Doing Business with the US: ‘Disruptive’ Manchester could inspire US innovation
MANCHESTER’S “disruptive” attitude to innovation could inspire similar districts in American cities, according to US policy adviser Prof Bruce Katz.
Prof Katz visited at the invitation of Corridor Manchester, the partnership including Manchester Metropolitan University, which aims to grow and promote the Oxford Road knowledge corridor.
“I like how Manchester is creative, willing to take risks and not necessarily doing things by the book,” he said.
The relationship between the North West and the US is explored in a free trade guide produced in association with international law firm Squire Patton Boggs. It can be downloaded here.
The visit included a tour of MMU’s new Birley campus, as well as visits to Manchester Central Library, Manchester Science Parks, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Citylabs and the National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester.
He said that Manchester was “tailor-made” for the new chaotic economy that had followed the global economic crash.
Prof Katz is currently looking at a number of “middle-weight” European cities to see what US cities of a similar size can learn from them.
He said: “We think we’re going to learn a lot from what’s happening here. Europeans are more intentional about place making, and your collaboration in a place like Manchester is really quite interesting.”
