A Major New O2CArc Project–PressRelease

Harnessing the Power of the Innovation Economies of the UK (Oxford to Cambridge Arc and London) and India for Business Advantage

The O2C Arc organisation is in the throes of setting up a major project to enhance the links between India and the UK. The project could significantly benefit your firm or organisation. We invite you to read the project specification given below and if you have any comments or wish to know more about the project please contact the O2C Arc organisation by emailing Dr Nicholas Miles (Director O2C Arc) at either Nicholas.Miles@mkelp.co.uk or njomiles@blueyonder.co.uk

Strategic Aim: to increase the commercial and research links between the heart of the Greater South East (GSE) innovation economy, namely the Oxford to Cambridge (O2) Arc area and London, and corresponding innovation ‘hotspot regions’ in India. The project will focuses on the following sectors: Aerospace and Environmental Engineering, Healthcare Technologies, ITC, and the creative industries.

Project Objectives:

• 1. Describe and evaluate the commercial and research links between the GSE and India, with particular reference to the knowledge-based-cum-innovation economies.
• 2. To increase current levels of commercial activities between the two areas, with particular emphasis on attracting Indian FDI into the GSE and facilitating GSE companies (especially SMEs) access business opportunities in India.
• 3. To nurture and strengthen a policy dialogue between the UK and India concerning the promotion of their respective innovation economies and the opportunities for sustained development through reciprocal up-grading.

Project Outputs and Outcomes:
A comprehensively research report will be produced which clearly describes the nature of and future possibilities for the commercial and research links between the GSE and India. Of greater importance, however, are the target outcomes;–

• 1. Increased B2B interactions and commercial ‘dealflow’ – by highlighting measures that can be taken in order to increase B2B interactions between knowledge-based GSE and Indian companies.
• 2. Increased collaborative research – by highlighting opportunities for collaborative research between and amongst GSE and Indian universities, research institutes and private sector knowledge-based companies.
• 3. Established offices in the Indian ‘Innovation’ Economy – in order to facilitate especially SMEs access to the Indian innovation economy. The model for this action is the office established by Farnborough Aerospace Consortium (FAC) FAC in Dubai in 2007 which has proved to be extremely successful. The project will examine how a number of GSE sector interests can combine to co-use the FAC established offices in India, and expand the number of such offices.
• 4. Strengthened policy dialogue between the GSE and India – An important target outcome of the project is to further the policy dialogue between the UK and India as to best practice when it comes to supporting the development of the innovation economy. More specifically, the project aims to improve the awareness of and the nature of the protocols associated with commercial collaboration and trade between the GSE and India.

Business Justification for the Project:
India is a major market for UK business, and a very important collaborator in the innovation economy - Ken Livingstone’s November 2007 visit to India and the UK PM’s January 2008 visit are testaments to the importance of India to UK Plc. Further, as Mr. Palmisano, head of IBM, said at the company’s 2006 annual investors’ day held in Bangalore, India, “work flows to the places where it will be done best…..the genie’s out of the bottle and there’s no stopping it.” India is a rising economy with significant research and development and production strengths in ITC, life sciences, engineering, and the creative industries.

Increasing collaboration between the innovation economies of the GSE and India will be of significant benefit to both - The GSE and India are determined to be major nodes in a global innovation economy that is likely to be dominated and driven by some 15 major innovation regions in the near future (see figure given below). The proposed project can help to secure both the GSE’s and India’s position in the global innovation economy. More specifically, the project will generate commercial ’dealflow’; supporting the development of the GSE’s private sector innovation economy is fundamental target outcome of the Regional Economic Strategies (RES) of the GSE RDAs and of Central Government.

Source: Silicon Valley Index – The world is spikey and connected, and the innovation economy is characterised by and driven by the rise of a global network of some 15 'innovation regions', each with distinctive and complementary specialisms creating opportunities for sustained growth through reciprocal upgrading

The UK’s interaction with India is often ‘dis-jointed’ - Many of the UK-India activities are fragmented (with a range of UK public and private sector actors, including individual towns, devising separate ‘Indian strategies’). The proposed project is an opportunity to ‘collect’ all these activities under a powerful banner of the UK’s most important innovation region (namely O2C Arc and London – globally recognised, with considerable kudos in India) and project the ‘weight and might’ of this region to the Indian businesses, research institutes and universities which are currently driving their innovation economy.

Project Timeline, Execution and Management: The aim is for a 6 month project; commencing in March 2008 and completed in September 2008. A Steering Committee will be constituted to oversee the project, lead by the O2C Arc and the UK India Business Council, and supported through retained advisors in the UK and India. A place on the Steering Committee will be allocated for major supporters and financial backers if they wish to take up the position.

Project Methodology: The project methodology will include though not necessarily be limited to the following actions:

• A base study analysis to fully describe the nature of the commercial and research links between the innovation economies of the GSE and India.
• Interviews with Indian and GSE:
• companies in the target sectors,
• business organisations representing the target sectors,
• universities in the GSE and Indian ‘innovation’ hotspot regions,
• venture capitalists and other financial agents,
• non-profit and public-private organisations and
• government leaders.
• A full feasibility study concerning (a) the expansion of the three planned FAC offices in India to include representation of GSE target sectors and (b) increasing the number of such offices to cover one of more innovation hotspot in India not covered by the existing offices.

The final report will be released and distributed in both the GSE and India, and in a manner to maximise the attention it receives. A major ‘project completion event’ will take place in both the GSE and India.

Project Funding: Financial backing for the project will be obtained from the O2C arc organisation and corporate backers.

If you have any queries about the project and/or the way in which you can support and participate in the project please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you;

Dr Nicholas J.O. Miles