Research
The Observatory carries out multi-disciplinary research into the geographical, planning, institutional, regulatory, managerial, economic, socio-political and cultural issues which are crucial to understanding the knowledge-economy.
Research Themes
The programme of research will be based around eight core themes.
Creation and development of a database of enterprise in Oxfordshire
The database, which will be maintained throughout the life of the Observatory, will catalogue enterprise births, deaths, mergers, acquisitions and employment change, by sector and technology.
International comparisons
International comparisons are essential to understanding processes of entrepreneurship, technological advance and economic development in Oxfordshire and in other leading regions.
Employment: supply and demand
What is the changing mix of labour by skill, age, gender and education? How is the nature of work in different sections of the high-tech economy changing? What will be the future of work in the emerging knowledge-economy?
Evaluating the significance of clusters for technological development
How does clustering of activity contribute to technological change in established and emerging technologies? How does Oxfordshire compare with other regions as a pioneer region? What are the relationships between clustering and exports?
Mapping university/national laboratory interaction
What is the true extent of university-industry and national laboratory-industry interaction within the county? How does this compare with industry and science base links in the most successful cases?
Infrastructure and policy networks
A key task of the Observatory will be the periodic assessment of the effectiveness of the policy system as it evolves, in terms of Oxfordshire's ability to sustain its position as a leading centre of innovation. What is Oxfordshire doing to ensure that its economy is sustained by world class hard and soft infrastructure?
The Oxfordshire economy
What is the impact of the growth of the high-tech sector on the demand for products and services in the local area? What are the connections between the high-tech sector and other major industries such as the car industry? What are the impacts of global competition on these industries? What is the role of exports in driving the local economy?
Urban structure and the new economy
What is the interaction between the organisation of the built environment and the development of the new economy? How is this related to changes in the regional, national and international economy?
In addition to research, the Observatory arranges seminars, workshops and briefings, to explore issues and provide informed opinion on topics which concern decision makers.
Projects
Current Projects:
Oxford University, Oxford Brookes and the County's government laboratories spin-off companies: number and performance.
Against the background to the UK government's interest in encouraging universities and government laboratories to be more enterprising, this study aims to identify the number of science and technology-based firms that have their origins in Oxfordshire's universities and government laboratories. The study will review how well these spin-off companies are performing using a series of indicators including employment growth, turnover, patents and licensing. It will compare how well Oxfordshire is performing with similar locations.
Recent Projects:
Structure and Dynamics of the South East Economy Reducing Intra-Regional Disparities Oxfordshire Case Study
Joint study with Miles Strategic Consulting, GOSE:/SEEDA.
Technicians: Planning for the next generation of skills.
Outputs - Report and Seminar held at the Saïd Business School, 18 May 2004. Organised by the Oxford2cambridge Arc, The Oxford Trust.