Pioneering further change

Mar 14 2008 by Karen Wilson, The Journal

Margaret Fay

NORTH East England has produced or been home to some of the great pioneers in history – George Stephenson, William Armstrong, Charles Parsons and Joseph Swan. These forefathers of modern innovation all have strong affiliations with the region.

We have played our part in giving the world some of the greatest inventions of the industrial era – railways, electric lighting, hydro-electric power, the turbine engine and, somewhat more recently, the iPod, as its designer Jonathan Ive studied at Northumbria University.

That spirit of innovation lies at the heart of One NorthEast’s objectives of creating a competitive and productive economy in the region, but whereas our economic foundations were once forged in the factories and shipyards, they are now grown in the labs and developed on PCs.

Our excellent life sciences sector is one example of where the region is getting it right. It is a field in which North East England has blazed a trail, from the creation of the Knowledge Campus and the Bioscience Centre to the world-leading work being conducted at the North East Stem Cell Institute.

It is vital that we harness the pioneering research and development being carried out in the region and turn it into genuine economic benefit. Developing and maintaining a sustainable economy built on knowledge intensive business is key to meeting the ambitious targets set out in the Regional Economic Strategy of creating 22,000 new businesses and 70,000 new jobs by 2016.

“Passionate people. Passionate places” has promoted the region as the place to live, work, study, visit and do business. And while the campaign has had a significant impact in the visitor, leisure and cultural arenas, the time has now come for us to turn the focus on business.

In recognition of the need for a new approach in raising the perceptions of North East England as an excellent place to work, build a career, establish a business, relocate or invest, the main focus of the Regional Image Campaign will now fall on business and innovation going forward.

Margaret Fay is chairman of One NorthEast