Connected communities: How ecosystems turn collaboration into impact

At the heart of every thriving innovation district you'll find a community of businesses, researchers and investors working together. While location and infrastructure create the conditions for innovation, it is the relationships between people and organisations that bring those places to life. Shared ambition, collaboration and trust are what turn proximity into genuine partnership.

Research into global innovation clusters supports this. Firms embedded within connected ecosystems achieve faster, more sustainable growth than those operating in isolation. One study of more than 11,000 firms across 80 clusters in Germany found that being part of a business cluster increased the likelihood of becoming a high-growth company by between 2% and 4% (1). In Silicon Valley the likelihood of selling a company increases by four times when a company relocates there (from 1.4% to 7.1%), this is accompanied by higher patenting, commercialisation, venture capital financing, and sales (2). Bruntwood SciTech’s role is to help make these connections happen, creating environments where businesses not only work side by side but learn from and grow with one another.

Turning collaboration into commercial strength

Within the most successful innovation ecosystems, connection is not left to chance. The most dynamic communities are intentionally curated to encourage opportunity and mutual success.

When like-minded businesses come together, they can combine expertise, spot opportunities and support each other through growth. A culture of openness allows ideas to cross boundaries between sectors, disciplines and stages of maturity. That collective energy helps organisations innovate more effectively and seize opportunities sooner. According to EY, collaboration or “ecosystem business models” have the potential to generate 2.1 times the incremental revenue growth (3).

Curated communities also make it easier for ideas to find the right partners. A health tech start-up developing a diagnostics platform might connect with a neighbouring data science firm to refine its algorithm. A digital business exploring AI could collaborate with a university research group to accelerate product validation.  A sustainability-focused consultancy might work with neighbouring occupiers to pilot low-carbon technologies. These everyday interactions, built on trust and shared goals, become the unseen infrastructure of a thriving ecosystem.

Our approach reflects this philosophy. By connecting businesses to capital, talent and partnerships, we help build networks that strengthen with every new participant. These communities evolve together, sharing insight, ambition and opportunity.

The role of mentors, peers and wraparound support

Strong communities need more than shared space. They thrive on the people who give back their experience, networks and insight to help others grow. Mentors, programme leaders and peers create the support structure that helps businesses at every stage build capability and confidence.

Our Innovation and Growth team plays a central role in enabling this. They connect founders with expert guidance, finance and capital, academic partners and civic networks, and shape programmes that help businesses access the knowledge and support they need to scale.

Across the UK, this takes many forms:

• In Birmingham, the Growth Leader Academy helps high-potential managers become strategic leaders. 

• In Leeds and Manchester, initiatives such as Ask the Experts and the Female Founders Forum North give entrepreneurs a space to share experience, gain perspective and build connections that strengthen their next phase of growth. 

• At Alderley Park, the Life Sciences Accelerator helps early-stage founders become investment ready through a structured six-month programme that combines free lab space, expert mentorship and industry engagement.

Alongside these formal initiatives, each location offers a programme of social events and wellbeing activities that help people connect beyond their day-to-day work. From informal meetups and networking breakfasts to running clubs, lunchtime talks and shared celebrations, these activities play an important role in developing networks, supporting wellbeing and strengthening the relationships that underpin long-term business success.

Case study: ApconiX, Alderley Park, Cheshire

ApconiX began its journey at Alderley Park as a small team of world-class toxicology experts. With access to flexible lab space, specialist facilities and a supportive peer network, the company quickly grew into a trusted global provider of non-clinical safety expertise and ion channel research. It is now a team of 60 growing from 900 sq ft to 4,000 sq ft.

Being part of the Bruntwood SciTech community has played a key role in that growth. ApconiX was one of the first companies to join the Alderley Park Life Science Accelerator, which provided strategic support and helped the founders refine their business model. 

Read ApconiX’s case study

The culture that drives innovation

What defines the most successful communities is not just the number of partnerships or programmes, but the culture they create. When people feel part of something bigger, they share ideas more freely, collaborate more naturally and support each other through change. Over time, that sense of belonging becomes a source of both innovation and resilience.

“Community is something we design, nurture and measure every day. Our campuses are built to make connection effortless, whether that’s through shared social spaces, events or the simple act of bumping into someone who sparks a new idea. When people feel part of a community, they don’t just work better, they grow faster together.”

Emma Harvey, Head of Community Engagement, Bruntwood SciTech

This culture is strengthened by the way our spaces are designed. Every detail, from the layout of meeting areas to the lighting, scent, and sound is considered to make people feel welcome and connected. Shared spaces such as cafés, wellness areas, roof terraces and event zones are deliberately created to spark conversation, encourage cross-sector networking and make everyday encounters more meaningful. This hospitality-inspired approach to placemaking gives people a reason to be on campus or in an office, not just to work but to engage, learn and belong.

This strategy delivers measurable impact. Our customer retention rate sits at 70%, well above the 51% industry average and our customer usage averages 71% across the week, showing how thoughtfully designed environments build loyalty and connection. These figures underline what we see every day: when people enjoy spending time in a place that feels vibrant and human, they stay longer, engage more deeply and contribute more actively to the community around them.

From community to competitive advantage

Connected communities do more than bring people together. They create the conditions for sustainable growth. When trust, knowledge and opportunity circulate within an ecosystem, the pace of innovation accelerates and the benefits compound.

That is why we focus as much on people as on place. Buildings provide the setting, but community gives them meaning. The most powerful innovation ecosystems are those where collaboration is not an afterthought but a defining feature.

In the years ahead, the strength of the UK’s innovation economy will depend not only on where its clusters are located but on how deeply they are connected between organisations, across sectors and between cities. According to the UK Government’s Innovation Clusters Map, clusters generate stronger innovation outcomes when knowledge, talent and investment flow freely between regions, creating “agglomeration effects” that amplify growth. 

Operating across the UK’s leading innovation cities - from Manchester and Cheshire, Leeds to Birmingham and Liverpool, Cambridge and beyond - we play an active role in facilitating those connections. By linking businesses, universities and public partners across regions, we help ideas travel further and scale faster, turning local ecosystems into a national network of innovation. The businesses that lean into those connections will be the ones that grow faster, attract better talent and unlock the greatest value.

Find your next workspace https://bruntwood.co.uk/our-locations/ 

References:

(1) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385590423_The_role_of_cluster_ecosystems_and_intellectual_capital_in_achieving_high-growth_entrepreneurship_evidence_from_Germany (2) Guzman, Jorge. 2018. "Go West Young Firm:  The Value of Entrepreneurial Migration for Startups and Their Founders". Columbia Business School Working Paper #18-49 (3) https://www.ey.com/en_gl/alliances/the-ceo-imperative-how-mastering-ecosystems-transforms-performance (4) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovation-clusters-map-summary-and-methods/innovation-clusters-map-summary-and-methods