Part of Lancashire County Council’s Business Growth Service, Innovate Lancashire’s mission is to accelerate innovation activity across the county, connect and develop its innovation assets and capabilities, and build Lancashire’s reputation for innovation regionally, nationally and globally.
Home to a £39bn regional economy, the 4th largest aerospace cluster in the world, 4,000 digital businesses, and the National Cyber Force HQ, Lancashire has a growing tech economy supported by an ambitious business community. Through initiatives like the Lancashire Digital Hub, Fhunded, the Fraser House co-working hub, and the annual LIFT festival, Innovate Lancashire plays a key role in supporting this ecosystem, and collaborates with both private and public sector partners to drive growth.
As well as playing a key role in the delivery of Lancashire County Combined Authority’s ten-year economic growth strategy, Innovate Lancashire’s work continues to deliver against the objectives of the Lancashire Innovation Plan (LIP). Developed by the Lancashire Innovation Board – a strategic advisory group chaired by the University of Lancashire’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Graham Baldwin – the LIP is focused on maintaining and extending Lancashire’s world-class strengths in established innovation-led sectors, broadening the county’s R&D offer, and exploiting opportunities in emerging markets.
Martine Winder, Programme Lead at Innovate Lancashire, said:
“Innovate Lancashire has supported UK Tech Week since its inception in 2024, and it’s been fantastic to see how the initiative has developed and grown over the last few years. As well as being a great platform to promote our activities locally and regionally, it has also helped us showcase Lancashire’s innovation capabilities and assets on a national scale.
“In addition, being part of UK Tech Week has helped us connect with other innovation programmes around the country who are facing similar challenges to Lancashire. We really value being part of this wider network of ambitious regions and districts who are all working towards the same goals, and have made connections with other areas to explore how we might support each other via the UK Tech Week community.”
