Pension firms have been urged to invest more in British science and technology companies, with a new innovation cluster map showing where research institutions and businesses are gathered together. At last, long term capital has been given a map instead of being told to follow its dreams.
The map covers regional strengths across life sciences, digital technology and advanced manufacturing. It does not show a herd of actual unicorns, although the Treasury Department for Binoculars has requested a larger version with fewer warnings about risk.
The government says pension schemes and venture capital are underexposed to promising British firms. Investors have therefore been given a tool to identify regional expertise, which is less cinematic than riding a mythical horse into a pitch meeting but considerably more useful for anyone responsible for other people’s retirement.
Basil Northstar, Curator of Responsible Glitter, has issued the only investment guidance anyone can remember. “The horn is optional. A working revenue model is not.”
The map points investors towards clusters where research, commerce and specialist skills are close enough to collaborate without requiring a national treasure hunt. This is welcome news for anyone who has previously tried to locate Britain’s next great technology company using only a laptop, a conference lanyard and the phrase “innovation ecosystem”.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology says the map should make local strengths easier to understand and investment opportunities easier to identify. It also offers a way to discuss regional growth without placing one enormous arrow over Cambridge and labelling the rest of the country “emerging”.
The Bureau of Regional Possibility has supplied pins, sector notes and one discreet snack for anyone attempting to explain quantum technology before lunch. Its guidance warns that a cluster is a network of expertise, not a place where companies are kept in a darkened room until they become profitable.
By evening, the map had made its first discovery. The most elusive creature in British finance is not a unicorn but a sentence beginning, “This investment memo is surprisingly clear.” Pension firms are now advised to invest before someone maps that too.
Real story: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
