Anglia Innovation Partnership, the campus management organisation at Norwich Research Park, has been busy preparing the groundwork and building the eco-system that will enable it to grow rapidly.
Over the past few years, it has become home to a number of growing businesses whose core ideas have been discovered and developed from research conducted on its campus.
With significant long-term commitment from both private sector and government investment, Norwich Research Park now has the green light to drive forward its plans.
High-tech facilities
Norwich Research Park is attracting and retaining exciting high-growth companies, which has created a demand for new office and laboratory accommodation.
A new long-term investment partnership with real estate investment experts Vengrove was recently announced – a significant milestone for the research campus.
READ MORE: Norwich Research Park to build new labs through investment partnership
Vengrove will be funding the construction of state-of-the-art buildings, with development expected to commence in early 2025.
Funding innovation
Those working on solutions to tackle the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss will now have access to specialist funding to help them develop and commercialise their propositions.
Specialist fund manager Greensphere Capital has launched the Gaia Sciences Innovation partnership to invest in start-up, spin-out and scale-up businesses emerging from institutions like Norwich Research Park’s six partner organisations.
READ MORE: Norwich Research Park companies to access up to £100m of funding
These include the Earlham Institute, John Innes Centre, Quadram Institute, The Sainsbury Laboratory, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of East Anglia.
The funding, currently worth £75m, is expected to rise to £100m by the end of Q1 2025.
Groundbreaking bioscience
Norwich Research Park is one of just five UK research and innovation campuses supported by the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), a non-departmental public body and one of the largest public funders of non-medical bioscience.
The BBSRC is a strategic investor in the Earlham Institute, John Innes Centre and Quadram Institute. No other location in the UK has such a strong concentration of BBSRC-funded institutes.
READ MORE: World's scientists attracted to Norwich Research Park
Last year, the BBRSC committed to an investment totalling £163.9m, which will last until 2028. Its aim is to bolster the UK’s national research capabilities in key areas such as crop resilience, food safety and security, sustainable agriculture, nutrition and health.
The UKRI has also committed to a significant £317m of funding at Norwich Research Park to establish a pioneering plant and microbial research hub by 2030.
This venture promises to revolutionise both the John Innes Centre’s and The Sainsbury Laboratory’s existing capacity and capability, ensuring the long-term success of UK bioscience.
"With national asset status in engineering biology, and now with access to the necessary real estate investment, Norwich Research Park’s future success is ensured.
“The confidence expressed by private investors and public sector funding bodies in committing investment to Norwich Research Park is a clear sign of the growth opportunity and the potential return on investment we offer," Roz added.
"Anglia Innovation Partnership is already looking after 40 companies on the campus. We have the ambition – and now the ability – to more than double that in the next 10 years.”
The team at Anglia Innovation Partnership is working with the research community on campus to create a robust ecosystem for research-based businesses to start-up, spin-out, spin-in and ultimately scale-up.
Launched in 2022, its successful Enterprise Strategy has created a pipeline of new businesses on campus. This has been possible due to Anglia Innovation Partnership's pre-seed funding, made available to help fast-track credible business ideas that have emerged from breakthrough research discoveries.
Sam Graham was recently appointed Enterprise Network manager. She will be working with entrepreneurs to help them access business advice and enable them to progress their ideas to ‘proof of concept’ stage.
The growth generated by this work will mean more jobs for the county’s young people, increased inward investment and a significant contribution to Norfolk’s economic health.
Anglia Innovation Partnership is also collaborating with large corporates to help solve industry problems.
Its Explorer Forum provides industry partners with access to specialist facilities and expertise to try to find answers to some of the world’s most pressing problems – in areas like food security, climate change and human disease prevention.
For more information, visit norwichresearchpark.com
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