Page 120 - Minutes of meeting

The Resilience Challenge

Innovation

Cumbria’s Innovation Activity Profile, 2014-16
Further insight into Cumbria LEP’s performance across
different types of innovative activities is provided by Rank
the Enterprise Research Centre (2019). Ten Benchmark % of frims (out of 39
benchmarks were constructed to capture three types LEPs*)
of innovation activities. The analysis used data from Introduction of new business
the UK Innovation Survey 2017, which captures firms’ practices 23.1% 25
innovation activity between 2014-16. Organisational
and marketing Introduction of new methods of
The table illustrates that innovation activity levels in innovation work organisation 13.6% 37
Cumbria are low across all metrics. Cumbria LEP
ranks amongst the five worst performing LEPs in 4 out Marketing innovation 13.4% 24
of 8 available benchmarks. An exception is process
innovation, in which Cumbria appears to have a strong R&D, design % of firms undertaking R&D 16.2% 34
th
footing as it ranks 7 . investment % of firms undertaking design
and investment for innovation n/a n/a
Innovation active firms in Barrow include those within collaboration
the manufacturing and energy supply chains including: Collaboration for innovation 22.1% 38

▪ BAE Systems % of firms undertaking product or 21.3% 37
service innovation
▪ James Fisher Marine & Sub-Sea
Innovation New to the market product and na n/a
▪ Siemens Subsea Outcomes and service innovation

sales
▪ Forth Engineering Sales of innovative products and 18.3% 39
services

Process Innovation 20.5% 7

* The LEP geography preceding the recent consolidation was used to facilitate comparability with earlier studies.
Source: Benchmarking Local Innovation, ERC, 2019