Beyond the Golden Triangle: Evaluating the impact of government R&D support on firm-level innovation inside and outside of the Oxford-Cambridge-London region (FFTwo004)

Project overview

Business R&D investment is crucial for innovation & growth. To build an innovation-driven industrial base, Governments provide financial support for firms’ R&D. However, firms located in certain regions benefit from unique advantages that can supercharge their R&D capabilities. In some regions, there is a critical mass of R&D infrastructure such as Universities, science labs & clusters of high-tech firms. In the UK, this manifests in the Golden Triangle between Oxford-Cambridge-London. By locating in this region, firms derive significant R&D benefits. Many argue this has come at the cost of permanently disadvantaging firms outside the Golden Triangle, running counter to the principals of ‘levelling up’ and inclusive growth.

Therefore this research evaluates the impact of R&D grants & R&D tax credits on firms located inside vs. outside the Golden Triangle, providing evidence-based actionable insights on how Government R&D support for firms can help reduce regional economic inequalities.

Project team: Dr Kevin Mulligan, Dr Ammu George, Dr Karen Bonner and Prof Justin Doran

Project showcase

4 IRC projects were selected to capture their aims in a few bullet points which were then presented in a banner and showcased during the IRC event Place Matters: Unlocking Growth through Research and Innovation. An event which took place on October 9th, 2025, at The Shard, London.

Below is the banner created for this project.