You are here: Our Research >> AIM Research Projects >> Targeted Initiative on Innovation

Targeted Initiative on Innovation Fellows

Productivity and Performance
Sustaining Innovation
Promising Practices
Public Service Sector
Business Engagement Project
Productivity Ideas Factory
Grand Challenge

Publication Types:

Academic Paper
Executive Briefings
Themed Reports
Working Papers


Publication Themes:

Education
Innovation
Productivity
Practices
Services


Other:

AIM Toolkits
Publications Home
Research Home
Publication Order Form
Join the Mailing List

The Targeted Initiative will focus on four related questions exploring key aspects of innovation both in the UK and within an international comparative context.  The main objective of the initiative is to promote and support world class theoretical, empirical, policy- and practice-oriented research in innovation.

Targeted Initative on Innovation Projects:

Chris Hendry - The 'Uncertain Middle':The role of demonstration projects and trials in influencing success

Innovating in energy systems is complex and difficult. Demonstrations and trials have played a significant role in advancing renewable technologies in Germany, Japan and the USA, while the UK has recently established a number of demonstration programmes in the low carbon and renewable energy field. The EU also has major plans to develop and promote renewable energy.

Mark Harvey - The Transition to a sustainable economy: Innovation and Expectations

The research also explores new geographically distributed collaborations between firms, between firms and the science base, and the emergence of new bioeconomy firms and markets.
A key aspect of the research is the collaborative partnership between social scientists in Essex and Manchester and the Bioscience for Business Knowledge Transfer Network.

Andrew Davies - Platforms for Innovation: Creating replicable product and service components for high value integrated solutions

To achieve success in international markets, UK-based companies are seeking to create and capture higher value by providing services in combination with physical products as 'integrated solutions' to the needs of large business or government customers.

James Wilsdon - Between Techno-Nationalism and Cosmopolitan Innovation: Governance and Ethics as factors in UK-China R&D Collaboration

China in 2007 is the world’s largest technocracy. The Chinese innovation system has its weaknesses but excels at the rapid mobilisation of resources. It is now at an early stage in the most ambitious programme of research investment since John F Kennedy embarked on the moon race.

Bruce Tether - Increasing Added Value in UK manufacturing through globalising 'open innovation' and serviceisation strategies

The research will involve analysis of existing survey data (the UK Innovation Surveys of 2005 and 2007) and original surveying with responses from 300 firms active in instrumentation, electronics and electrical machinery.

Gareth Shaw - Internationalisation and Innovation in the Service Sector: The role of International migrants and UK (London) hotels

This project is focused on combining two under-researched elements: First, despite recognition that innovation in services is distinct from manufacturing, there is still very little research on several sub-sectors, one of which is hospitality. This is especially so in the United Kingdom, which includes the hotel industry - accounting for between four to five per cent of UK employment.

Mary Rose - Knowledge and Technology Transfer, Innovation and competitive advantage: past and present

Knowledge transfer is an essential element of innovation and lies at the heart of the United Kingdom’s competitiveness in the global economy. The relationships between higher education and business, which underpin this process, occur at the regional level and form the basis of unique capabilities, which evolve through time. The challenge, from the UK perspective, lies in the tension between growing awareness of the importance of knowledge transfer and the extremely limited tradition of close university-industry relations.

Rachel Griffith - Globalisation, innovation and productivity: international evidence and implications for policy

This research project will provide international comparison of trends in the location of inventive activity.

The objectives are to shed light on:

• The extent to which firms are relocating innovative activities offshore

• What the main determinants of firms' decisions are over where to locate innovative activity

• How the benefits from innovative activities vary when these activities are carried out in different geographical locations and the implications this has for policy in the United Kingdom and European Union

Jon Urry - UK-China Networks of Low Carbon Innovation

Tackling climate change is demanding international collaboration in innovation, yet there are significant constraints on such collaborations. This project is examining low carbon partnerships between the UK and China to identify the factors that promote and impede their success and the capacity for "disruptive" innovation on a global scale.

For further information relating to the Targeted Initative on Innovation Projects, please contact aim@wbs.ac.uk

Previous page: Public Service Sector