Jane Davies

Jane is a consultant with expertise in the development and management of science parks, and the contribution of innovation to economic activity.

She has provided consultancy and training services to organizations in the public and private sectors both in the UK and overseas. Her international clients have included the World Bank, the European Commission, the Government of Turkey and Auckland Council (NZ).

She was Chief Executive of Manchester Science Parks (MSP) from 2000-12. MSP is a profitable property investment company that uses its resources to encourage and support knowledge exchange and economic development. Its successful business model of a private company with academic, local government and commercial shareholders is admired internationally as one of the few financially sustainable alternatives to public subsidy that delivers knowledge exchange and economic development.

Her achievements at MSP included securing additional investment of £1.5 million; filling and then profitably selling 65,000 ft2 of space at MSP’s second site; winning management contracts at three sites outside MSP’s ownership; winning a contract from the Central Manchester NHS Trust in partnership with a private property company to develop a 10,000 m2 facility for biomedical and healthcare companies; and developing international recognition for MSP as a leader in the science park sector. In 2012, in recognition of the necessity for additional private sector investment in order to fund further expansion, she oversaw the successful acquisition of a majority shareholding in MSP by a Manchester based property management and development company.

In her time at MSP, the importance of the science park and its tenants to the economic success of the city region became widely acknowledged and its international profile grew significantly. Consequently, she was appointed to the boards of several economic development agencies in Manchester, including the Corridor Partnership which was formed to leverage the activities of two universities and their associated research hospitals, and was chairman of the Manchester Innovation Group which had oversight of all innovation activities in the city region.

Since 2013 she has been a non-executive director of Catalyst Inc, the Northern Ireland science park and is currently a member of the Project Advisory Group of Graz Science Park, Austria.

She served two terms on the board of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP), and was President of its Advisory Council from 2009-13. She was on the Board of the UK Science Parks Association (UKSPA) from 2004-09 and its Chairman for two years from 2007. She is a Companion Member (honorary) of UKSPA and received her OBE in 2010 for service to innovation.

Jane has a degree in chemistry from St Anne’s College, Oxford and joined BP Chemicals on graduation. She spent 18 years with BP in a range of roles including two years on secondment to the Foreign Office, Senior Crude Oil Trader based in New York and Regional Manager for Air BP with responsibility for Africa, the Far East and the Middle East. On leaving BP she ran the Buxton Opera Festival for four years.