Britain’s 5.5 million SMEs are the backbone of our economy – agile, ambitious and quick to seize opportunities. Yet too many are being hobbled by a crisis in leadership, specifically in innovation.

Have universities forgotten their purpose? Ask a business leader and you’ll get the default answer: to produce graduates. But the deeper role – as the intellectual and industrial engine of our cities – has slipped from the collective imagination.

Innovation ecosystems don’t emerge by accident and no one has license to ‘create them’. They require careful cultivation, strategic alignment and collaboration and the right balance of key components working in harmony.