• Main Prioritites

Developing the skills to increase innovation and creativity within the SW economy

Creativity skills support the generation of new ideas and innovation and ensures their exploitation. Both support economic competitiveness, growth and regional prosperity by acting as the 'transformational element' in the economy. Closely related to creativity and innovation are science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills. Raising the demand for these skills and reversing the decline in the numbers taking up such subjects in the region is a crucial objective.

The RSP will:

• Support and promote the work of the Regional Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Centre to improve performance in these critical areas and should work with other regions and national partners to improve take up in these disciplines from school to higher education.

• Seek to draw on the region's innovation assets e.g. universities, research institutes, incubation centres and science parks, to examine the ways in which they can enhance the region's creativity and innovation skills.

• Seek to embed existing knowledge transfer activities into the wider business support network and programmes created to facilitate graduate employment in SMEs.

• Encourage universities and SMEs to form stronger links.

•  Encourage the establishment of centres of excellence, combining creativity, technology and business teaching.

Consider the implications for the region of the recommendations of the forthcoming Sainsbury Review of Science and Innovation.