Leeds is fast becoming a global leader in innovation and creativity - Joanne Waddington

So, surely, a culture of innovation and creativity should be a priority in the workplace?

It’s hard to account for thinking time, for collaboration, for exploration of new ideas. And so many managers can stifle creativity, in the panic-inducing pressure of profits and the bottom line.

There are, however, few sectors that wouldn’t benefit from a culture of innovation. Particularly those that impact directly on pressing, urgent global issues, such as the climate crisis. And yet, the UK tends to lag when it comes to fostering innovation and creativity in the workplace.

Which is where Leeds comes in. Leeds is fast becoming a global leader in the field. For me, I’ve been working in creativity and innovation for the last three decades.

I started in a junior role at the marketing and innovation agency ThinkOTB almost 30 years ago. In that time, I’ve witnessed our sector undergo seismic change, from analogue to AI. Our approach over those shifting times remained consistent: to literally think outside the box.

You might wonder how a marketing and innovation agency in Headingley, could be at the forefront of helping solve the energy crisis, and the ultimate ambition to achieve Net Zero?

The innovation team at ThinkOTB was appointed by Siemens Energy. We were tasked with redesigning its Innovation Centre in Berlin, to create an immersive space, where new ideas can be created to help decarbonise the energy industry. It launched in August 2023.

In Leeds, we are part of a wider movement of innovation. There’s Nexus Leeds, a community of innovators at the University of Leeds, with a focus on bringing bright minds from business, tech, and academia together in a state-of-the-art innovation hub.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals of course has a strong reputation as a place of international excellence when it comes to research and health innovation.

There are initiatives such as The Arc – a series of innovation neighbourhoods anchored around our universities. It has become a city-wide strategy to create space for creativity and collaboration, where researchers, businesses, investors, facilitators, and entrepreneurs come together to co-create, share knowledge, ideas, and expertise.

Culturally, Leeds has also seen the rise of the brilliant Festival of Ideas from the Leeds Bid, discussing big issues with leading minds.

More than 49,000 people work in tech start-ups and scale-ups across Leeds, and the number of fintech start-ups has increased 263 per cent since 2020.

Leeds is a trailblazer because of this ecosystem, that prioritises creativity, collaboration and innovation.

In a world where time for thought is often overlooked, Leeds stands as a shining example of the transformative power of creativity and innovation in the workplace.

Joanne Waddington is managing director of ThinkOTB.