Greater Manchester to benefit from £86 million innovation boost

Greater Manchester is set to benefit from a share of a £86 million government investment to support innovation in the science, manufacturing and defence sectors.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce funding for seven Mayoral Combined Authorities in her upcoming spending review to invest in innovation and research. Local leaders will be given the powers to decide how to target their research investment in the region and make the most of skill sets of the community, boosting high skilled jobs and igniting growth across the country.

The new funding will build on work already underway to transform local communities through the Innovation Accelerator pilot scheme – a new funding approach and partnership between local authorities and government. In Greater Manchester, the scheme has supported new technology that delivers quicker and cheaper detection for liver, heart and lung diseases.

Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said: 

“R&D is the very foundation of the breakthroughs that make our lives easier and healthier – from new medicines enabling us to live longer, more fulfilled lives to developments in AI giving us time back, from easing our train journeys through to creating the technology we need to protect our planet from climate change.“

Alongside this, nearly £5 million is also being invested to support partnership between the high-growth regions of Manchester and Cambridge, strengthening the link between these hubs of innovation to attract more business investment, and pilot new approaches to collaboration, setting examples for cities, universities and governments worldwide.