A think tank has said UK cities should try to emulate Dundee’s success in developing high-tech industries to stimulate economic growth.
The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) has issued a report called Rebalancing Act, which claims the UK can only achieve economic growth and create jobs by strengthening its cutting-edge industries.
It states that the best way to ensure economic growth and create jobs is to provide sufficient investment in innovative businesses.
Not only is Dundee home to some leading games developers, Dundee University is a world leader in life sciences, which has helped developed the city’s thriving biotech sector.
NESTA chief executive Jonathan Kestenbaum said, “At a time when the UK needs to look for new sources of growth, providing the right conditions for high-tech companies should be a priority.
“We only need look at successful clusters across the UK such as the life sciences and video games cluster in Dundee to see what can be accomplished when policy works in the interest of enterprise and innovation.”
NESTA’s report warns that employment will stagnate for the first half of the decade and some regions, like Wales and the north east of England, face the bleakest economic outlook.
It concludes that government should give extra support to the small number of high-growth businesses in the UK.
You can download the Rebalancing Act report here: www.nesta.org.uk/library/documents/rebalancing_act_080610.pdf