Title: | The Cambridge BioScience Impact Assessment Study |
Project Description: | In the Centre for Cities Economic Outlook 2012, Cambridge is second on the list of “Cities to Watch” based on the high percentage of knowledge workers (51%), residents educated to NVQ 4 or above (51%), number of patents per 100,000 of the population (113), business start-ups per 10,000 of population (35.8) and projected public sector job losses by 2016 (-2.2%). Cambridge has also been at the forefront of population growth, with a 12.7% increase in residents between 2001 and 2011 – the fifth highest increase in the UK.
One of the most successful parts of the ‘Cambridge Phenomenon’ (the development of technology based companies around a world leading university) has been the development of the biosciences. The visible success of university and NHS based scientific endeavour in attracting research funds and inward investment from industry raises a number of questions of more general interest for which Cambridge biomedical science ‘cluster’ might be used as a case study. These include: 1. What is the contribution of Cambridge biomedical science to the local economy? What are the factors that have led to this investment being in Cambridge rather than elsewhere in the United Kingdom and elsewhere? 2. What are the costs and benefits of the recent growth in biomedical sciences on the wider economy within Cambridgeshire? What factors limit future development and the sustainability of current developments? To what extent do the benefits and disbenefits impact on different population groups? 3. What is the contribution of Cambridge biomedical science to the national economy and what methods are available with which to assess this? 4. What actions are required by those involved across industry, academia and government to maximise the local and national economic contribution that biomedical sciences can make? This project in association with Cambridge Economic Associates and Cambridge Econometrics, using both qualitative and quantitative methods, seeks to shed light on these issues to help identify the return on investment in large bioscience clusters. |
Project organisation | |
Start date: | 1st January 2015 |
End date: | 31st October 2015 |
Contact person: | Dr Ed Wilson |
Contact Details: | Primary Care Unit Institute of Public Health University Forvie Site, Robinson Way Cambridge Cambs CB2 0SR UK Telephone: tba Fax: 01223 762515 E-mail: ed.wilson@medschl.cam.ac.uk |
Funding information | |
Funding Organisation: | Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre |
Funding Reference: | |
Funding Amount: | £50,000 |
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Further Information, References and Publications | |
This project is now completed and the report is available here |