When Gordon Brown announced his new Cabinet, he also announced the formation of the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills. His reasoning: "Countries will increasingly derive their competitive edge from the speed with which they are able to innovate... and create new products and markets."

So the launch of the Boots Centre for Innovation at the Institute of Life Science at Swansea University in June was timely. As Marc Clement, Professor of Innovation at the University tells Director: "The UK government, particularly with Gordon Brown in number 10, is stressing the innovation agenda. Traditionally we've been great in the UK at invention, but not so hot on the innovation. But there are signs that the UK is upping its game—and I think it's critical that it does."

Boots's chairman, Sir Nigel Rudd, agrees. He says Boots wanted to continue its tradition of helping small firms and encouraging innovation. He explains: "Boots has always been known for giving new products a try on its shelves. But we were missing stuff from the entrepreneurs. By the very nature of it, they were pushed down the line. We didn't have the capability of dealing with that kind of thing."

But the Innovation Centre is a boon for all concerned: "For us, it's enlightened self-interest. Universities are crying out for this kind of thing," he says. "Imagine if you're an entrepreneur—you've got a product and you can go to one place and not be intimidated by the kind of bureaucracy that's inevitable in a business like Boots. The Centre is smaller; it's their job to look after you. New products are always important and if we're going to survive in the 21st century, we've got to be innovative." 

Professor Clement says the model is already proving successful (it's working with 70 organisations on 100 projects). He adds: "Innovation is all about the process of taking great ideas and creating value and wealth. You've got a large company with market reach, offering its services to small and medium-sized enterprises and single innovators, and it's an open system. I think it's a model well worth monitoring and evaluating."