Communication to all partners: closure of the pan-Regional Partnership
At the Autumn Budget, the Government announced its intention to consult on ending funding for pan-regional partnerships from 31 March 2025. We have now received government’s decision which is that they will not fund the Oxford to Cambridge pan-Regional Partnership (OCPRP) in 2025/26.
How can the Oxford to Cambridge region provide enough lab and innovation space to meet demand? Which sectors need targeted investment in infrastructure and skills? How can planning policy drive sustainable, ESG-aligned growth? Answering these questions is essential for partners responsible for shaping strategic plans and spatial development strategies. To do this effectively, we need a robust, data-driven evidence base that informs decisions on land use, infrastructure investment, and economic policy, ensuring the region’s growth is both sustainable and globally competitive.
Wishing you a relaxing and enjoyable festive break. A massive thank you to all colleagues and partners who have come together to drive forward the goals we set on behalf of our region. Together, we have achieved an incredible amount and delivered everything we set out to do in our work programme… and more.
The energy and enthusiasm shown by Partners at our All-Partner Conference last week struck a resonant chord with all of us that it matters very deeply. As conference delegates discussed, our Partnership has made significant and tangible progress over the last 18 months, putting foundations in place for long-term collaboration.
In a letter to Secretary of State, Rt. Hon Jonathan Reynolds, Partnership Chair Dipesh J Shah CBE highlights some important points from the consultation response on behalf of Partners in the Region.
Message from Chair of the Board, Dipesh J Shah. We’re delighted to present our Annual Review 2023-24 which captures the remarkable achievements of the Partnership in encouraging collaboration, developing robust evidence base and advocating for the region on a national and international stage.
Last week, I had the privilege of attending the 40th Annual UK Science Park Association (UKSPA) Conference at the University of Warwick. It was an honour to participate in the panel session on “Innovation Clusters and Hotspots” alongside a remarkable group of experts from across the UK. With over 25 years in the innovation ecosystem space—setting up business incubators, innovation clusters, and developing Science Parks—these discussions felt both familiar and energizing. Most importantly, they underscored the critical role we play in shaping the future of innovation.
We’re certainly riding a wave of optimism and positivity this month. And so we should as momentum builds around Mission Growth and the shared goal for investors to land securely on British terra firma. The magic three ‘Stability, Strategy and Standing’, and (a fourth offer) a government keen to move quickly to provide the right Regulatory framework for business – the wealth creators – to invest for the long term is the order of the day.
Hold the date! Friday 29 November 2024, Milton Keynes, the pan-regional All-Partner Conference will be back for its second year. The conference will bring together representatives from local authorities, business, universities, central government and the many agencies and organisations we work with to discuss: • pan-regional collaboration one year on: sharing and discussing the many projects coming to fruition through pan-regional partnership working. • how we want our economy to grow and develop: delving into our refreshed Environment Principles. • driving investment into our region: our region’s story and what this looks like on the world stage.
In 2021, the region’s Environmental Principles broke new ground. Ambitions on net zero agenda, biodiversity and nature recovery, we had over 100 partners come together to establish a wide-ranging framework for regional action to underpin a national vision that put the region’s key economic sectors on an international stage for investment. Now, in 2024, as we see a new national vision of growth and economic prosperity, the imperative for action that delivers real transformation for nature, natural systems, and the economy remains.
This October, the pan-Regional Partnership Team is joining the UK delegation at Expo Real, Munich. This joint mission is representing the UK in a bid to attract and engage investors looking to deploy large-scale capital and build international investment partnerships to benefit the whole of the UK. Delivered in Partnership with the expert team at UK Cities and Partners, we will be presenting the Oxford to Cambridge region's science, tech and innovation ecosystems and commercial strengths to showcase the UK as a globally competitive destination for Foreign Direct Investment and promoting our partner's investable projects from across the region.
It’s been another busy period for the team, working with our Partners. We have now completed our first full financial year, with collaboration and engagement, project and programme delivery accelerating. Our presence at UKREiiF 2024 provided great opportunity to profile our region. Throughout the many compelling, diverse sessions, colleagues raised questions, shared plans and initialised investment discussions.
The Data Observatory is the first-of-its-kind for the region and will provide local partners with access to a growing collection of data and insights they can use when designing business cases and plans. It will also help investors understand the unique strengths of the area, from skills and qualifications, to its infrastructure and natural assets. The Portal will be enhanced and updated regularly with new data and insights in response to the needs of its users.
While demand for water grows, the Eastern England is classified as “severely water stressed” and risks severe shortages without immediate collaborative action.
Al Kingsley, who has three decades of experience in leading education and edtech business roles has joined the Board of the Oxford to Cambridge pan-Regional Partnership. Kingsley takes over from Peter Horrocks CBE, former Chair of the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership.
We are excited to share news of our first Innovation Network of Networks event, at which leading representatives came together in Milton Keynes in March to discuss the untapped innovative potential of the region.
Colleagues from across the Region will be at this year's UK Real Estate and Infrastructure Investment Conference (UKREiiF) in Leeds, from Tuesday 21 May to Thursday 23 May. We are there to showcase the investment potential and dynamic innovation ecosystem that characterises the Oxford to Cambridge region. Our pan-regional collaboration is on a mission to accelerate economic opportunities created by our region’s science, technology, and business strengths, and to work with investors, real estate professionals, developers and government to achieve significant environmental enhancements and unlock investment for inclusive, high quality sustainable development for our region. Our aim is to help shift the dial on business and investment decisions from being ‘cautiously optimistic’ to 'confidently ambitious'.
The period since our All-Partner Conference in November has been dominated by a rapid ramp up of project development, procurement and delivery. Click on the video below to hear a message from the Partnership's Chair, Dipesh J Shah OBE.
Today, the Oxford to Cambridge Pan-Regional Partnership announces the appointment of Better Futures Consultancy to design and develop a web-based portal to present key information about the region’s economy and environment. This will form a fundamental part of a new Oxford to Cambridge Regional Data Observatory, a service that will provide transparent, unbiased, high quality, and frequently updated economic and environmental evidence. The Observatory will be equipped with robust research and analytical capability to support regional partners in policy, business case development and project monitoring, managed through a central regional team.
I hope you all managed to take a break over the festive period and can start the new year with renewed energy and optimism. Last year, and especially the second half of 2023, was one of rapid acceleration and development for the Pan-Regional Partnership. Many of you attended the all-partner conference in late November and hopefully witnessed this first hand.
Thank you to all the Partners who joined us for our first All Partner Conference on Friday 24th November. Testament to the power of partnership, Dipesh J Shah OBE said, “there was a real buzz and excitement in the room; creativity and people full of ideas, intellectual rigour, and a real desire to participate in a collaborative and partnership way.”
Firstly, a massive thank you to everyone who has already registered to join us for our first All Partner conference on Friday, 24 November at The Ridgeway Centre, Milton Keynes. We have around 200 people coming along for what plan to be an action-packed day of discussion about the priorities for pan-regional partnership and future plans. We have six workshop themes taking place throughout the day, led by Partners. Below I provide more detail on these.
The Oxford to Cambridge Partnership is recruiting several roles to the Executive Team to help deliver its mission of securing a future in which our communities prosper from the very best in environmentally sustainable ways of living and working.
We are developing the region's international investment atlas. The Partnership is seeking to identify the most impactful, strategically important and innovative opportunities to include in our region’s first Investment Atlas. A diverse range of opportunities are being sought from the development and commercialisation of new technologies and services to landscape-scale environmental improvements, to capital investment in real estate.
We're delighted to announce the date of our first All Partner conference, The power of partnership: collaborating and innovating to secure our region's success. Save the date! Friday, 24 November 2023 The Ridgeway Centre, Wolverton, Milton Keynes
I am delighted to have started my role as Managing Director of the Partnership and particularly pleased to have had an opportunity to meet with some of our Board members and stakeholders.
The Oxford to Cambridge Partnership is pleased to announce the appointment of two highly accomplished individuals as Non-Executive Directors who will join from 1st September:
The Oxford to Cambridge Partnership has announced the appointment of Dipesh J. Shah OBE as its first independent Chair.
The new Oxford to Cambridge Partnership brings together the region’s leaders to pursue shared interests in realising economic potential in ways that are environmentally responsible and benefits local communities.
Today, the Oxford to Cambridge Partnership (OCP) announced the appointment of ekosgen to develop a compelling value proposition for the Oxford to Cambridge region, in a bid to attract greater global investment into the UK.