“This additional funding is a welcome boost,” said Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, pointing to strengths in advanced materials, life sciences and AI. On Sunday 19 October 2025 the government confirmed a further £20m for Greater Manchester’s science and technology priorities - the same for the West Midlands and Glasgow - taking each area’s Local Innovation Partnerships Fund pot to £50m ahead of Tuesday’s Regional Investment Summit in Birmingham.

For Greater Manchester, officials highlight practical projects: AI that can spot illnesses earlier, robotics to speed up drug discovery, and building technologies that cut emissions and bills. The government’s note describes the city‑region as a global AI hub linking university labs with start‑ups and SMEs - a linkup readers here will recognise from day‑to‑day collaboration across our universities and firms.

Burnham added that the pilot Innovation Accelerator showed how local decision‑making can turn research funding into business growth and jobs. With productivity edging up across the city‑region, he said the fresh money should help push that trend on.

Behind the headlines sits a process Northern firms can use. UK Research and Innovation has published detailed guidance for the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund, with the programme page updated on 6 October. Readiness applications for the earmarked strand are due by 13 November 2025 (wave one) or 3 February 2026 (wave two), and bids from other places for up to £20m are being invited through a competed strand.

The LIPF totals £500m and builds on at least £30m earmarked for each of ten places earlier this year, including Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. UKRI says locally led partnerships between councils, business and universities will shape portfolios that match regional strengths rather than scatter small grants.

Alongside the LIPF update came life sciences manufacturing news. Sterling Pharmaceuticals plans a 60,000 sq ft manufacturing and R&D centre in Birmingham, while Biocomposites will bring forward a new facility at Keele. Ministers say these early projects will bring in more than £30m of joint investment and bolster the UK’s health resilience. The Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund itself runs to up to £520m over five years.

Glasgow’s Chemify illustrates the type of spin‑out officials want to multiply. Supported by the Glasgow City Region Innovation Accelerator, the company launched a £12m ‘chemputation’ facility in June, fusing AI‑driven molecular design with industrial robotic synthesis - creating 60 new jobs and safeguarding more than 50.

The government says the preceding Innovation Accelerators in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Glasgow have already drawn in over £140m of private investment and created hundreds of jobs. If that pace holds, the new cash should mean more lab benches, apprenticeships and scale‑ups across the three regions.

Tuesday’s Birmingham summit will pull in investors, regulators and mayors, with backing from firms such as Eon, Lloyds, KPMG, HSBC and IBM. It will be co‑hosted by the Chancellor, the Business and Trade Secretary and West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker. Rachel Reeves’ message is that no region should be locked out; Liz Kendall calls the UK “open for business”.

For Northern founders and manufacturers, the ask is straightforward: align proposals with local strengths, build a joint bid with your council and universities, and get paperwork moving before the deadlines. For those outside the ten earmarked areas, the competed strand offers up to £20m per place if a cluster can make a strong case.