Disruption Index Spotlight Report – Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Authors: Bertha Rohenkohl, Harry Pitts, Jessie Leigh, Lucie Akerman, Harry Rawlinson
Key points
- Ranking last of all UK regions, Cornwall scores very low in all subdimensions of the Technological Transformation Index – venture capital investment, R&D expenditure, innovation activity, patents and technology adoption, and demand for technology skills, with particularly low scores for the first two of these.
- Cornwall also ranks very low in the Readiness Index, across most subdimensions – basic skills, investment in education, post-secondary education, workforce and ICT infrastructure - whilst Adult Education, including on the job training, scores better, contributing to increasing scores overall in recent years, but a declining rank relative to other comparator areas.
- The make-up of Cornwall’s economy and labour market is at a potential turning point owing to the Duchy’s centrality to the green transition, bringing with it new forms of disruption and technological transformation, new needs for readiness in workforce and skills, and new possibilities for innovation and investment.
This report examines Cornwall's performance in terms of the Institute for the Future of Work's ‘Disruption Index’, which measures readiness for and pace of technological transformation in particular places.
The Pissarides Review into the Future of Work and Wellbeing - funded by the Nuffield Foundation - is a multi-year project led by Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides. Across multiple workstreams, leading academics from Imperial College, Warwick Business School, LSE and UCL are producing research on technology adoption, and the impacts on good work, skills, job quality and wellbeing at a firm, worker and institutional level. Central to this work is the geography of these impacts, and both the opportunities and risks of regional inequalities being narrowed or further entrenched through this period of major technological change.
As part of the project, the team constructed the Disruption Index (DI), an innovative tool that offers a new perspective into the multifaceted nature of technological transformation across the country. The DI changes how these societal challenges are perceived, assessed and addressed. By tracking indicators across the technology lifecycle - from investment and the innovation ecosystem to education and connectivity infrastructure – the DI offers new insights into the primary components of technological transformation and our readiness for it, helping policymakers identify the most impactful access points for intervention.
By breaking down the components of Technological Transformation and Readiness – and showing that they are not inevitable – the DI opens the door to a more sustainable, responsible technology ecosystem and decentralised, equitable economy.
This Spotlight Report also contains a background piece exploring Cornwall’s long industrial history, and case studies of firms operating in the region, and their experiences of technology adoption.
Read and download the report here
Authorship and funding note
The University of Exeter was commissioned to deliver the EVOLVE FUTURES project on behalf of the Growth Hub, funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Cornwall Council has been chosen by Government as a Lead Authority for the fund and is responsible for monitoring the progress of projects funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. EVOLVE FUTURES is delivered through the University of Exeter in partnership with Cornwall Chamber of Commerce and Cornwall Rural Community Charity and aims to improve the opportunities for enterprises across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly that aspire to good growth and to accelerate their development through the provision of expert business support.
This spotlight report was written by Dr Bertha Rohenkohl and Kester Brewin, with contributions from Dr Harry Pitts and Jessie Leigh. The case studies were prepared by Lucie Akerman and Harry Rawlinson. The quantitative analysis is based on research conducted as part of the Pissarides Review into the Future of Work and Wellbeing, led by Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides (Institute for the Future of Work and London School of Economics). We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Nuffield Foundation. The Pissarides Review into the Future of Work and Wellbeing is a collaboration between the Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW), Imperial College London (ICL) and Warwick Business School. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Nuffield Foundation, nor those of the Institute for the Future of Work.