Innovate, Regenerate, Communicate

Jan 15 2008 By The Journal

IN a global economy with rapidly changing technologies it is vital for any business location to make the most effective use of its assets. Stewart Watkins, managing director of County Durham Development Company Ltd (CDDC), Durham County Council’s investment and business development arm, looks at why harnessing our science, engineering and technology strengths is essential for the county’s economic future.

First and foremost, it’s about generating wealth – creating jobs and creating businesses that create jobs. There’s a building at NETPark that, even though it’s still under construction, has already helped prevent 600 jobs leaving the county for Eastern Europe.

Of course, it isn’t just the building, it’s also what it represents. The Plastic Electronics Technology Centre (PETeC) is a shining example of why this region puts science, engineering and technology at the heart of its economic strategy.

It connects the intellectual power of the region’s universities with industry in order to fully exploit knowledge-based possibilities and turn them into marketable products.

Everyone agrees that we need to continue to diversify the county’s economy and stay competitive by raising the quality, productivity and wealth generating potential of our business base.

By utilising intangible assets such as knowledge and innovation, we can get the best out of our human and intellectual capital.

The value of this knowledge and innovation increases dramatically if it’s shared. Communicate best practice, for example, and you can encourage smarter processes in traditional manufacturing operations.

So, you could sum up our mission at CDDC in three words – ‘innovate, regenerate and communicate’. Encourage innovation and investment in R&D; regenerate by providing infrastructure and facilities and communicate to a range of target audiences just what the county has to offer as a business location.

At CDDC we believe that by supporting and promoting the development of the science, engineering and technology-based knowledge economy, we can make a significant contribution to County Durham’s future economic prosperity.

And the focal point for this contribution is NETPark, the North East Technology Park at Sedgefield, which we manage and market on behalf of Durham County Council. It’s an asset that is making County Durham the centre of attention for scientists and entrepreneurs in
hi-tech fields.

Providing an interface between universities and business is at the heart of the NETPark vision – to create an environment in which the gap between innovation and commercial realisation can be successfully bridged.

NETPark is all about making things happen – about the application of science, engineering and technology to everyday life. Taking the intellectual capital in which the region is so rich and turning ideas into marketable products that can make the region richer. It’s about imagination generating wealth.

NETPark is also a physical demonstration of the region’s commitment to the future and is a key element of the regional science base.

Developed by a partnership led by Durham County Council and including Sedgefield Borough Council, One NorthEast and all five regional universities, NETPark has added a new type of business accommodation to an already impressive portfolio in County Durham.

With occupancy rates running way ahead of schedule, the NETPark Incubator houses some of the North-East’s most advanced technology companies and two of the region’s centres for excellence – the Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences (CELS) and the Centre of Excellence for Nanotechnology, Micro and Photonic Systems (Cenamps) – also have offices on site.

And you can add to this growing scientific community the NETPark Research Institute, home to Durham University’s Centre for Advanced Instrumentation, which develops instruments for telescopes as far afield as Australia and Hawaii, and the University’s Semiconductor Crystal Growth and Ceramics Group.

The community at NETPark has strong links – research from the Crystal Growth Group is being transformed into products by Durham Scientific Crystals in the NETPark Incubator.

And now, a period of rapid development is underway at NETPark. PETeC is due to make County Durham the centre of an industry set to revolutionise our daily lives.

Managed by Cenamps and the Centre for Process Innovation, it will be a world-class facility in the heart of the county.

The Innovation Village, being developed by Helios Properties, will provide bespoke cutting-edge ‘grow on’ accommodation and the second phase of the incubator will create additional space for knowledge-based start-ups.

Then there’s our NETPark Net development. This is at the centre of what CDDC does – building partnerships, making connections, maximising the county’s assets. In essence it’s NETPark ‘without walls’ – a network bringing you all the benefits of NETPark that you can plug into wherever you’re based.

With so much early success, and so much to come, there’s no doubt that NETPark is set to continue to make a key contribution to the economic prospects of County Durham and the North East.