sector

Helping place leaders achieve sustainable, innovation-led levelling up.

The plans, policies, strategies and cultures which enable or inhibit innovation in a given location are shaped by place leaders. We seek to empower place leaders to be confident customers of innovation and effective stewards of the UK’s innovation economy.

Sam Markey

Ecosystem Director – Place Leadership

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Innovation Places

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Innovation places are engines of economic growth and renewal. Visit our Innovation Places hub to learn what works in sparking inclusive regional innovation economies and to connect with our networks of pioneers and practitioners.

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Project / Case Study: Seeding an innovation ecosystem in the Belfast City Region

Connected Places Catapult supported place leaders in Belfast leading to a successful bid for a Belfast City Region Deal that will deliver £2 billion in additional GVA and 10,000 new jobs.
Cover of the report titled "Hubs of Innovation: A Playbook for Place Leaders," featuring logos of Catapult, The Business of Cities, and UK Innovation Districts Group, and showing a blurred person walking.

Document / Hubs of Innovation – A Playbook for Place Leaders

A red-brick building labeled "Rare & Strange William Vaughan's Goods Warehouse" and a few people on a street are surrounded by sketched outlines of tall modern buildings.

Podcast / Innovation Places Summit

Cover of a report titled "Hubs of Innovation: The role of Districts, Corridors and Quarters as hubs of the Covid-adjusted innovation economy." Dated March 2021 by Catapult Connected Places.

Document / Hubs of Innovation

Smarter Spending

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An innovation-friendly approach to public sector buying has the power to deliver better user experiences and spark economic growth. Discover insights, advice and practical support in the Smarter Spending hub.

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Report / Sparking innovation in the market: The role of expert support hubs

By adopting innovative solutions, the public sector can make services work better for people, and cut costs.

Report / Sparking innovation through the market: A review of pioneering practice

A red-brick building labeled "Rare & Strange William Vaughan's Goods Warehouse" and a few people on a street are surrounded by sketched outlines of tall modern buildings.

Podcast / Innovation Places Summit

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Podcast / What next for innovation-friendly procurement?

The art of place leadership

Article

Leading by example in quest to shape better places

Two of the architects of the recent Innovation Places Leadership Academy programme involving four UK localities speak of the success of cohort two.
4 days ago
Cardiff skyline
Article

Cardiff gets creative to grow the innovation economy

Empowering local leaders with skills, insights and connections to drive inclusive economic growth through innovation is the aim of the Innovation Places Leadership Academy (IPLA), run by Connected Places Catapult. Here, we speak to two leaders from our latest cohort about their city’s ambitions.
6 days ago
Opportunity

Public Realm Innovation Initiative

Partner with Connected Places Catapult to unlock the value of public space.
2 weeks ago

Report / The art of the possible: Unlocking the potential of community-based finance

Article / Clean Futures panel urges greater sharing of trial outcomes

Article / East Midlands leaders power forward with encouraging innovation

Podcasts

What next for innovation-friendly procurement?
Podcasts

The growing momentum behind 3Ci

Logo of Innovate UK, featuring "UKRI" in white text on a dark blue background to the left and a purple geometric design followed by the text "Innovate UK" in dark blue on a white background to the right.
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