Michael Spence, president and provost of University College London, recently emphasized London’s prominent role within the UK’s innovation landscape. While acknowledging London’s significance, experts from the City Region Economic Development Corporation Institute at the University of Birmingham argue that focusing solely on investment amounts in specific locations overlooks a critical factor: how funds are deployed and whether regions possess the institutional frameworks necessary to convert funding into sustainable growth.

Over the past decade, the Birmingham research team has examined the dynamics between investment and regional development, concluding that effective governance, leadership, and delivery mechanisms are essential to translate financial support into lasting innovation outcomes. London’s Knowledge Quarter exemplifies this, benefiting not only from geographic concentration but also from decades of established institutional capacity.

Similarly, Birmingham has been building its own innovation momentum through collaboration among the University of Birmingham, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, and the broader West Midlands ecosystem. This cluster has developed strengths in advanced manufacturing, health technology, the creative industries, and increasingly artificial intelligence, illustrating that high-impact innovation can manifest in varied regional and sectoral configurations.

The debate around supporting innovation clusters often risks being overly London-centric, potentially marginalizing emerging hubs such as those in Birmingham, Manchester, and other parts of the Midlands and North of England. Advocates stress that the conversation should not be whether to support London—acknowledged as a key cluster—but how to create an investment framework capable of nurturing multiple clusters simultaneously. Such a framework would require tailored funding mechanisms, enhanced institutional capacity, and effective governance structures adapted to each region’s unique characteristics.

Further complicating the issue, research indicates that the root challenge lies less in the geographic distribution of potential innovation clusters and more in the fragmented, short-term, and competitive nature of the UK’s public funding ecosystem. This environment, critics say, hampers the consistent support necessary for regional institutions to thrive and retain growth.

Local leaders, including those in Andy Burnham’s government, face the task of addressing these challenges by building stronger institutional infrastructures that can sustain long-term regional development beyond the capital. This approach entails not only additional investment but also a strategic overhaul of how public funds are allocated, how governance structures operate, and how power is devolved to empower regions across the country.