On Tuesday 3rd September 2024, Downtown in Business hosted a fascinating roundtable lunch event, sponsored by House of Wisdom, delving into the importance of the work of Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter.
Held at the brilliant Novotel Paddington Village, this exclusive gathering attracted professionals, business owners and industry experts who are invested in the growth and innovation of the Liverpool City Region.
The Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, which covers over 50% of Liverpool’s city centre, is home to influential players in science, health, technology, and education, it plays a pivotal role in driving innovation and fostering growth. Throughout the event, attendees had the unique opportunity to explore the strategic direction of Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter and its role in driving regeneration and growth in the region.
Downtown boss Frank McKenna chaired the discussion, explaining what he views as the threefold significance of the Knowledge Quarter. Firstly that, looking at the trajectory and future of the economy is proof that we need to invest more and therefore we should take the work KQ does in building investment more seriously.
Secondly, that it appears Liverpool is still somewhat seen as a ‘party city’ and not as a serious place to invest and the KQ is doing great work to try and dispel this perception.
He finally suggested that, where we see genuine growth and regeneration it’s always private public and academic sectors working together that gets the best results and the KQ performs a massively important function in bringing these sectors together.
At the helm of the discussion was Colin Sinclair, CEO of the Knowledge Quarter who reiterated that, while filled with a lot of culture and tourism, Liverpool is increasingly powered by academic and scientific endeavour, but asked how do we make the two halves work as part of a whole, helping the city be seen as a place of culture but also of innovation and science?
Colin feels that the key to this is investment. Over the past nearly a decade since its launch, the Knowledge Quarter has embarked on ambitious regeneration projects including regenerating Paddington Village.
Colin feels that to attract the big companies and occupiers, we need spaces where big investors can set up. “We’re very good at initial SME growth but then it falters, we need to focus on scaling as much as startups because there’s this lack of infrastructure development, we need these spaces that companies can grow into and expand”.
Not only will investment in creating the right spaces hopefully attract these important occupiers, but we also need to bring these high-powered jobs to the region to motive students to want to stay- “You need to invest in futures and getting the workforce right to get young people to want to work here.”
“With every organisation you need people who drive the innovation, that’s why we believe in keeping open dialogue between Universities and the private sector”.
Tim Jones, Vice-Chancellor at The University of Liverpool explained how the University’s unique partnerships around the world could bring back power to the city.
Tim discussed how the University recently launched a new strategy ‘Liverpool 2031’, which includes 3 pillars, Research and Education, Place and Innovation, Global Engagement and Partnership.
Overall, the event was extremely eye-opening, providing s rare glimpse into the fascinating future trajectory of the Knowledge Quarter and Liverpool University. Highlighting the massive scope of potential collaborative opportunities, the event also provided a unique platform for attendees to network, exchange ideas, and forge meaningful connections across sectors. By bringing together diverse perspectives, the event aimed to spark collaboration and innovation, laying the groundwork for continued growth and development within the Liverpool City Region.
So, what’s next for Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter? Well consultation is ongoing for their 2040 vision. It might be hard to build and drum up investment in Liverpool but as Colin put it, “It worked in Manchester so why not here?”
He feels Liverpool needs to be more competitive in terms of investment, “I think we’re too modest, I think we may even need to be a bit pushier.”
For information on upcoming Downtown in Business events, please contact beth.mckenna@downtowninbusiness.com.
