The leaders paid tribute to the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization
Liverpool has been named one of the first cities of innovation by a United Nations body – just days after Andy Burnham and Gordon Brown vowed to make Britain a Nation of Innovation.
Liverpool has been named by the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as an ‘Innovation City’, along with Shanghai and the Belgian city of Charleroi. It was selected from a list of 15 global finalists, who impressed the judges with their vision of ‘innovation for tomorrow’.
In this area, the leaders of the urban area vowed to “increase activities to unlock the creative potential and growth of various communities and business bases, to transform more urban areas”.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said: “I’ve said for a long time that we are the innovation capital of the UK, and now we’ve got the global accolades to back it up.
“This award really puts us on the world stage. It recognizes what we have known for a long time: something special is happening here, with world-class science, great business and people who are not afraid to do things differently.
“But we’re not doing all of this so we can take trophies and put them on the shelf. This is about what innovation can do for ordinary people’s lives, creating good and high-quality jobs, bringing investment to communities and finding solutions to some of the biggest challenges we face.
“We have talent in spades, and we have ideas and ambitions to go further. This award gives us a great platform to build on, and we are determined to make the most of it.”
The city’s bid is being led by Liverpool Regional Joint Authority and Liverpool Knowledge Quarter, supported by Liverpool City Council and Sci-Tech Daresbury.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said: “After being a finalist in the European Capital of Innovation award last year, I’m delighted that Liverpool is continuing its efforts to win the new, world-renowned City of Innovation title.
“I look forward to working with stakeholders in the city area in the coming months to deliver on the outstanding promises included in the winning bid, which will set the tone for what the Innovation City is all about.”
Colin Sinclair, chair of the Liverpool City Region Investment Partnership Taskforce and KQ Liverpool, said: “Being named the first WIPO City of Innovation is testament to the collaborative efforts of our quadruple helix partnership in the Liverpool City Region, which uses inclusive innovation mechanisms to democratize R&D, and ensure the creation of genuine co-locals with immediate, hyper benefits.
“Combined with the new MOU, winning this award will now accelerate Liverpool’s actions, by galvanizing investors, innovators, governments, academics, health bodies and communities to focus joint efforts on discovery and commercialization – improving lives and driving growth for local and global good.”
Last week, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown told BusinessLive why he backed Andy Burnham’s plan to boost innovation in the UK.
He said: “I want England to go forward and be a success story in the next 10 years.
“And I think that we have achieved a period of political stability that is coming. We have good universities, we have a good history of innovation, and we need to create more. And if we are going to improve the standard of living and if growth is going to reach every part of the country, then the driver is innovation.”
And he added: “So we are at a real inflection point, a real turning point in the history of innovation, where the next decade will see the biggest breakthroughs in science and technology that we have seen in our lifetime.”