The Cambridge Network - Herding Cats? Forget it

   

The Cambridge Network ” Herding Cats? Forget it!

The nature of networking in Cambridge demonstrates its particular style. Instead of being directed by a formal infrastructure, networking in Cambridge is constituted by an informal game of personal contacts and familiar settings. Even the more formal structures that exist, namely the Cambridge Network, which consists of approximately 850 members , aims to support rather than to guide. The mission of the Cambridge Network is to "listen and to react accordingly ," helping to create the right environmental settings and then to let people get on and do things on their own.

Cambridge can be described as a trust environment, this trust being built on a personal rather than institutional level, the impetus still coming from its grass roots. Cambridge's tiny size has undoubtedly helped in the generation of this culture. The Cambridge Network has not created networking, but it has moved it up a gear from the very informal meetings in those clearings of the South American jungle .

Individuals in Cambridge do not appreciate being told what to do. The entrepreneurial and confident spirit is considered to be enough of a driver in itself ” hence the expression frequently encountered when asking about the possibilities of formalizing network relationships and interactions: "Don't try herding cats. It doesn't work." The Cambridge environment demonstrates that scientists can be highly individualistic, which is at the same time highly regarded as a key characteristic of quality. Cambridge has indeed had difficulties in getting people to cooperate. Trying to increase the levels of cooperation in the region has brought about the realization that the central prerequisite for such cooperation is a willingness to trust others. People here need to feel that they can trust somebody, working together with them because they want to, and not because some third party tries to make them. The resulting model is one of gentle persuasion into collaboration and cooperation. People in Cambridge are described to be increasingly more willing to come together and collaborate, and to see this collaboration in their own interests. It is a real bottom-up approach.

The Government ” Keeping Well Out of It

The outline of the region described above already indicates that essentially , the role of the government (national and local) within the Cambridge model is very limited. There is an uneasiness with bureaucracy and government intervention in the region that dates back to the 17th century. Government intervention is seen as going against the trust-based grass roots model characterizing Cambridge and is thus viewed with suspicion. Professor Gordon Edge, managing director of the Generics Group, [8] emphasizes that the government has not provided any financial grants, and that their absence is a unique feature of the Cambridge phenomenon . The Cambridge high-tech community seems to believe that government intervention would stifle entrepreneurial innovation, since this should be a natural, not a constructed evolution. Furthermore, given the non-hierarchical and egalitarian nature of the cluster and its constituents, it is said that government would have a tough time trying to develop structures through which it could contribute any substantial benefits. Paul Auton, former chairman of Arthur D. Little/Cambridge Consultants, suggests that if the government would like to play a role in Cambridge, then it should concentrate on removing impediments rather than taking a lead in economic development. While the government has, for the most part, stayed out of Cambridge, it still takes a keen interest. The local heroes keep in very close contact and have an influential access to key government officials, possibly more so than in other regions. They suggest that mobilizing key individuals in other regions may well be a successful tool to create constructive dialog between entrepreneurs and officials, and may help prevent destructive government intervention.

A major challenge to Cambridge is the issue of regional planning. Cambridge has experienced some tense interactions between local government and the business community when it has come to developing the area for physical growth. The physical infrastructure is poor, and if political problems continue to construct obstacles to growth, this could have serious effects on the future attractiveness of the cluster. Some are satisfied with the "small is beautiful" concept, which is true not only of Cambridge's physical size, but also of most of the companies that are based there. There are others who feel the need for the cluster to be able to grow and to attract big- name companies that, to date, are for the most part still absent from the Cambridge region.

   


Creating Regional Wealth in the Innovation Economy. Models, Perspectives, and Best Practices
Creating Regional Wealth in the Innovation Economy: Models, Perspectives, and Best Practices
ISBN: 0130654159
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 237

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