I am delighted to be here today to officially open the Shine Knowledge and Innovation Park. This is exactly the kind of local initiative Hull needs. If we are to be successful as a country it will be because of knowledge, skills and innovation.
As the Humber Forum economic report (2001/2) said, "Improvements must be made in the capacity for innovation, entrepreneurship and raising knowledge". Yorkshire Forward's Progress in the Region report (2002) also points out that, "R & D and technology transfer from Higher Education to the region's business base must be a prime objective"
In this region you have a great asset in your 10 universities which last year spent over £270 million on R & D – one of the highest levels in the UK. This is an enormously valuable asset for the region which can be used to drive up the rate of regional innovation.
The partnership here at Shine is a good model of what is needed. It sits alongside Reckitt and Benckiser – a world leader in household and healthcare products. As a world class company it knows the value of R & D. Last October the Deputy Prime Minister officially opened the company's new R & D centre just behind me -- a £6million capital investment to ensure it maintains its world class status.
Another key partner is Hull University. This is important because universities are at the heart of a proactive economy. There has been a real cultural change in our universities, as witnessed by rapid progress in generating businesses from the science base. 199 spin-off firms were created in 1999-2000, compared to 70 per annum on average in the previous 5 years. When adjusted for their size, UK universities' exploitation performance is comparable with US universities. In fact, the UK sees one spin-off from every $8 million of research funding, whereas for the US that figure is only one spin-off per $50 million
I have just seen an example of the impact of Hull University's work at The Deep. A university spin out company – Micro chemical Systems – involved in nanotechnology. And a Total Environment Simulator which can model the local impact of global climate change. This is of enormous interest to us in Government as we have Foresight looking at Flood and Coastal Defences and it is important that the country has the resources to do that. I am also pleased that Yorkshire Forward has contributed over £1.4 million to SHINE - translating its commitment to improving R & D as a prime objective into action on the ground.
Government also has a part to play at the national and regional levels. In July we published our science, engineering and technology strategy which came out of the latest Spending Review. This sets out how an additional £1and ¼ billion investment from the 2002 Spending Review will be used to boost economic performance by raising the knowledge base, skills levels and innovation, whilst continuing our investment in basic research to world-class levels.
I am confident that this increased investment over the next 3 years will ensure the UK remains at the forefront of scientific and technological developments. But we do need to convert this advantage into business and economic success – we need local partnerships like those we now have at Shine.
You now have here a major world class business working with a successful University and other key local agencies to encourage small business growth based on knowledge, skills and innovation. For businesses to succeed in a highly competitive global market – these are the essential ingredients. I know Hull has aspirations to be a Pioneering Top 10 City. I applaud your ambition to set high standards. The Shine Knowledge and Innovation Park is a good example of what can be done in practice and that is why I was delighted to come here. It gives me great pleasure to declare the Shine Knowledge and innovation Park officially open for business.
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