Before the talks and panel discussions began, we took a moment to mark the evolution of the SHIFT programme to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Innovation District. The rebranding marks a bold step in recognising the area’s growing role as a national testbed for collaboration and innovation focused on solving urban challenges to enhance lived experiences in cities, and aligns with its official designation as one of London’s three innovation districts under the Mayor of London’s Growth Plan.

The forum kicked off with a keynote from Shazia Hussain, CEO of London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), who reflected on LLDC’s commitment to inclusive growth, east London’s evolution, from its industrial roots to now – a future defined by innovation that taps into the creative and ambitious minds of the people that live here. She said that ‘east London is not operating from a place of deficit but from a place of potential’ and called for innovation that, tackles issues like poor housing and health inequality. She closed by stating that to achieve this inclusive innovation must be central to ensuring we unlock opportunities for all to benefit those that need it most.

From there, the forum dove into a series of discussions about place-based innovation in the UK including a look at case studies from the Future Industries Demonstrator which highlighted how real-world testbeds can accelerate solutions. 

The standout takeaways were:

• Better alignment between local and national government so that national strategy can be built from the ground up

• Refined procurement processes to ensure that they work to the advantage of SMEs to foster greater innovation at local level and enable them to scale

• Using analysis and findings from testbeds to better inform future strategy to prevent repetition in research and development

• Encourage better collaboration across organisations and institutions to leverage available assets and drive innovation

• Rebalance what value means to ensure that societal value is assessed versus economic growth 

Closing the event Alex Conway, Assistant Director of Economic Development and Programmes at the Greater London Authority, reflected on the achievements of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the success of the FID Programme – confirming a further £375,000 allocation for this financial year – and how businesses of all sizes can benefit from the London Growth Plan to help build a more sustainable future. 

This event was a reminder that, as we and our partners across east London and the rest of the capital, look to the future, we see an opportunity for a new chapter – one that activates the full potential of the Park. At its core is a commitment to inclusive growth and delivering the best outcomes for the communities of east London. It is through inclusive innovation that we will fulfil that commitment.