Innovate UK is the United Kingdom's innovation agency, which provides money and support to organisations to make new products and services. It is a

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of ...

operating at arm's length from the Government as part of the

United Kingdom Research and Innovation UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom that directs research and innovation funding, funded through the science budget of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Str ...

organisation.

History

Innovate UK has its roots as an advisory body – the Technology Strategy Board – established in 2004, within the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), before becoming an independent body in July 2007 after the reorganisation of the DTI into the

Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was a UK government department created on 28 June 2007 to take over some of the functions of the Department of Education and Skills and of the Department of Trade and Industry. Its h ...

(DIUS) and the

Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) was a United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and was itself disbande ...

(BERR) under

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

's government. The original Technology Strategy Board had its roots in the Innovation Review published by the DTI in December 2003, and the

Lambert Review The Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration was a report by Richard Lambert published by Her Majesty's Treasury in the United Kingdom in 2003, which made "a series of recommendations aimed at smoothing out the path between Britain’s ...

. This reconfigured the major funding mechanism as the Collaborative Research and Development Technology Programme, transformed the pre-existing Faraday Partnerships into Knowledge Transfer Networks, renamed the Teaching Company Scheme as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and set up an Advisory Board made up of 12 people from business, venture capital and regional government. These changes all took place in 2004, with the Advisory Board being appointed in October of that year. In the 2006

budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environme ...

, Gordon Brown announced the intention to set up the Technology Strategy Board as a "non-departmental public body" operating at "arm's length" from the UK Government. It was decided to locate the new organisation in Swindon, and to recruit a team primarily with business experience. In August 2014, the organisation adopted the name Innovate UK, and began a transition to use the new name in all its communications. However, the legal name of the organisation continued to be the "Technology Strategy Board". Under the

Higher Education and Research Act 2017 The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (c. 29) was enacted into law in the United Kingdom by the Houses of Parliament on 27 April 2017. It is intended to create a new regulatory framework for higher education, increase competition and student ...

, effective April 2018, Innovate UK ceased to report to the

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is a department of His Majesty's Government. The department was formed during a machinery of government change on 14 July 2016, following Theresa May's appointment as Prime ...

and became a council of the newly established

UK Research and Innovation UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom that directs research and innovation funding, funded through the science budget of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Str ...

(UKRI) organisation.

Key people

Dr Ian Campbell was appointed as interim executive chair in early 2018 and stepped down in the summer of 2020; The current CEO is Indro Mukerjee. Campbell was preceded by neuroscientist Ruth McKernan, who held the chief executive post for the three years leading up to the transition to UK Research and Innovation.

References

External links

* {{Authority control British research associations Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Funding bodies in the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 2007 Innovation in the United Kingdom Innovation organizations Knowledge transfer Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government Organisations based in Swindon Research and development in the United Kingdom Science and technology in Wiltshire Technology strategy 2007 establishments in the United Kingdom

History

Key people

See also

References

External links