Lee Strafford The Digital Powerhouse 20 chemicals (eg Kerling in Runcorn), and automotives (eg Nissan in Sunderland). The North has also nurtured a number of advanced manufacturing clusters, including groupings of aerospace businesses in Lancashire, robotics companies in Yorkshire and developers of graphene- based solutions in Manchester. What does manufacturing look like in the digital age? The implications of digitisation for heavy industry are as profound as they are for services. New machine learning software can help engineers predict when their tools are likely to need replacing, while sensors on the factory floor can highlight faults or idle activity in process lines. Machine transmitters and computer interfaces have been around for more than a decade, but their price has fallen to such a point that most factory equipment can now be affordably monitored. Digitisation has also led to the development of new machine types, including additive tools that build products up layer by layer using 3D modelling software. Such is the excitement around the so-called ‘Industrial Internet’ that Siemens has launched a corporate venturing fund specifically tasked with backing startups that disrupt traditional models of manufacturing. The factory floors of James Dewhurst in Manchester or Prince’s Foods in Liverpool may seem a world away from the polished offices of the surrounding tech community, but there is ample opportunity for col laboration. 2M Automation is a Manchester-based company that creates automation solutions for factories, and recently worked with Nissan in Sunderland to design a fluid conveying system for a new machine. The region is also home to a vibrant community of IoT enthusiasts, some of which, like Pimoroni in Sheffield, are creating monitoring devices and sensors that can be applied in a factory setting. Nearly every Northern city also has a makerspace, housing tinkerers and entrepreneurs that are modifying digital fabrication tools and product modelling software that could be prominent in the foundries of the future. There is even scope for the region’s cyber security firms to help local manufacturers protect their growing suite of digital enabled machinery.33 Table 3: Industries ranked by their potential for further digital disruption – according to Cisco Technology products and services 1 Media and entertainment 2 Retail 3 Financial services 4 Telecommunications 5 Education 6 Hospitality and travel 7 Manufacturing 8 Healthcare 9 Utilities 10 Oil and gas 11 Pharmaceuticals 12 33. The North West Cyber Security Cluster was founded in 2014 to foster links between Northern cyber security firms and surrounding businesses. 21 Private Sector Collaboration Cisco’s ranking of industries according to their digitisation potential is based on third party data and a survey undertaken with industry leaders around the world. More details on the methodology can be found in Cisco (2015) Digital Vortex: How digital disruption is redefining business. Logistics Logistics is what might be called a ‘silent sector’ – indispensable to the functioning of a healthy economy but mostly hidden from view. Included under this banner are road, air and rail haulage firms, port authorities, warehousing businesses and public transport providers. The North has a relatively large logistics base, being home to major businesses such as Eddie Stobart (Carlisle), the Bibby Line Group (Liverpool) and Harrison Solway (Hull). Sheffield boasts one of the biggest warehouse locations in the country – Logistics Hub UK – with Asda, BMW and Amazon all running distribution centres on site. The region also has eight major ports and four major airports.34 Altogether, logistics accounts for £30.5bn of private sector turnover in the North, a figure that grew by 11 percent between 2008/09 and 2012/13.35 Logistics is not an industry that appears on the verge of a digital revolution, yet recent developments in tech have opened up new avenues for innovation. New digital tools and products are being used to improve inventory management, boost fuel efficiency, enhance insurance estimations and streamline route optimisation. Internet connected devices, for example, allow logistics firms to track the precise location of their goods, while sophisticated GPS systems crunching real time traffic data can help delivery drivers map out the fastest route to their destination. Added to these modest innovations is an emerging field of AutoTech that is transforming vehicles under the bonnet, connecting hundreds of car parts to computers in a bid to improve efficiency and passenger safety. Unilever, which has recognised the potential for digital innovation in transport, wants to reduce emissions from its global logistics network by 40 percent from 2010–2020.36 Can the North’s tech clusters bring similar innovations to the region’s logistics firms? A pioneering business in Sheffield gives cause for opti- mism. The Floow uses cutting edge telematics technology to improve vehicle insurance services. In practice this means asking the driver to download an app to their smartphone or to install a ‘black box’ into their vehicle to monitor driver behaviour. The Floow supply their services to a number of leading insurers worldwide, and recently secured a deal to receive and process data directly from OEM equipment mounted on Renault and Nissan vehicles. Another company called Nomad Digital in Newcastle provides tech solutions for rail companies, including WiFi systems, devices that monitor train equipment and passenger information displays. Overall, the digital credentials that make Northern tech clusters well suited to transform manufacturing are the same that put them in a good position to improve logistics: specialisms in IoT, expertise in hard- ware, and talent in software and cloud computing. 34. Major airports are those with more than a million passengers a year. See Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) statistics. 35. RSA analysis of Annual Business Survey data (2013). ‘Logistics’ refers to ABS data on ‘transport and storage’. 36. Scottish Enterprise (2014) Opportunities in sustainable logistics. “Liverpool has a massive port and logistics cluster, as well as a booming retail sector. I can guarantee that if large players in either of these industries took the leap and decided to work with one of our dynamic tech companies, they would be seriously impressed by their innovation potential.” Kevin McManus, Liverpool Invest The Digital Powerhouse 22 Media Media has made a mark on the local econom</p>
