What challenges do we need to address?

The Connect: Heath Tech Advisory Group comprises stakeholders who represent a diverse range of groups from across the Cambridge cluster, including big pharmaceutical companies, start-ups, research institutions, investors, the NHS, incubators and networking organisations.

Harnessing the combined knowledge of the Advisory Group, we examined some of the past and present challenges faced by the Cambridge cluster to feed into the development of the roadmap for the future.

The challenges fall into five broad categories:

Cultural

One of the largest challenges currently facing the cluster is finding the most effective model for the ecosystem to stay connected as we grow. Cambridge is more porous than many academic cities due to the collegiate system of the University, the co-location of many businesses and the small size and nature of the city. However, as the cluster grows, more could be done to connect the vast number of networks across the city and to continue to break down silos and enhance collaboration between University Departments and disciplines. This is particularly important between the life and physical sciences in Cambridge, due to geographical distances between hubs and differences in resources.

Physical

Breaking down the barriers between the life and physical sciences is an ongoing challenge for many clusters and institutions. Cambridge has some fantastic examples of success in this area (e.g. the Cambridge Centre for Physics of Medicine, Cambridge Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and the Cambridge Centre for Physical Biology) and the challenge is to identify and cultivate the conditions for more such examples to develop and thrive. There is an awareness that bespoke, 'fit-for-purpose' physical space which fulfils the equipment and experimental needs of both disciplines is needed. It will be a priority to create this space alongside the cultural changes to fuel interdisciplinary innovation.

Financial

For the University to effectively support the cluster's world-leading position in enterprise, an environment of well-funded, world class science is essential. The funding environment is currently more demanding than ever and the challenge will be to identify new and diverse funding streams and create new opportunities to maintain the cluster and the UK’s position in the life sciences. In the past, Cambridge has been accustomed to a prosperous environment with funding available for exceptional ideas if you know the right person/investor/angel. With growth of the cluster and a changing global environment we need to prepare and diversify our funding streams to access long-term, sustainable funding. The challenge is to identify early, prioritise and determine the key areas for significant investment in the long term so that they can be articulated and communicated clearly to potential investment partners.

Geographical

Historically, one unique advantage that Cambridge has thrived on is its small city scene. The scientific community meets socially and professionally and generally lives and works in relatively close proximity. Relationships are strong and built on communication, commitment and trust, rather than feeling transactional. This is more common within the life sciences campuses (e.g. Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Downing site) and physical science campuses (West Cambridge) and a challenge for the future of the cluster is how to foster these relationships between sites. As the cluster expands geographically to the various diverse and busy science parks and becomes more embedded in the wider region (East Anglia, Peterborough) the challenge is how to evolve the ‘Cambridge is a village’ character, while welcoming new connections and relationships. One critical question to solve will be how can we build strong and successful relationships nationally and internationally that are not dependent on being in Cambridge?

Talent

Cambridge has built a reputation as the 'place to go' for the life sciences; it is known for its 'can do' attitude, its energy, its vision, its vast pool of entrepreneurs and mentors who 'pay it back' to support the next generation of start-ups and businesses. There is no shortage of talent and ideas. However, as the cluster grows and becomes more inclusive, physically and digitally, nationally and internationally, it has become more challenging to support the talent base to find the right people or organisations within the ecosystem to collaborate with or to gain mentorship from. There is an opportunity to make matchmaking more efficient.