Innovation Ecosystem Accelerator
Practical capacity development for places building an innovation economy.
Ambition is not the problem
More UK places than ever are trying to build an innovation economy: innovation districts, knowledge quarters, science corridors, university-anchored quarters. Many have assets, political backing and a masterplan.
What holds places back is typically the connective tissue between those ingredients, and the leadership capability to build and hold it.
Innovation districts and corridors compound when their leadership is deliberate about governance, strategy, investment, talent and curation. That capability can be learned. This Accelerator is how.
Coordinated but not collaborative
The key partners, whether university, council or anchor employers, are cordial but not aligned around a single strategy.
A weak narrative
The place can’t explain in one paragraph what it is building and who it is for, so investors, government and talent look elsewhere.
An under-resourced leadership job
Ecosystem-building falls to people doing it alongside a day job, without authority over most of the levers and with no peers to learn from.
Equipping you to lead
The Innovation Ecosystem Accelerator is aimed at accelerating innovation-led inclusive growth in places that are in the foothills of that journey.
It introduces participants to the key conditions that determine progress towards a thriving innovation ecosystem, and equips places to put these in place using robust, evidence-based frameworks.
Sessions are a blend of inspiration, peer challenge and applied learning. You leave every session with a new working plan to apply: priorities, partnerships, barriers and activation.
Applied learning over seven months
Three group days, each hosted in person, with time at an innovation district and an honest account from the people who built it.
Session 1
Where are we starting from, and where are we going?
What an innovation ecosystem needs to thrive, an honest look at where your place stands, and how partners can govern together for success.
One day · month 1
Session 2
Who moves with us, and what’s in the way?
Systems leadership, leading without authority, overcoming ‘immunity to change’, and the quick wins that create momentum.
One day · month 4
Session 3
What makes a place into a destination?
The programming, curation and skills pathways that attract tenants, talent and impact capital.
One day · month 7
Between the group days, each place has two check-in calls with a facilitator, to keep momentum and make sure the plans survive contact with the day job.
Practical tools and a peer group
Built in the room, for your place, with your partners.
Position and priorities
How your place measures up against the conditions for success, agreed between your partners, with prioritised actions.
Partnership map and mobilisation plan
The people and institutions whose alignment changes what is possible, who approaches each one, and by when.
Immunity map and barrier plans
Analysis of why change stalls inside your partnership, and how to navigate common barriers.
Activation plan and strategic narrative
What makes the place somewhere people choose, how it earns beyond grant and rent, and one account of it that will help bring capital partners with you.
Plus a named peer group: leaders in the same position as you, and an introduction to the UK Innovation Districts Group network that outlasts the cohort.
Seven months moves these forward. The journey itself takes longer, and the plans are yours to run. What the Accelerator gives you is a defensible starting position, the coalition to act with, and access to peers a step ahead of you.
Three roles around a shared table
Designed to create cross-sector critical mass
Innovation ecosystems fail when their partners work to different scripts.
Each place sends one to three people, and the strongest teams bring more than one institution to the table.
Local and regional government
Combined authorities and councils setting the strategy, convening partners and holding the long-term commitment.
Universities and other anchor institutions
Research and anchor institutions turning knowledge assets into jobs, spinouts and place value.
Private-sector developers
The investors and developers building the physical and commercial fabric an ecosystem needs to grow.
- 4 actionable plans
- A named peer group
- Up to 3 people per place
- 3 group days and 2 check-in calls
The price is set so that most local authorities can approve it without a lengthy procurement process, leaving the energy for the work.
Cohorts of four to six places, grouped by stage of the journey and, where possible, geography, so the peer challenge is useful and the travel is manageable.
Find out where your place stands
The free Innovation Ecosystem Diagnostic shows how your place measures up against the conditions for a thriving innovation ecosystem. It scores the five leadership levers (leadership and governance, strategy, investment, skills and talent, and curation) and names where your place sits on the six-stage journey.
It takes about ten minutes, and it is where the cohort starts in session one. The diagnostic runs on Recurve’s website and opens in a new tab. It takes about ten minutes, it’s optional as it is where the cohort starts in session one. Already have your scorecard? The Accelerator is the next step.
Delivered by practitioners
The Accelerator is a UK Innovation Districts Group programme, delivered by Recurve and Fern Consulting.
The national community of practice for innovation districts
The UK Innovation Districts Group convenes the UK’s innovation districts and knowledge quarters. The Accelerator is a UK IDG programme, and every participating place is introduced to the network.
Sam Markey
Sam designs and delivers learning communities for place leaders, including the Place Coalition for the Impact Investing Institute, and the Innovation Places Leadership Academy for Connected Places Catapult.
Sam is co-author of the Hubs of Innovation series and Local Power, Global Reach for Invest in UK Universities R&D, plus Partnering for Place: How places can mobilise the impact economy to deliver local priorities.
Emma Frost
Emma Frost — Chair, UK Innovation Districts Group; Director, Fern Consulting Ltd (Fern Consulting logo below the bio) Emma is founder and Chair of UK IDG. She has a background in large urban regeneration projects and, as Director of Innovation at the London Legacy Development Corporation, led the formation of the innovation district at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. Emma co-authored the Hubs of Innovation series and other place-based innovation reports such as Bloomberg’s Field Guide for Action. She now advises innovation districts and economic development in the UK and internationally. She is also a Professor of Practice at UCL, specialising in inclusive innovation.
What places ask before they join
What is the Innovation Ecosystem Accelerator?
A seven-month programme from the UK Innovation Districts Group for places in the early stages of building an innovation economy. Four to six places work through three group days and two check-in calls, and each leaves with four working plans built with its partners and a named peer group. It is delivered by Recurve and Fern Consulting.
Who is it for?
Places rather than individuals. Each place sends up to three people, ideally from different partner organisations: local and regional government, universities and other anchor institutions, and private-sector developers. Ecosystems move when those partners work from the same script, so mixed teams get the most from it.
How much does it cost, and what is included?
£10,000 plus VAT per place. It is one fee per place, which partners can share. It covers up to three people, three group days, two check-in calls and all materials.
When does it start, and how do we take part?
Cohort one runs from February to August 2027, and recruitment is under way now. Register your interest and the UK Innovation Districts Group will be in touch as the cohort forms. Places are confirmed once the cohort is balanced for stage of the journey and geography.
What will we come away with?
Four working plans built with your partners: position and priorities; a partnership map and mobilisation plan; an immunity map and barrier plans; and an activation plan and strategic narrative. Plus a named peer group and an introduction to the UK Innovation Districts Group network.
What can seven months realistically change?
It moves the leadership, the coalition and the plans. Building an innovation ecosystem takes years, and the plans are yours to run. The Accelerator gives you a defensible starting position, the partners to act with, and access to peers a step ahead of you.
What is the Innovation Ecosystem Diagnostic?
A free online tool, created by Recurve, that scores your place on the five leadership levers and names where it sits on the six-stage journey to a thriving innovation ecosystem. It takes about ten minutes, and it is where the cohort starts in session one. This is optional, you don’t have to complete the diagnostic tool but you may find it interesting before starting the course. Take the diagnostic
Cohort one starts in February 2027
Recruitment is under way now. Tell us about your place and the UK Innovation Districts Group will be in touch as the cohort forms.
If you want to test whether the Accelerator fits your place, we are happy to talk it through.
Talk to us: hello@ukinnovationdistricts.co.uk
Form not showing? Open the form in a new tab.
You can ask us to remove your details at any time by emailing hello@ukinnovationdistricts.co.uk.