Hidden clusters: the articulation of agglomeration in City Regions

Abstract

For many years local economic development has been driven by the desire to maintain, attract and nurture clusters of economic activity in targeted industrial sectors. However, where clusters are not conventionally sector-based, public policy needs to develop alternative approaches to leverage the economic benefits and realise competitive advantage. Drawing on a study of the Sheffield City Region (SCR) the paper explores the challenge of leveraging 'hidden' cross sectorial clusters, which do not fit dominant discourses of agglomeration-led growth. We posit that it is the crosssectoral connections and networks in the SCR which represent its key strength, yet these are only partially reflected by current place marketing and policy considerations, and in many ways are overlooked and thus remain 'hidden'. The paper argues that the competitive advantage of the SCR is undermined when it characterises clusters in terms of industrial sectors, and instead needs to articulate its strengths as a strategically important industrial centre. The paper concludes by drawing out a number of implications for academic theory and policy development.

The attractiveness of university and corporate anchor tenants in the conception of a new cluster

“…While research is primarily industry led (with a commercial focus), the AMRC has subsequently expanded its research operations across a wider range of advanced manufacturing applications (including composite and additive manufacturing, metrology, medical and nuclear). 13 This technological diversification has meant the cluster has become more resilient, and indeed has become a critical node/asset within global high value manufacturing production networks (Bailey et al, 2020;Williams et al, 2016).…”

The nature of publicly funded innovation and implications for regional growth

“…This has led to a clear stagnation in the economy and an accompanying sense of urban decay (Etherington and Jones, 2009). However, the region has experienced growth since the 2000s, albeit public sector-led, (Williams and Vorley, 2014) and has begun to consider alternative strategies to support cross-sector specialisms (Williams et al, 2016) and to address the chronically underperforming economic situation of the SCR compared to other LEPs in the UK, especially in terms of economic output, i.e. Gross Value Added (GVA).…”

“…The use of in-depth interviews is particularly appropriate to understanding the focus of innovation in the business. As Williams et al (2016) note, a notable limitation of our method is the risk of misrepresentation, with respondents offering stylised and selective accounts, although the conversational nature of the interviews allowed interviewers to probe responses to mitigate this bias. The interviews were analysed and coded using the emerging themes from the interview to develop what Steyaert and Bouwen (1997) refer to as the "story of entrepreneurship"which in this case is important in understanding our story of innovation.…”

Economic renewal through devolution? Tax reform and the uneven geographies of the economic dividend

“…The recent political and economic focus on city-regions, as the spatial scale at wealth creation is driven (Florida, 2002;Glaeser, 2011), has informed the formulation of the English devolution agreements (Williams et al, 2016). The Coalition Government's devolution of particular powers to England's largest cities and their re-shaping of the financing arrangements of local government form two key components of the 'Northern Powerhouse' agenda 1 .…”