Agenda and minutes

A report was presented on the membership and Terms of Reference of the Innovation Board as approved by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Board on the 23rd June, 2020, including subsequent updates.

All members of the Board introduced themselves, apologies were presented on behalf of J Dalton and G Dykes reported that since the agenda had been circulated she had moved to the British Business Bank.

Resolved:

1.  That the Board appoint Mr G Baldwin as Chair.

2.  That the Board appoint Ms C Whelan as the Deputy Chair.

3.  That the current membership of the Board (see below) and Terms of Reference, as set out in the Minute Book, are noted and will be reviewed after 12 months operation.

It was noted that all members of the Board had been sent a copy of the LEP Assurance Framework for information and had been requested to complete and return a form regarding any declarations of interest so that a Register of Interests could be produced.

No declarations of interest were made at the meeting in relation to items on the agenda.

Mr S Pringle, Director from Steer Economic Development, gave a presentation on the background to the formation of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Innovation Plan, its key activity areas and how it operates within the wider strategic framework of the LEP.

It was reported that in 2017 the LEP Board had commissioned the production of an Innovation Plan to bring a more informed and structured approach to its existing innovation assets. The subsequent evidence gathering process and development of a plan had culminated in a report to the LEP Board in January 2018 where it had been recognised that a priority for Lancashire was to increase productivity (which was below the UK average) through innovation.

At that meeting the LEP Board agreed that 'By 2030 Lancashire will have positioned itself as a globally connected and resilient innovation ecosystem. The way we innovate will embody excellence and collaboration, feeding through to greater commercialisation, entrepreneurship and competitiveness in our economy. We will have a track record as a centre for globally-competitive knowledge clusters and talent and act as a developer of new solutions to the emerging challenges of our world'.

The LEP Board also agreed an Innovation Plan which included the following five strategic aims and three cross cutting themes:-

1.  To stay ahead in sectors and areas of work where the County was already world class.

2.  To create new route ways to excellence, recreating the economic base and creating new USPs.

3.  To broaden the innovation base and be less dependent on a limited number of larger companies.

4.  To create an enabling infrastructure for innovation and commercialisation across Lancashire.

5.  To Let the World Know – by telling Lancashire's innovation story better.

·  Application inspired in our Research and Development and its deployment.

·  Excellence in delivery driven by real evaluation and learning.

·  Collaborating for a competitive Lancashire

Since then officers had continued to build on the research to form a comprehensive evidence base which had informed development of an ‘Action Agenda’ that had driven delivery of the Plan to date.

More recently the LEP Chair had established a new strategic framework to guide the work of the LEP which was based around the following six priority sectors/growth pillars with cross cutting enabling activity, including Innovation and Commercialisation, built around these clusters. 

Advanced Manufacturing

Energy and Low Carbon Solutions
Food and Agriculture
Health
Tourism, Culture and Place
Digital

In considering the report members of the Innovation Board suggested that the given the current level of unemployment in Lancashire the focus of the Board should be widened to include smaller organisations and individuals who would benefit from an opportunity to be innovative. It was also suggested that moving forward the board should work towards making innovation a pervasive characteristic of behaviour in science, public policy and supply chains across Lancashire.

Resolved: That the content of the report and presentation given at the meeting regarding the formation of the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Innovation Plan, its key activity areas and how it operates within the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

It was reported that no date for the next meeting of the Board had been set. Potential dates in late October 2020 and February 2021 were being explored and provisional dates would be circulated to Board members in due course.

The Board is asked to consider whether, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, it considers that the public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that there would be a likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the appropriate paragraph of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as indicated against the heading to the item.

Resolved: That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that there would be a likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the appropriate paragraph of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972, as indicated against the heading of the item. It is considered that in all the circumstances the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Board considered an overview of the work done by Officers to date in relation to the delivery of the Innovation Plan and discussed a number of proposed activities for the future including the proposed Marketing Strategy, use of innovation Ambassadors/Champions and establishment of an Observatory to facilitate monitoring of statistics and success.

The Board noted the resources which the County Council had allocated to promote innovation and recognised that in the future there would be opportunities to pursue additional funding from external sources, including the LEP itself.

Resolved:

1.  That the work to date by Officers regarding delivery of the Innovation Plan, as set out in the report presented, is noted.

2.  That taking account of the views expressed at the meeting Officers develop specific proposals in relation to the following for further consideration by the Innovation Board.

a)  The identification of key 'Lancashire' distinctiveness within the 6 key Pillars of Growth in the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Strategic Framework which will be the main focus for the Innovation Board in relation to economic opportunity and challenge.

b)  Arrangements for the monitoring the wider innovation programme of work, as set out in the Action Log, via the 'Observatory' and the establishment of Key Performance Indicators for measuring success. 

c)  The development of a pipeline of potential future projects which will enable the Board to respond quickly when future opportunities to submit bids arise.

d)  The final proposed Marketing Strategy for approval

e)  Specific arrangements for 'Lancashire Innovation Month in October 2020 and how Innovation Ambassadors/Champions will be utilised to promote innovation in the future.