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Accuracy of headquartering adjustments (PDF)
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Innovate UK plays a crucial role in mapping regional innovation systems by analysing its extensive database on innovation funding for businesses.
A significant challenge in accurately identifying where innovation occurs lies in ‘headquartering’ effects, where companies’ registered addresses (often headquarters) do not reflect the actual locations of innovation activities.
This issue complicates regional innovation analysis and affects statistics across organisations, including the Office for National Statistics. To address this, Innovate UK has implemented measures to capture project addresses alongside registered addresses and has adjusted historical data where necessary.
While these adjustments have improved data accuracy, the analysis suggests they may still underestimate the extent of headquartering in London, highlighting the need for further refinements to enhance regional data accuracy.