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World championship snooker, steelmaking and the city’s Supertram are among Sheffield’s defining characteristics – especially for those living further away. But now the South Yorkshire conurbation is hoping to create a lasting impression for its work to boost the local economy, through initiatives such as the ‘Sheffield Innovation Spine’.
The Spine is an urban regeneration project unlocking a route through the north of the city, which to date has been under-utilised. It aims to repurpose several buildings and provide a new lease of life in some areas of the city; creating centres of technology and incubators for small businesses.
The project launched in autumn 2024 with the support of Sheffield City Council, the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield Technology Parks and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority; and the project is backed by Connected Places Catapult via the Innovation Places Leadership Academy.
Two local leaders helping to shape a feasibility study for the Sheffield Innovation Spine over the next two years are the University of Sheffield’s director of regional engagement and innovation Yasmin Knight, and Sheffield Technology Parks’ chief executive Tom Wolfenden.
“The genesis of the concept of the Spine is demand-led – we are creating a lot of spin-outs and startups that need space in the city centre near the university research base that’s just not available.”Yasmin Knight, University of Sheffield’s director of regional engagement and innovation
“We also need to create a more vibrant centre alongside other development plans for the city, and want to build some urban innovation into those plans, plus high-quality jobs.”
Tom adds: “We have several world-class, scaling businesses in the city but have never had an allocated zone for them to cluster around. If you stand at Sheffield train station, one such company is a 20-minute walk left, the other's 15 minutes right and a third is half an hour forwards. We risk either losing a transfer of knowledge by not having the businesses in a similar location, or the firms going to other cities.”
The pair agree that while Sheffield has an established innovation district outside the city, many early-stage businesses they speak to – and especially those with younger founders – want to be located in the urban centre near like-minded professionals.
“One of the things that struck me when showing business leaders around Sheffield,” continues Yasmin, “is what an incredibly walkable city it is, and the ease with which you can bump into people you know”.
And while many people will point to Sheffield’s heritage – not least steelmaking – fewer may realise, she adds, that the city has one of the largest theatre complexes outside London. She also says the city and the wider South Yorkshire region reportedly has more breweries per head of population than anywhere else in the UK.
“Sheffield is full of hidden gems. The cultural offer is incredible and the city has become a culinary destination. It's got so much to offer, and we just need to let the rest of the world know – and get Sheffield on the map.”
Tom also points towards the city boasting one of the highest retention rates for university students after 18 months, but that Sheffield needs to improve on the range of careers it offers.
“We have seen lots of boomerang people: they go to London, Manchester or maybe overseas and come back to Sheffield to start a family or settle down mid-career.”
He adds the city’s future success will be guided by a combination of having the right transport connectivity – fast train services to Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham take less than an hour – the right facilities, such as with the Innovation Spine, and a positive outlook.
“Sheffield is a relatively modest, but very welcoming city. Someone said to me a few years ago it's a place where you can feel like you've made a difference, and your business can do something that has a demonstrable impact on the city.”Tom Wolfenden, Sheffield Technology Parks’ chief executive
But there are challenges the city faces: not least a significant economic gap between relatively prosperous and poor suburbs on either side of Sheffield, with a 10-to-12-year difference in life expectancy between two ends of one particular bus route.
“One of the key strands of how we take forward the Innovation Spine is looking at how it starts to address inclusive economic growth,” says Tom. “It’s about how you inspire children from less well-off areas to interface with businesses, how we put work experience opportunities in front of them and educate their parents as to what it means to work in STEM subjects.”
Being part of the Innovation Places Leadership Academy cohort two has allowed Sheffield “the luxury of time to talk to other cities” says Yasmin, and the ability, adds Tom, “to share notes”.
“We’ve had a couple of calls with various different people from other areas we met on the course, and Connected Places Catapult has also offered great advice around attracting investment,” he continues.
Sheffield is keen to encourage innovation-led businesses to locate in the city, to thrive and to scale. “We've got two years’ worth of funding, and a series of key deliverables to start thinking about what longer-term interventions look like. Over the next two years, we'll understand more what the next five years hold,” says Tom.
“We've got 51 companies on a spreadsheet that are either looking at the Sheffield Innovation Spine or that we think would be suited here,” he adds. “The University of Sheffield’s pipeline of spin-outs is around 10 a year, so we've got a conveyor belt of new and scaling businesses. Obviously, they won’t all succeed, but the volume we're seeing will generate growth over the next three to five years.”
Collaboration is also being nurtured between Sheffield and other cities across the north: the recent formation of the ‘Northern Gritstone’ investment company is looking to support innovation businesses associated with the Universities of Sheffield, Manchester and Leeds. “We can work together and all benefit from a rising tide mentality, and we are considering working more closely with a low carbon innovation cluster around the Humber and the Knowledge Quarter district in Liverpool.”
So what makes Sheffield a great place to live, work and have fun? Yasmin says the city demonstrates a “friendliness and a willingness to collaborate. There are new people coming to Sheffield because they like what they see, and are breathing a different life into the city and helping it to move to the next level”.
Tom adds that many business founders working with the Sheffield Innovation Spine are not originally from the city, “which is both interesting and a challenge. You want to make sure the indigenous population don't feel left behind by people arriving”.
And what does it take to be a great place leader? “Resilience, hard work and the ability to partner with others really well,” says Yasmin. “Anybody can create an amazing vision, but you cannot achieve great things on your own.”
Tom agrees with ‘resilience’ and offers that place leaders must be able to “communicate with authority and agency about what you're dealing with. And you need to be accessible to others and well-connected.”
IPLA brings place leaders together to address common challenges and co-develop solutions; and offers tailored support, access to national expertise, and opportunities for collaboration with peers to unlock the full potential of their cities and regions. Read more about the work of the Innovation Places Leadership Academy.
