Accelerating innovation projects in Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester Combined Authority & Innovation Greater Manchester

Metro Dynamics has worked with GMCA and IGM through a series of projects to help pursue place-based innovation ecosystem development and investment. IGM is a consortium of Manchester-based businesses, universities and public authorities working together to support the regional innovation economy.

We started by rapidly assessing projects in IGM’s delivery pipeline via a bespoke prioritisation framework which scored projects in four domains: strategic fit, innovation fit, outputs and outcomes, and investment readiness. We then produced summary balanced scorecards for each of the projects and delivered a gap assessment of projects in the pipeline. Finally, we provided GMCA a short briefing which showed the performance of the projects against success criteria, implications for a representation to Spending Review, as well as actionable next steps for developing the projects in the pipeline further.

We used these projects and this assessment as the platform to advocate for devolved innovation funding an autonomy leading to the announcement of the Innovation Accelerator pilot in February 2022. We then supported GMCA and IGM in assessing and selecting a portfolio of Accelerator projects. This first required soliciting project ideas from partners across the region, then reviewing these against a funding round-specific assessment process. Metro Dynamics did not provide recommendations on which projects would ultimately receive funding, instead we acted as an independent critical friend to the review process, including facilitating an expert panel to take input on the projects from a range of research, academic and private sector innovation and commercialisation experts. Our team also facilitated GMCA’s decision making panel, a small group of regional officers who were responsible for selecting the portfolio of projects, with observers from Innovate UK.

More recently, we have provided rapid analytical support to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Greater Manchester’s innovation ecosystem to help support GM’s Innovation Plan, to inform IGM’s future remit and operating model, and to help inform early design work around the GM Investment Zone. Our findings were reported to the board of Innovation Greater Manchester to inform the next stage of their operations. We also used our assessment of the innovation economy and provision across the region to provide options for a future governance structure for IGM, including options assessment on board membership, staffing, and the role of IGM in future funding processes. We concluded this review with recommendations on next steps for IGM board members and GMCA officers to agree and take forward.