How innovation can transform health in West Yorkshire - Mandy Ridyard

Nexus Leeds, the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre and Space Hub Yorkshire, as well as over 600 health and life sciences companies, are beacons of innovation. Our region’s 90,000 resilient SMEs have innovated constantly in recent years, tapping into talent and new ideas to guard against economic flux and uncertainty.

Now, we’re stepping in to help. The Mayor’s £7bn Local Growth Plan is focused on supporting SMEs while creating the underpinning ecosystem we need to nurture growth, including through transport and skills investment.

The plan includes an ambitious vision to position West Yorkshire as an Innovation Centre of Excellence, aligning the region and fostering partnerships between businesses and stakeholders – including universities, industry and public bodies. It will aim to stimulate an uplift in research and development, drive funding and accelerate the commercialisation of intellectual property, enabling sustainable economic growth across the region.

Innovation is key to solving societal problems. Against this backdrop, our SMEs are well positioned to help to tackle the persisting issue of health inequalities across the region. With large parts of Leeds and Bradford among the most deprived in Britain, health outcomes vary widely – and there is an inseparable connection between individual health and the success of an economy.

Life expectancy in Yorkshire and the Humber is one year and ten months lower than the average in England; data shows that the NHS staffing crisis is felt more severely here than elsewhere in the country; and over 100,000 people are economically inactive due to poor health – above England’s average. As such, we are trailing the UK by 17 per cent on productivity.

There is a need for real change. We know that there are two major drivers of innovation in businesses: a burning platform or a burning ambition. The former forces innovation out of necessity; the latter fuels innovation from a drive within. Our continued battle with regional health inequality is a burning platform for our region.

The good news is that anyone can innovate. The existing skillsets of our SMEs can provide an answer to society’s most pressing problems.

In light of this, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority has launched The Mayor’s Big Ideas Challenge, which will see businesses receive development grants of between £20,000 and £100,000 to develop innovative solutions to local health challenges.

Given that health outcomes are determined by wider social and lifestyle factors as well as the quality of healthcare, the challenge will reward key innovations from across a range of sectors.

We know that the best ideas don’t always come from the same person or place. Harnessing the talent of all of our businesses and people is the best way to increase innovation. Our impressive network of SMEs can act as a cornerstone to delivering brighter outcomes for our people. Now is the time for the most brilliant ideas to shine, illustrating the importance of innovation and the value of smaller businesses.

Mandy Ridyard is Business Advisor to the Mayor of West Yorkshire.