A Disruption Index - the geography of technological transformations across England
Creators: name: Rohenkohl, Bertha
name: Pissarides, Christopher
name: Clarke, Jonathan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024

description: As automation and data-driven AI technologies are adopted across more firms and sectors and impact more job roles, the labour market in the UK is experiencing profound and ongoing changes. If we are to tailor intelligent responses to these changes precipitated by the complex interplay between technology adoption and work – whether through regulation, policy, investment, or otherwise – we ideally need a measure of the scale of these changes, and their geographic distribution.

Towards this, we have developed the ‘Disruption Index’ (DI), an innovative analytical tool that offers a nuanced perspective on the multifaceted nature of technological transformation across the regions of the country. This first report delves into the findings of the DI.

At the core of our investigation here are the relationships between investments in technology, innovation, and the underlying enablers that facilitate or impede technological transformation. The DI aggregates data from a range of sources, providing a panoramic view of technological transformation at a regional level. This analysis not only enhances our understanding of the current state of technological transformation throughout the initial stages of the technology life cycle (research and development, introduction and growth) but also provides the foundations for a deeper exploration of its implications for the workforce and people’s wellbeing in our forthcoming research.

Our Disruption Index is divided into two main dimensions. The first dimension of this index, the Technological Transformation Index (TTI), describes the extent of technological transformation that is being experienced across counties (and groups of counties) in England. This follows the statistical division of International Territorial Level 2 regions - or ITL2 - previously known as NUTS2 regions. The TTI sheds light on the different capacities of these regions to invest in, adopt, and adapt to new technologies. Measuring this is crucial because, ultimately, technological transformation and innovation are key drivers of productivity.

The second dimension, the Readiness Index (RI) emphasises the crucial role of human capital and infrastructure as enablers of this transformation. In this report, we provide a brief overview of the indicators included in each dimension. Further detailed technical information about specific indicators can be found in the accompanying Disruption Index Technical Report.

Our results shed light on important regional disparities across the country and on the evolution of these factors over time. We have found significant regional disparities related to technological transformation factors. Helping to drive that disparity are incoming flows of venture capital investments, Research and Development (R&D) expenditure and the creation of patented technology – all of which are concentrated in a very small number of regions.

Our Disruption Index shows that, as well as disparities in Technological Transformation, there are also significant disparities in Readiness. These are mainly associated with the educational levels of the workforce, skill levels, and the required infrastructure. However, these disparities are not as those observed in relation to the Technological Transformation factors.

In this report, as we navigate through the main findings from our analysis, we offer insights that help us understand the current UK economic geography and regional inequalities. We identify potential drivers of regional inequalities, how different factors interact and compound each other, and - in a companion briefing - we propose implications for policy. 

In parallel research at the Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW), the Good Work Time Series1 examines multiple dimensions of good work and how these are being shaped over time across 203 Local Authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. Our goal is that the Disruption Index, along with accompanying work in the Pissarides Review and at IFOW, can together be used as a foundation for deeper thinking into how regions can leverage their unique strengths and address challenges to harness the full potential of technological advancement that promotes good work and worker wellbeing.