Internationalising the activities of the National Innovation Centre for Ageing

The Government has identified Ageing Society as one of the Grand Challenges to be addressed by the UK Industrial Strategy. The UK’s Ageing Grand Challenge International Forum is seeking to 

• Position the UK as a Global Thought Leader on Ageing and longevity challenges and potential solutions; 
• Build international collaboration on relevant research and innovation (both academic collaboration and business collaboration); 
• Attract inward overseas investment linked to ageing; and 
• Support UK firms seeking to export to international markets.

The National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA) is working with the Forum to identify how it can internationalise its activities to help deliver the Forum’s objectives. NICA has appointed Steer Economic Development to provide consultancy support to identify how NICA can internationalise its activities to support commercialisation of innovation in longevity and ageing-related markets. 

Steer-ED is reviewing relevant strategies and business plans, and conducting stakeholder interviews to inform development of a proposition from NICA that will support delivery of the Forums’ objectives as well as its own organisational goals, which are to: 

• Enhance Healthy Life Years by working with businesses, Government agencies and leading innovation and applied research organisations to facilitate commercialisation of key products and services; and 
• Secure economic value from wealth/spending power of older population for the UK and the North East by delivering a critical mass of expertise on the needs and opportunities of longevity.  

 The Project Director for this work is Simon Pringle and the Project manager is Scott Dickinson.