Building an Inclusive Innovation Future
Something is stirring in Cambridge.
Cambridge has always been a cradle of brilliance, but a recent report written by Andrew Limb in partnership with the Bennet Institute on inclusive innovation lifts the veil on a new challenge.
The report, built on dozens of interviews and a deep dive into the city’s socio-economic fabric, is both an ode and a wake-up call. It acknowledges the wonders of Cambridge’s innovation economy - lifesaving medical breakthroughs, environmental tech, grassroots programmes unlocking STEM pathways for local youth - but it also exposes the deep divides: in life expectancy, housing access, social mobility, and visibility. Cambridge is booming, but not for everyone.
This is where the story turns.
Because what emerges from this research is not a city in decline, but one on the cusp. The kind of rare moment when aligned political interest, local leadership and civic goodwill make real change possible - if we can act together.
The report identifies four domains of inclusive innovation already in motion. These are the early shoots: local organisations training and mentoring young people, corporates funding school science projects, startups solving hyper-local challenges. It’s inspiring stuff. But much of it is happening in isolation—beneath the radar, unaware of adjacent efforts, and often without the scaffolding to scale or sustain impact.
That fragmentation, the report argues, is our greatest weakness. In a city that prides itself on networks and collaboration, we still live in many separate Cambridges: academic and commercial, local and global, civic and private, often existing in parallel but rarely in true partnership.
So what’s the call to action?
A shared, mission-led framework for inclusive innovation. One that goes beyond good intentions and into structural commitment. This means not just donating resources but transferring innovation capabilities to those currently excluded. It means empowering communities to shape their own futures, designing inclusivity into every policy, board appointment, investment and public space.
It also means humility from those already successful. The courage to ask: can we turn a world-class cluster into an integrated ecosystem where innovation benefits the many, not just the few?
The report doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but it does argue persuasively that Cambridge has a rare chance to choose a different future. To innovate not just what we do, but how we do it, and who gets to be involved.
In doing so, we could show the world how a city of intellect and invention becomes a city of inclusion and imagination.
Now is the time to step forward, together.
Cambridge doesn’t just have a history of changing the world. It has the opportunity to change how we change the world. That’s the real magic.