Blog
UKSPA Executive Director reflects on the past year and the opportunities ahead
It would be a massive understatement to describe 2020 as "challenging" - it was a year that affected all of us in so many ways. I do hope that you and your family, as well as your colleagues, start the year in good health. For UKSPA, 2020 started positively...
The role of the Regional Growth Fund and the development of Sci-Tech Daresbury
When the Government invested £7.36m of its Regional Growth Fund (RGF) into Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus in 2010, then Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willetts said it would: “not only strengthen the science base at the campus, it will...
Biotech cleaning product succeeds with R&D Tax Credits
Juggling multiple Research and Development projects can significantly stretch any company’s resources, putting cashflow under significant pressure. This was the situation faced by a leading biotech company when it sought to innovate its cleaning product range.Access...
Laura Gorman, Senior Associate, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP on letting premises to start-up’s
We recently considered the increasing commercial necessity for landlords to understand a start-up’ priorities. We now look at the first (and perhaps most important) of these: cost certainty. Budget restrictions makes it important for new businesses to plan overheads. ...
Is the property industry really following the science?
‘We are following the science’ has become one of the best used phrases in the media over recent months. We acknowledge that scientists are then quick to point out that the use of such a phrase only demonstrates a person’s lack of understanding of the fundamental...
Letting premises to start ups: what landlords need to know
Start-up companies and entrepreneurs form a significant part of the UK economy. The October 2018 Budget announced a three-year extension of the British Business Bank’s Start-Up Loans programme to make it easier for this sector to harness funding. Research...
UKSPA Members: discounted entry to IASP World Conference
UKSPA members can now register for the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation virtual World Conference which takes place from 1st -3rd December 2020 This allows UKSPA members to register for the same fee as IASP members. For those...
Jobs today, skills tomorrow
Presenting a call to arms, Martino Picardo and Jim Duvall ask representatives across the sector to join the ‘Schools to Science Park’ movement and convert local skills efforts into a national collaboration. Despite the current pandemic, there is still considerable...
UKSPA Chairman Dr Glenn Crocker MBE on how science and innovation is central to future economic rebuilding…
My last article was when the science and innovation sector – and the country – had just begun to enter the first lockdown. Back in the spring, UKSPA held a very well supported conference at the University of Leeds. The following week the Budget announcement was...
Surplus office space to cutting-edge laboratory: three refit considerations
The Life Science sector is growing and so is the demand for suitable research and development premises, presenting public sector bodies and commercial developers with a golden opportunity to repurpose existing assets into laboratory facilities. It’s fast,...
4 reasons the office is not dead
The future of the office is the topic of the time and a spectrum of opinion exists. Some wish to return to the way things were pre-covid, while others claim the office is dead. Several established brands have communicated to their staff that they can continue working...
Is Sci/Tech the future?
Over the last six months whilst landlords of retail units and shopping centres have been looking to support a struggling sector, landlords in the science and technology sector have seen an increase in demand for space and accelerated growth. Previously seen as a niche...
UKSPA collaborates on Incubators and accelerators report
Social Innovation Monitor (SIM), an international research team based at Politecnico di Torino university, in collaboration with UKSPA and Enterprise Educators UK , has published the first report on the impact of incubators/accelerators in the UK. The research team...
Access to Green Space and Workplace Wellbeing
With rising COVID infection rates in the UK and set against a background of geo-global political turmoil, it is little wonder that a number of us are feeling nervous as we look towards winter whilst we continue to adjust to the ever-shifting parameters of living and...
Propcos, corporate occupiers, pension funds…have your say
Business rates are the bane of most corporate occupiers but bring in £30bn for the Government each year. After years of assurances, the Government has launched what it calls a “fundamental” review of the business rates system. There is a call for evidence and it is...