A new programme, Accelerate to Investment (A2I), has launched to address a long-standing gap in the UK’s innovation system by helping public sector researchers turn high-potential research into investment-ready spinout companies.
Designed specifically for government research organisations, A2I provides structured commercial and investment support to help publicly funded research move beyond the lab and into real-world application – supporting economic growth, productivity and public value.
While the UK is a global leader in publicly funded research, commercialisation from the public sector has historically lagged behind universities.
As of 2023, just 84 spinouts had emerged from UK public bodies, collectively employing over 7,300 people and raising £5.1 billion in funding – highlighting both the scale of opportunity and the untapped potential within the system.
A2I is a bespoke offering tailored to the realities of public sector research, supporting researchers and innovators within government organisations to explore commercial pathways, build founder capability and confidence, and prepare for external investment – often for the first time.
By strengthening the pipeline of credible, investment-ready public sector spinouts, Accelerate to Investment directly supports the Government’s Economic Growth Mission – helping ensure publicly funded innovation delivers measurable economic and societal returns.
“Public sector research organisations are hubs of remarkable innovation. We must ensure these innovations are recognised, scaled up and developed into their full potential.
“The Accelerate to Investment programme will help move research and innovations out of government and into the marketplace, contributing to the economic growth our country needs. It will bring new products and services that deliver real benefits to our citizens”.
“The UK has an extraordinary depth of publicly funded research with the potential to solve real-world challenges – but too much of it never makes it beyond the lab. Accelerate to Investment is about changing that.
“This programme gives public sector researchers the commercial confidence, investor insight and practical support needed to turn high-impact ideas into viable spinouts that can attract capital, scale responsibly and deliver meaningful economic and societal returns. If we’re serious about growth, we have to unlock the full value of the innovation we already have.”
Over the course of the programme, participants will work through structured sessions focused on commercial pathways, founder development and investor readiness, supported by experienced venture builders, mentors and early-stage investors. A2I is designed to help researchers and innovators build the fundamentals required to progress a credible spinout opportunity – from proposition and market fit through to investment narrative and next-step planning.
Accelerate to Investment (A2I) is a UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) initiative, delivered by E-Spark and developed to build on the work of the Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT) in strengthening public sector innovation and commercialisation.
UKI2S invests in early-stage opportunities emerging from the UK’s publicly funded research base, including through its Knowledge Assets portfolio. E-Spark is a specialist venture development organisation with a strong track record designing and delivering accelerator programmes for science and deep tech founders, bringing hands-on expertise in venture building, founder development and investor readiness.
Researchers, innovators and leadership teams within public sector research organisations are invited to attend an introductory webinar on the 28th of January at 12pm to learn more about the programme and what participation involves. To sign up to this event, please register here.
Applications open on the 29th of January and close on the 27th of February. Full details, eligibility criteria and registration links are available at https://www.entrepreneurial-spark.com/a2i
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