New platform aims to boost organisations in science, innovation and technology sectors
Regeneration and placemaking firm Scarborough Group International (SGI) has announced the launch of a new platform aiming to help organisations in the science, innovation and technology sectors turn research into commercial success.
Titled HiVE Places, the new platform will focus on developing “hands-on environments and support structures” that enable organisations to collaborate more easily, access funding and “turn innovation into commercial and societal impact”.
The platform launches with two significant seed assets, the Old Medical School in Leeds and Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.
SGI said the assets give the new HiVE platform “immediate scale and national relevance, and form the foundations for a wider pipeline as the platform expands”.
Both locations operate in the health technology sector, working with public sector, university, institutional and industry partners.
Leadership on the scheme will be shared by Deb Hetherington as COO of HiVE and Mark Jackson as CEO.
Deb Hetherington is a leader in the innovation sector, with strong networks across the NHS, universities, industry and funding communities.
Speaking on the new launch, she said: “The UK is rich in talent, research and ambition, but organisations still tell me the same thing. Navigating the system is harder than innovating itself. HiVE Places is designed to remove that friction.
“By combining high-quality environments with curated partnerships and clear pathways to adoption we can help organisations move faster and with far more confidence. This is about building economies, not just providing space.”
Mr Jackson has spent more than three decades delivering complex regeneration and development projects with SGI.
He said: “Science, innovation and technology clusters can achieve their true potential when someone takes responsibility for making all of the moving parts work together. Too often in the UK developers provide the buildings but do not go all-in with the commitment to the operating ecosystem that can really unlock the potential in the nation’s many great cities.
“HiVE Places has been created to close that gap. We are bringing forward the kind of specialist capability that can turn ideas into commercial and economic momentum and we believe the market is ready for a platform like this to scale nationally.”
SGI Chairman, Kevin McCabe, added: “We believe that the science, innovation and technology economy will be one of the UK’s strongest engines of growth in the coming decades and regions like West and South Yorkshire are exceptionally well placed to benefit. HiVE Places has been created to capture that opportunity. This platform will allow these assets and future ones to reach their full potential.”