NEW research has identified the south east as the UK’s backbone for digital economy.

A new government-sponsored Science and Innovation Audit (SIA) has revealed that the south of England has a total economic output of £225.3 billion, accounting for 13.7 per cent of UK’s economic output.

The report showed evidence to illustrate that the Innovation South area is at the forefront of advances in digital innovations across a wide range of industrial sectors that can transform and improve our daily lives. Part of this is the innovative M3 Local Enterprise Partnership, which is based out of Basing View.

Innovation which has led the way in the south includes augmented reality devices which help train surgeons doing knee replacements to robotic submarines that are helping to combat global warming.

Chair of Enterprise M3 and chairman of the Innovation South Strategic Steering Group, Dr Mike Short CBE said: “The Science and Innovation Audits are very important to uncover underlying sector strengths in our huge region, and to identify opportunities for better collaboration and sustainable growth across the UK.

“Now that our audit is complete, our primary focus is on following up with pragmatic steps to progress our partnership and implement the recommendations of the audit.

“We are confident that with the great support we have had from industry, universities, and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP), we can build on the audit to maximise opportunities for our region in the future.”

Due to the results of the audit the Enterprise M3 LEP is able to drive the economic growth of areas such as Basingstoke and Deane by working with businesses, key delivery partners and central government.

The audit recommends that sustaining the success of Innovation South, and driving its innovation-led productivity even further, is critical to the success of the UK’s digital economy and the nation’s competiveness in global markets.