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Innovation Wales recognises the widely accepted technology-based concept of innovation, but emphasises that innovation can be achieved everywhere and anywhere and by anyone, across the board.

In order to encourage these broader areas of creativity and wealth generation, Innovation Wales highlights the need for the public sector to be less prescriptive and more open to fresh solutions for supporting business and procurement.

This means developing more flexible ways of nurturing business innovation, more imaginative public procurement and co-operation across levels of government. It also calls for more collaboration between businesses, academia and others looking to access UK and EU funding streams.

Economy Minister Edwina Hart launched the strategy at Pure Wafer plc, Swansea, one of seven anchor companies taking part in a Welsh Government pilot project to encourage open innovation between businesses.

The Minister said:

”Our Science for Wales strategy launched last year  recommended the need for a new, forward-looking approach to innovation in Wales; one that explores new ideas and concepts around the nature of innovation and how best to encourage it.

“I am pleased to launch Innovation Wales which embraces these new approaches.

“It adopts a focused approach with a single overriding principle – that while we can promote, encourage and enable innovation across the economy, our key investments should be made on the basis of clear strategic priorities, building on Wales’ strengths

”We need to recognise these strengths and exploit them more.  This means developing distinct and genuine areas of excellence identified in Science for Wales as: Life Sciences and Health, Low Carbon Energy and Environment, Advanced Engineering and Materials, ICT and the Digital Economy.”

Mrs Hart emphasised that a collective and collaborative effort was needed from all stakeholders in Wales to create real change.  She concluded:

”The public sector can help create the right conditions for innovation to flourish but it is our people, our academics and our businesses that will be the agents for real change.”

Innovation Wales identifies five key themes where innovation players in Wales can concentrate their efforts:  

The strategy benefitted from extensive consultation and input from an advisory group of experienced experts drawn from small and large businesses, universities and UK-wide innovation stakeholders.

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Innovation Wales