Policy Evidence Unit for University Commercialisation & Innovation (UCI)

📣 New data-driven report on the UK university spinouts ecosystem commissioned to support the Hickson Review The Tony Hickson Review, commissioned by Research England for UK Research and Innovation, on deepening university-investor links was published yesterday. I was honoured to be commissioned by Research England to provide a data-driven analysis of the UK university spinout and investor ecosystems to support & inform the work of Tony and the Review Team. My report was published alongside the main review report yesterday and can be downloaded here: https://lnkd.in/e9G85j7E Guided by the needs of Tony and the Review Team, and using the latest data from the UK Spinout Register (September 2025 release), the report provides: ✨ Updated insights on the structure, performance and outcomes of the UK university spinout ecosystem and how this compares to the wider startup population ✨ Further insights on spinout production from different types of universities ✨ Insights on the structure and evolution of the investment/investor landscape for UK university spinouts ✨ Signals of the ability of the UK to retain value from their spinouts as they grow and scale ✨ An international comparison of the investment performance of university spinouts emerging from leading universities in the UK and selected comparator nations ✨ The extent to which UK universities are producing serial entrepreneurs and how this compares internationally 🚀 Overall, the data analysis reinforces the key message of the Hickson Review – that the UK spinout ecosystem is going from strength-to-strength, with our universities competing well internationally in producing high potential spinouts. We should celebrate this, while not losing sight of the fact that we can always improve and do more to push further, faster. And here, Tony Hickson provides rich insights and actionable recommendations on how to do this. Finally, I completely agree with his overall conclusion regarding the importance of whole systems thinking. 🌐 “…that we must move beyond the search for silver bullets and shift decisively into solution mode. This requires whole system thinking comprising a clear and shared vision, capital (at the right stages), cultural change (incentives and education) and consistency (through reinforcing mechanisms that work well). We need to crowd in more capital, provide more spin-out financing at pre-incorporation and pre-seed stages and incentivise scale-up.” Many thanks to Tony Hickson, Simon Hepworth, Bethany Adams, Louise Wall, Elena A. and the Research England team! And a shout-out to the Jisc/HESA, Policy Evidence Unit for University Commercialisation & Innovation (UCI) and Research England and the tech transfer community for their efforts over the past few years in creating the new UK university Spinout Register, which powers my report and enables more robust insights to be delivered. Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), University of Cambridge University of Cambridge

Last week, Research England published a new spinouts Data Digest, alongside plans for their upcoming Spinout Dashboard—a significant step toward strengthening the intelligence on the national innovation and commercialisation ecosystem. 📊 UCI’s work is cited in the Data Digest, and we’re pleased that our analysis continues to inform the national conversation about what good looks like in spinout formation, growth, and long‑term performance. We look forward to contributing to the next phase of work, as advisors to Research England, during the development of the Spinout Dashboard. UCI will continue to support thinking on how we measure spinout health, functioning, and performance—ensuring policymakers, funders, universities & ecosystem-enablers have access to high‑quality, meaningful, and actionable data.

❓ Where and how can we make progress towards better data and metrics on university knowledge exchange (KE) for regional growth? 🎆 We're very excited to publish the UCI Expert Insights Series on university KE for regional growth 🔗 Access the contributions and find out more about the areas where progress is needed to unlock our ability to develop new data and metrics on university KE for regional growth here: https://lnkd.in/eH4_JDvi ✨ In 2025, the Policy Evidence Unit for University Commercialisation & Innovation (UCI) at the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), University of Cambridge, in partnership with Research England, commissioned leading experts on universities, regional innovation and growth, and knowledge exchange, to produce Expert Insights papers exploring where and how progress can be made towards better data and metrics to inform approaches to funding and strengthening university KE for regional growth. 🏛️ Funders of KE are under increasing pressure to develop new approaches to enable universities to help their regional economies to prosper. Universities should also be a cornerstone of regional innovation and growth strategies. However, a lack of fit-for-purpose data capturing this potential is holds us back. This UCI Expert Insights Series brings together a series of papers from leading academics highlighting the current evidence base and what needs to be done to unlock our ability to develop better data and metrics to inform the development of more targeted and impactful KE funding programmes and strategies for regional growth. We are incredibly grateful for the contributions from: ✨ Simon Collinson: Aligning knowledge exchange pathways between universities and local growth opportunities ✨ Rick Delbridge and Kevin Morgan: Multilevel governance and place-based innovation ✨ Andrew Johnston and Fumi Kitagawa: Place-based policies and university knowledge exchange: Exploring the nexus of place and research strengths ✨ Neil Lee: Varieties of knowledge exchange: Local context, universities, and economic growth ✨ Jen Nelles and Syahirah Abdul-Rahman (Shera) Abdul-Rahman: University contributions to business cluster and localised economic development: The advantages of an expanded definition of university knowledge exchange and associated measurement challenges ✨ Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo, Elvira Uyarra, Xiuqin Li and Daniel Cuesta Delgado: Understanding universities’ internal capabilities and resources for effective regional engagement 🙏 We are incredibly grateful to Research England for providing the funding to support the commissioning of these papers, and of course a massive thank you to the experts who contributed their time and effort to produce the papers and share their knowledge, both through the papers and a series of roundtables. 🚀 Over the next few months, we will be developing plans to start addressing these gaps.

🎆 UCI are excited to publish a new Expert Insights Series: University Knowledge Exchange (KE) and Regional Economic Growth In partnership with Research England, we are making progress to develop new & improved data/metrics on KE for regional growth that can inform the development of targeted and impactful KE funding programmes and strategies. The series presents insights from leading academic experts on universities, regional innovation, economic growth, and knowledge exchange, exploring the current evidence base and where key gaps exist. 🙏 Huge thanks to all contributing experts for sharing their knowledge and helping build the foundations for better data Simon Collinson, Rick Delbridge, Kevin Morgan, Andrew Johnston, Fumi Kitagawa, Neil Lee, Jen Nelles, Syahirah Abdul-Rahman (Shera), Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo, Elvira Uyarra, Xiuqin Li, Daniel Cuesta Delgado 🔗 Read the Expert Insights papers and see where progress is needed: https://lnkd.in/eH4_JDvi 🚀 Over the coming months, UCI, with support from Research England, will take these insights forward aiming to address some of the identified gaps

📣 Check-out Valeria Ramirez, PhD's new insights paper, "Meaningful metrics for Knowledge Exchange: Rethinking Social Value Metrics for University-Business and Community Interactions." The report offers valuable insights into how we can better capture the different formats of value created through knowledge exchange and academic impact. Find out more and read the full paper ⬇️ Policy Evidence Unit for University Commercialisation & Innovation (UCI)

Meaningful Metrics for KE: 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆–𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 As we look back at 2025 and plan for 2026, we are pleased to share a new Expert Insights paper that offers a new perspective on how to better capture the different formats of value created through knowledge exchange (KE) and academic impact. Authored by Valeria Ramirez, PhD, the paper introduces the ‘𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗞𝗘’ and emphasizes that metrics need to reflect stakeholders’ diverse perspectives of value. It presents a robust methodology for co-producing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through stakeholder engagement, fostering trust, continuous learning, and long-term collaboration. Link to the report https://lnkd.in/eeKDDSn7 🤝 Central to the framework is the concept of a 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, which requires agreement on what is being measured, how, and why. It acknowledges the socio-technical process required to convert the qualities of human interactions and KE outcomes into quantifiable features.    🎯 The Meaningful Metrics Framework is built on four guiding principles: 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲, 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆. ✒️ To operationalise these principles, the report introduces the 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (PSGA) a dynamic and collaborative document that formalises shared objectives, appropriate measurement tools, and accountability mechanisms. 🕵♀️ Acknowledging the need for human and material resources to support this process, the paper also introduces the role of the 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗿 (𝗠𝗠𝗖) a skilled facilitator of the measurement convention who guides the design, interpretation, and implementation of metrics within a shared language. ✅This approach responds to the growing need to upskill researchers, funders and professional services in KE measurement and evaluation. With this framework we hope to empower KE practitioners and stakeholders to work alongside academics in designing more inclusive, transparent, and meaningful monitoring systems. In doing so, it positions measurement not as an administrative burden, but as an opportunity to build capabilities, improve decision-making, and capture the full social value of #KnowledgExchange. With thanks to Research England Knowledge Exchange UK, the National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange (NCACE), Tomas Coates Ulrichsen FRSA for supporting this work and enabling the engagement with the KE community, as well as those who participated in workshops and surrounding conversations to refine the approach. #Metrics #KPIs #KE #AcademicImpact #Measurement #SocialValue #SROI #ROI #EvidenceBasedPolicy Tamsin Mann Professor Jennie Shorley Joscelyn Miller

👀 Looking for a new opportunity for 2026? Join UCI at a pivotal time and help shape the future of national university commercialisation data and evidence! 🚀 We’re looking for a Policy Data Scientist and Policy Data Analyst to work collaboratively with the UCI team on impactful, high-profile policy projects over the course of 2026. Apply now! 📈 Policy Data Scientist: https://lnkd.in/dc_X7n-6 📊 Policy Data Analyst: https://lnkd.in/djwtQHeS 📅 12-month fixed term (until end of Dec 2026) ✨ Secondment opportunities available 👉 Applications close: 7 December 2025 If you’re a natural problem solver, love working with data, and want to contribute to meaningful policy impact, we’d love to hear from you! Please get in touch with Tomas Coates Ulrichsen (UCI Director) or Joscelyn Miller (UCI Policy & Impact Lead) if any questions! 🔹 Who are UCI? UCI is hosted by the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), University of Cambridge. Our current work programme operates in close partnership with our funders Research England (part of UK Research and Innovation) to make advances in data and metrics on knowledge exchange, commercialisation and innovation.

The Higher Education Innovation Fund is worth over £250m to UK universities. Research England have signalled it is due for an overhaul to focus more on ‘economic outcomes’. A new report from the UCI Policy Evidence Unit at the University of Cambridge provides some clues as to what such an overhaul might entail. As the visual below illustrates, it’s a complex area, but the report does a decent job of laying out new indicators that could capture economic outcomes. The challenge will be the additional work involved in tracking and reporting these indicators. Universities are in the midst of preparing their HEIF accountability statements right now and, as I know from personal experience, it’s already a time-consuming process. How much extra effort is warranted to try to ensure universities deliver better economic outcomes - and how will it be resourced? https://lnkd.in/etZMgnSd #HEIF #ResearchPolicy #KnowledgeExchange