The RSA is delighted to announce that the 13th Policy Impact book, Improving inclusive innovation outcomes: Lessons from post-industrial and post-conflict cities, is now freely available to read and download as open access. The book, by Michael R. Glass, Louise Kempton, David Marlow, Luke Green, Carlos Cadena-Gaitan, Sabina Deitrick and Diana Morales, follows the March 2026 publication of the journal version.
We are also pleased to share a Spanish translation of the book, available for download as a PDF here.
About the book
Innovation is widely recognised as vital for growth, but its benefits are often unevenly shared. Urban innovation districts bring this tension into sharp focus: they place dense clusters of innovation-intensive firms and research institutes alongside neighbourhoods that are frequently deprived and formerly industrial. That makes them both a lens on the conflicts innovation can create and a testbed for solutions.
Drawing on four detailed case studies, the authors offer a new definition of inclusive innovation, grounded in the co-creation of ideas, practices and technologies, alongside the practical “i3o model”, a toolkit that helps policymakers adapt lessons from these cities to their own local context without simply copying what worked elsewhere.
The book’s central message is that innovation and equity need not be at odds. By involving people from different backgrounds and from across deprived neighbourhoods, efforts to make innovation more inclusive can lead to more innovation overall.
The authors set out three key insights:
- Place-leaders can define “inclusive innovation” for their own existing or planned innovation districts, using the i3o method, toolkit and Innovation District 2.0 characteristics as a starting point to be tailored locally.
- i3o demonstrates a replicable and scalable model of academic–policy exchange, bringing together universities, policymakers and community partners. All four cities are keen to continue as an ongoing community of practice.
- The Innovation District 2.0 concept offers an ambitious, adaptable model for improving inclusive innovation outcomes in any place.
Read the book
Current Call for Applications
Could your team produce the next Policy Impact book? The 2026 RSA Policy Expo grant scheme offers up to £16,500 to teams connecting their research and wider communities to societal questions and policy needs. Successful projects produce an article for our gold open access journal, Regional Studies, Regional Science, and a short policy-facing book of no more than 30,000 words, sent in print to all RSA members and as an e-book to all RSA journal subscribers. The deadline for applications is 24th November 2026. Please see the 2026 RSA Policy Expo grant funding scheme page for more information.