A survey of 112 companies at the Liverpool city region science and innovation campus shows there are currently 202 collaborations, up from 161 in 2017. Tony McDonough reports

Collaboration between businesses at Sci-Tech Daresbury was worth £20.3m in 2018, new figure reveal – £3m more the in 2017.

A survey of 112 companies at the Liverpool city region science and innovation campus shows there are currently 202 collaborations, up from 161 in 2017 and 113 in 2016, with 54% of the businesses at the site actively collaborating with each other.

It also revealed that collaborations between companies have generated a business value of £5.5m in terms of new sales or cost savings. These collaborations are mainly in the form of buyer-seller relationships and collaborative partnerships.

The annual survey also revealed that there was very high level of collaborative intensity on the campus with 73% of companies having at least one collaboration on campus with either the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) or another campus company.

And 59% of companies reported they were collaborating with a university, an increase from 49% in 2017, with the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester representing the most prominent relationships.

There was also a significant increase with Lancaster and Liverpool John Moores Universities. In particular, there has been an upsurge in companies securing student placements and carrying out research with the universities.

Sci-Tech Daresbury, a private-public joint venture partnership between developer Langtree, STFC and Halton Council, is home to more than 140 companies with 26 companies locating to the site in 2018.

Liz Ashall-Payne, chief executive of ORCHA, a live resource for rated and reviewed medical and health care apps which relocated to the campus in 2016, believes that Sci-Tech Daresbury enjoys a community in where businesses can grow and thrive.

She explained: “The location is critical to our growth both in terms of who we can collaborate with here, but also in drawing in talent. It’s really difficult finding talent in niche areas particularly in digital and everyone is fighting for the same people.

“But being located here means we can draw talent in from Liverpool, Cheshire and Manchester and from a number of different universities, helping us grow our workforce which is absolutely vital in achieving our growth ambitions.”

Based at Vanguard House, one of six campus facilities, ORCHA started with five staff and now employs 21 FTE roles with plans to double in size in 2019. 

John Downes, group chief executive of Langtree and chair of the Sci-Tech Daresbury joint venture company, added: “In 2016 we revised our science and innovation strategy to focus on five key areas, including powering productivity through partnerships. It’s part of an explicit drive to cement collaboration at the heart of the campus, because it allows innovation and entrepreneurialism to thrive, unlocking business growth.”