The partners behind the Sheffield Innovation Spine are delighted to announce the appointment of Charlotte Thompson as Project Director.

This is a crucial role to drive the delivery of a project that has huge potential for long term impact on Sheffield’s economy, the development of the city centre and all those living and working in it.

In leading the delivery of the Innovation Spine, Charlotte is responsible for building a tangible strategy that creates and links innovation infrastructure in the city centre, to attract, accommodate and grow knowledge-led businesses.

Charlotte specialises in bringing innovation to market and building specialist innovation clusters. In her previous role at Arup, a sustainable development consultancy, she specialised in product innovation, partnerships and ecosystems and brings extensive experience in working with and for start-ups, accelerators, incubators, networks, funders and corporates.

Tom Wolfenden, CEO at Sheffield Technology Parks - the lead delivery partner of the Sheffield Innovation Spine - remarks, 

“Charlotte has a deep understanding of innovation clusters and how to foster healthy innovation ecosystems, carefully bringing together the many different organisations involved and enabling them to play their part.

“Her experience, focus and creativity, combined with a genuine passion for Sheffield and the North of England, makes her the ideal leader for this transformative initiative.”

As well as Sheffield Technology Parks,  Charlotte joins project partners Sheffield City Council, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, to unpack what the Innovation Spine will look like and create an actionable strategy to make it a reality.

She comments, 

“I am thrilled to join the Sheffield Innovation Spine and contribute to such a pivotal project. This initiative has the potential to significantly impact the local economy and innovation landscape and complement and collaborate with existing innovation clusters in the North of England.”

An example of this is the South Yorkshire Innovation District, for which the Innovation Spine will provide a feeder pipeline of companies who can benefit from the world-leading manufacturing and scale-up infrastructure located just two miles outside the city centre.

Charlotte also believes the Innovation Spine will contribute to strengthening the position of the ‘Northern Triangle’ - which refers to the key northern cities of Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield. She explains,

“A strong and well-connected Innovation Spine in Sheffield will develop a deeper innovation ecosystem with Leeds and Manchester. By bringing together our strengths we can create a compelling case for investment and retain talent in the region and in the North, collectively driving economic growth and innovation.”

Charlotte stresses the need for collaboration in realising the strategy for the Innovation Spine, and is inviting wide participation, adding:

“We are eager to collaborate with innovators, enablers and stakeholders to bring this vision to life; joining us in the design and build of the Sheffield Innovation Spine. We need your participation to create a space that truly meets the needs of our innovators and together we can shape a future where innovation can flourish in Sheffield.”

For more information and to get involved contact the team at Sheffield Innovation Spine: participate@sheffieldinnovationspine.co.uk