Mayors in areas including Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and the North East are to be handed control of Local Innovation Partnership funding, designed to boost the new industries and technologies that will drive the growth, jobs and businesses of the future, the government has announced.
After the next Spending Review, Mayors of Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities will be given the ability to decide how and where to target regional R&D investment through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund on their own doorstep.
The decision is driven by the government’s “commitment to empower local leaders to make the right funding decisions for their communities and unlock regional investment.”
The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund will support partnerships between local leaders, businesses and universities to turn existing research breakthroughs into practical solutions that back local businesses, create jobs and improve lives.
Joining mayors and local officials in Liverpool, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall confirmed plans to pass future control of the Local Innovation Partnership Fund in England to regional leaders, with the change expected to kick in during the next Spending Review period.
Kendall said: “Science and technology is the ultimate driver of growth, and this government is determined to ensure every region shares in the prosperity brought about by innovation. Through the future devolution of Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, we are putting money and power into the hands of regional leaders that know the strengths of their communities best, allowing them to back local businesses, encourage innovation and create the high-quality jobs that will drive the growth these regions need now and in the future.”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region (right), said: “The really important part of today’s announcement is about what comes next. For too long, decisions about funding and investment have been made in Whitehall by people too far removed from the strengths and challenges of our communities. Giving mayors greater control over future innovation funding is another important step towards putting those decisions in local hands.
“Whether it’s life sciences, AI, advanced manufacturing or clean energy, we’ve shown time and again that our region can compete with anyone when we’re given the tools to do it. This is about backing our strengths, growing the economy and making sure the benefits are felt by the people who live here.”
The £500 million committed last year for the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund between 2026-31 will power innovative businesses in 17 regions across the country., and the local partnership in Liverpool City Region has already announced that two projects led by the University of Liverpool are set to receive £23.7m of the £30 million Local Innovation Partnership Funding for the region.
One project, AIM HI, will accelerate the application of artificial intelligence and robotics in materials chemistry, to increase productivity and new business growth. The other project, NBIC LIVE, will establish the world’s first centre of innovation excellence dedicated to AI-enabled rapid innovation of antimicrobial, anti-viral, and anti-biofilm surfaces and materials.
The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund builds on the success and knowledge gained by previous regional innovation funding programmes, which have generated hundreds of high-quality jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds worth of private co-investment, and ensure that the decisions on the fund’s future support will be even more locally led than before, helping them to be directly targeted to the businesses, researchers and projects with the most potential in their communities.
The Local Innovation Partnerships Fund is part of the government’s record £86 billion R&D settlement until 2030. The level of funding delivered through the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund in future will be subject to affordability to be determined at future Spending Reviews.
The Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology and UKRI will work closely with mayors over the coming months to determine the best way to deliver this commitment to devolution.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire (left), added: “For the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy to succeed, it needs to empower the local leaders who know their communities, businesses and universities best. From financial services and health technology to advanced manufacturing and clean energy, West Yorkshire is a world leader in the sectors that are growing the UK economy fastest.
“With local control of public innovation funding, we’ll target investment where it has the greatest potential to create good jobs, boost economic growth, and create a stronger, better off West Yorkshire.”
