Written evidence from Dr Alina Vaduva, Senior Lecturer in Business Strategy at the University of East London; Professor Kirk Chang, Professor in Technovation, Director of the Centre of Innovation, Management and Enterprise (CIME) at University of East London, Centre of Innovation, Management and Enterprise (CIME), and Dr Siemon Smid, Director at PwC (SUK0015)

Key Points and Policy Recommendations

Mission-Oriented Innovation Approach:

We recommend the UK Government adopt a mission-oriented innovation strategy, focusing on bold, strategic missions to align public investment, research, and regulation towards shared societal goals (e.g., health, AI, digital infrastructure).

We recommend that the UK Parliament act as a proactive market shaper, creating long-term cross-sectoral collaborations that stimulate private sector innovation while ensuring public value creation.

Strengthening Intellectual Property (IP) Financing:

Establish a national IP financing framework to enable businesses, particularly SMEs and start-ups, to leverage their IP assets as collateral for funding.

Create an IP Financing Agency to provide advisory services, IP strategy development, and access to financing, inspired by Ontario's IP Ontario model.

Introduce an IP guarantee scheme to de-risk lending for IP-rich businesses, promoting greater access to capital.

Reorganizing Innovation Infrastructure:

Redefine Innovate UK as a National Innovation Authority, bringing together all innovation activity under one umbrella to improve policy coherence and resource efficiency.

Align all strategic innovation efforts, including public and private investments, with the UK’s long-term national missions to drive competitiveness and global leadership in science and technology.

Regional Innovation Support:

Equip regional innovation hubs and local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) with IP finance tools and advisory capabilities to support SMEs, especially in underserved regions.

Focus on living labs and testbeds to foster public-private innovation partnerships, particularly in high-priority sectors like green tech, AI, and health.