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UK Research and Innovation Campuses

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is working with partners to enable the development of five UK research and innovation campuses at sites across the UK, associated with seven of the strategically-funded institutes it supports:

• Babraham Research Campus: A leading hub of bioscience and biomedical research and innovation
• Norwich Research Park: A world leading location for research, innovation and business with a focus on agritech, food, health and environmental research and innovation
• Easter Bush Research and Innovation Campus: A world-leading centre for research and innovation delivering a European Centre of Excellence in animal sciences and food security
• Rothamsted Centre for Research and Enterprise: A global centre for collaborative research and innovation in AgriTech
• Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus: A developing centre for innovation and enterprise

Since 2011, BBSRC and partners have committed a total capital investment in excess of £200m in projects to develop these five UK research and innovation campuses.

The five Campuses form a vital component of the UK innovation ecosystem. Each campus is centred on a critical mass of world-leading bioscience research and national capability, strategically supported by BBSRC, providing a unique environment where business can co-locate to access specialist facilities and exchange ideas with researchers.

The Campuses share some common features with science parks, but are a distinct subset with unique features, including:

• Internationally leading, long-term research base and national capability
• Significant knowledge-intensive business presence
• Research Council long-term commitment and influence on behalf of the UK

Each campus makes a variety of important impacts for the UK, enabling economic growth, contributing to interactions with important international trading partners and supporting key economic sectors.

The UK research and innovation campuses are crucial to achieving BBSRC’s aims to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.

Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge

The Babraham Research Campus is a leading hub of bioscience research and innovation in the heart of the Cambridge cluster. The innovation environment on campus is distinct in its colocation of early-stage bioscience companies with academic research from the world-leading Babraham Institute, the Campus bioincubator, scientific support services and established companies.

Norwich Research Park, Norwich

The Norwich Research Park is a community of world-leading research institutions and technology based business. The Park is a partnership between BBSRC, the University of East Anglia, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, the John Innes Foundation and four world-renowned institutes (the Sainsbury Laboratory and three institutes which receive strategic funding from BBSRC – the John Innes Centre, the Institute of Food Research and The Genome Analysis Centre) and is home to over 3,000 scientists, researchers and clinicians.

Rothamsted Centre for Research and Enterprise, Hertfordshire

The Rothamsted Centre for Research and Enterprise (RoCRE) is a unique hub focused on promoting collaboration and innovation in agricultural technology.  RoCRE is co-located with commercial agricultural technology businesses and the scientific knowledge and expertise of Rothamsted Research and offers a range of facilities, including conference facilities, flexible laboratory space and informal meeting hubs, providing exciting opportunities for agritech businesses to thrive.

Aberystwyth Innovation and Enterprise Campus, Aberystwyth

BBSRC, Aberystwyth University and the Welsh Government are investing in the development of an agri-innovation campus for food and renewable energy in Aberystwyth. The investment will provide new infrastructure and facilities to attract companies and researchers interested in developing technologies, products and services in the biosciences.

Roslin Innovation Centre, Easter Bush Campus, Edinburgh

BBSRC and partners are investing in incubation space for animal bioscience in the Roslin Innovation Centre.  The Centre, scheduled to complete spring 2017, is designed to support the successful development of entrepreneurial companies and will co-locate commercial tenants with clinical teaching, research and enterprise activities on campus.   

BBSRC

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.

Funded by Government, BBSRC invested over £509M in world-class bioscience in 2014-15. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.