Creating Regional Wealth in the Innovation Economy: Models, Perspectives, and Best Practices

Chapter 11. Cambridge — Incubator for Innovation, “Small is Beautiful”

Welcome to Silicon Fen, the U.K.'s Version of Silicon Valley

Greater Cambridge, with the city of Cambridge at its heart, sits within the wider region defined as the East of England. The East of England region is one of the fastest growing in the U.K. Fortune, Newsweek, and Business Week have identified the Greater Cambridge area as Europe's number one R&D location, and one of the most likely in Europe to challenge the U.S. region of Silicon Valley for high-technology–driven innovation. In the Cambridge area, a remarkable and vigorous process of new high-technology firm creation and spin-offs from Cambridge University and from other firms has been developing considerable ...