Billy Choi, Director and Head of Life Sciences at Allies and Morrison, reflects on his key takeaway from the recent NLA Innovation Summit: look out and look beyond.

In response to the London Growth Plan, the theme of this year’s summit was inclusive growth: how to foster a prospering, fairer and greener London through the innovation economy. Many talks and panels to reflect on, but one common thread stood out for me: the importance of looking out and looking beyond.

Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London, set the scene by outlining Imperial’s ambition for the WestTech Corridor. Establishing such a corridor certainly involved looking — and venturing — out of South Kensington: to life sciences at Paddington, deep tech at White City, and more recently prototyping and advanced manufacturing at Old Oak. It is a brilliant model for nurturing spin-offs and providing affordable spaces for incubation, translation and scale up. It is a powerful opportunity to bring good growth to a much wider area of London. It also happens to be a journey that Allies and Morrison is proud to be a part of for over ten years.

Speaking about the British Library, David Height of Mitsui Fudosan took us to Nihonbashi in central Tokyo: a fun and relevant detour. The Japanese innovation cluster’s success is underpinned not only by a broad range of high quality spaces for R&D but also by the networking and business support services provided. They helped build a community of occupiers and joined the dots between government, academia and industry.

This need to look beyond the lab was also echoed by Rob Beacroft of Lateral. He highlighted the cost of living in London as a challenge to attract and retain talents, who are often priced out of the very areas that depend on them. The right kinds of technical space are no doubt important, but, in his words, affordable housing is a central enabler of innovation. Co-living for scientists is a model being explored. If implemented effectively, it will strengthen the social fabric of innovation districts, making them more vibrant around the clock, resilient and inclusive.

 

But one might also look out, physically beyond one’s red line boundary. Back to White City, the masterplans here have focused a lot on connecting to one’s neighbours. Imperial opened a bridge on their South Campus last year — one that is both physical and symbolic. As Sarah Cary later touched on, Imperial wants to make a place that is open and welcoming to all and has put much emphasis on the design of the ground floor and public realm.

Outward-looking spatial infrastructure is one thing; economics is another. How to make sure growth is truly inclusive for people living in the area? Matt Flood of Related Argent talked about bringing local F&B businesses into Brent Cross Town early door's, adding a local flavour while seeding their future. Caroline Wilson of LB Islington, meanwhile, tackled the difficulty often experienced by locals surrounded by sprouting innovation campuses. She described LIFT — Leading Inclusive Futures through Technology - a partnership operated jointly by four London boroughs. The scheme is about inspiring and upskilling local residents to give them fairer access to the opportunities at their doorstep. It is also about helping companies to hire locally. Here, councils look beyond short-term employment gains and focus on building a socially and economically sustainable future.

So, to achieve truly inclusive growth catalysed by innovation, we might want to look out and look beyond. These strategies are vital for creating innovation districts that are not only economically successful but also socially equitable and integrated into the wider community.