We are delighted to announce the launch of a formal collaboration between Centre for London and The Brookings Institution’s Bass Initiative on Innovation and Placemaking.

Under the newly-formed Bass Initiative – Centre for London Transatlantic Innovation Districts Partnership (TIDP), we will be working with Bruce Katz and Julie Wagner of The Brookings Institution and experts from the Project for Public Spaces to develop our understanding of the role that innovation districts are playing in European cities.

The role of the Bass Initiative-Centre for London TIDP will include the following:

• Gaining a better understanding of the assets of existing and nascent districts.
• Showcasing best practice in design and governance.
• Bringing together civic and business leaders, investors and city governments to support the success of innovation districts.

The TIDP will build on existing research including The Rise of Innovation Districts (Bruce Katz and Julie Wagner, 2014) and Spaces to Think (Centre for London, 2016).

The ambition of the TIDP is to increase our mutual understanding of innovation districts found in Europe through additional qualitative and quantitative analysis and to integrate European leaders into a global network. Through this we hope to accelerate the transfer of lessons and best practices from districts across the world.