Building an Innovation Ecosystem: a new training course for knowledge transfer professionals

Successful knowledge transfer depends on more than great research. It also depends on the connections around it: between universities, businesses, investors, entrepreneurs, public organisations and others working to turn knowledge into impact.

Increasingly, knowledge transfer professionals have an important role in shaping that environment. But they don’t always have the skills or experience to be effective regional innovation ecosystem builders. How can they help strengthen those connections? What can universities contribute to their regional innovation ecosystems? And what can different regions learn from one another?

These are questions that Course Directors Ananay Aguilar and Sean Fielding will explore with participants at our new course Building an Innovation Ecosystem in Seville this November.

“Success in knowledge transfer depends on the strength of the connections within an ecosystem,” says Ananay. “Strong ecosystems give technologies multiple pathways to develop, creating the variety, networks and sometimes unexpected connections that can turn research into commercial success and wider societal and economic impact.”

Sean believes ecosystem building could become increasingly important to universities themselves.

“In my view, their ability to generate and orchestrate innovation ecosystems will become a key part of a university's competitive advantage.”

More than a science park or incubator

One of the biggest misconceptions about innovation ecosystems, according to Sean, is that they are simply science parks or incubators.

“This is not just about helping the university spin out new ventures,” he says. “It's about creating an environment that encourages the whole community in an area to be more innovative, to develop new services, to employ highly skilled staff, to attract innovation funding and to create new start-ups.”

The benefits can extend across a region. Sean points out that more start-ups can increase the likelihood of attracting investors and help create opportunities that encourage young people to remain in the area.

Looking at an innovation ecosystem in this broader way means considering not only individual initiatives or infrastructure, but also the different organisations, people and relationships that allow innovation to develop.

There is no formula for a successful ecosystem

For Ananay, another important misconception is the idea that there is a formula that regions can follow to create a successful ecosystem.

All ecosystems benefit from capital and time, she explains, but “capital and time don’t make an ecosystem”.

They also need research anchor institutions, diverse talent, networking spaces and a collaborative culture that views failure as a constructive part of the innovation pathway.

But how those elements come together depends on the region.

“There’s no one-size-fits-all formula,” says Ananay. What a particular location can offer – whether that is “agricultural testing spaces”, “access to global markets” or “industrial facilities” – influences how its ecosystem develops and the advantages it can offer different technologies.

Sean also points to the diversity of successful ecosystems around the world. They have developed in different ways and at different times, although there are common features among the strongest examples.

This makes learning from other ecosystems valuable not as a way to find a model to copy, but as an opportunity to understand what has worked elsewhere and consider what might be relevant in a different context.

What does this mean for knowledge transfer professionals?

Not every knowledge transfer professional will become an ecosystem builder or orchestrator. But Sean sees many similarities between the skills involved.

Professionals need to understand the motivations of different regional players, remain in contact with them and shape initiatives around their interests and requirements. They also need to consider the perspective of the founders, researchers and potential employees who may ultimately benefit from those initiatives.

For Ananay, working with complex innovation ecosystems means building on strengths that are already part of knowledge transfer.

“Innovation leaders need to complement existing strengths in collaboration, relationship-building and stakeholder engagement with new capabilities to lead complex innovation ecosystems,” she says.

These capabilities include systems thinking, network leadership, cross-organisational governance, measuring ecosystem health and impact, and leading through uncertainty and emergence.

Rather than replacing the skills knowledge transfer professionals already use, these capabilities can help them navigate the different relationships, interests and conditions involved in developing an innovation ecosystem.

Learning from different ecosystems

Building an Innovation Ecosystem is designed to create space for participants to explore these questions through the experiences of people actively involved in ecosystem building.

Over three days, participants will work with real-life case studies and hear first-hand from people who have delivered successful initiatives, exploring the key drivers behind their development.

But the course is also an opportunity for participants to reflect on what those experiences mean within their own environments.

For Ananay, participants can expect to leave with “a strong network of like-minded people from universities and other key ecosystem organisations”, as well as new insights and a map of the next steps for their own ecosystem journey.

The aim is not to provide a single model to copy. Instead, participants will learn from different approaches, reflect on what those experiences mean for their own regions and develop practical ideas they can take back.

And, as with any ecosystem, the connections made along the way are part of the value. Participants will leave Seville with perspectives from peers facing similar challenges, new relationships across the European knowledge transfer community and a practical action plan for the next steps in their own ecosystem journey.