This five-month programme is designed for ambitious Preston business leaders, looking to grow their businesses in a way that enhances both people and planet.
The Innovation Catalyst is a Knowledge Exchange Platform, which leverages academic research and business practices to create mechanisms for engagement between external organisations and Lancaster University. The knowledge draws from expertise against the central Lancaster University themes. The interactions and platform seek to deliver transformational change.
The Platform operates at two levels:-Both aim to create transformation at a place or organisational level through a series of research informed interventions.
Innovation Catalyst for place-based change at a national and regional level to tackle shared challenges or opportunities posed by rapidly changing external environment
Good Growth - to create sustainable growth and competitive advantage in the fast-changing external environment
With an increasingly complex and rapidly changing external environment, the social, economic, technological, security, environmental challenges become greater and more complex to navigate. There is a need for commitment to two key principles: innovation by accelerating transformational change, and collaboration, engaging with multiple stakeholders - citizens, academia, business, both small and large, and government. Leadership can bring together the key actors who can enact change, creating resilient organisations who are able to respond to external threats, often opting for disruptive, rather than incremental, innovation.
"Participating in the programme has been a game changer. It has re-invigorated our business mindset and has completely changed how we approach growth as a strategy. Profit is no longer the only focus."
