Enhancing University Research Impact via Social Venturing Support
Our Approach
At The Ventures Lab, we partner with university faculty and knowledge transfer teams across the UK to convert research into social ventures that prioritise impact alongside commercial success. Whether your researchers have yet to consider social venturing, are at the ideation stage, or are ready to advance their investor readiness and access capital, we offer tailored support to meet these needs effectively.
In collaboration with your teams, we offer academics a comprehensive pathway designed to confidently guide their journey to social venturing and impact::
- We provide complimentary advice on funding applications, ideation, and sustainability analysis to refine research proposals and maximise their potential impact.
- Having secured significant investment for various collaborative social innovation research projects, we leverage our expertise in project design and application preparation to boost your project's competitive edge.
- Long-term project partnerships (6 months to 3 years) involving close collaboration to design, validate, and refine social venture models alongside technical research objectives, ensuring readiness for follow-on investment and sustainable social venture launch. This ensures each project is well-prepared for follow-on investment pipelines, ready to launch as a sustainable social venture for optimal impact.
- Upon project completion, we establish onward connections to pathways for commercialisation or spin-out, designed for sustainable impact and growth. This includes direct access to capital and the broader social innovation support ecosystem in Scotland.
- For researchers who prefer to focus on their academic contributions, we scout and engage commercial champions to lead the venture, allowing them to continue as advisory influences without the burden of managerial tasks.
For Research &Knowledge Exchange Service teams, we address key pain points by:
- Providing fully-integrated support that requires little university resource, including identifying existing or prospective research projects suitable for social venture consideration. We offer a parallel runway that allows your teams to focus on high-return commercial spin-outs while nurturing social ventures.
- Offering experienced-based, specialist advice tailored for building social ventures, balancing purpose with profit, and providing guidance distinct from general business strategy and pitch training advice.
- Focusing on realistic timelines and structured phases for social venture development and mitigating high-risk commercial and impact areas from the outset.
- Preventing overemphasis on technological advancements, instead focusing on realistic product-market fit and impact potential to avoid wasted R&D capital and unmet beneficiary expectations.
- Assisting in developing bespoke university-level business cases that demonstrate value beyond traditional revenue models and KPIs, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation for spinout approval.
We invite all Research& Knowledge Exchange Service teams to join us in enhancing their capacity to transform research into social ventures that deliver profound impact.
For more information, please get in touch directly with Ross Isdale
