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Research reports

Impossible and necessary

Published: 30 June 2009

Michael Barber explores the importance of reforming education in the 21st century.
Reshaping the UK economy

Published: 29 June 2009

The role of public investment in financing growth.
Stepping Forwards - Northern Ireland’s Innovation Future

Published: June 2009

Recent statistics present a sobering picture of innovation in Northern Ireland. However, the region has some important 'innovation advantages'.
Siding with the angels

Published: 19 May 2009

This research is the largest of its type attempted in the UK and greatly improves our understanding of angels’ investment approach and experience, what returns are being made and what factors affect successful investment.
Micro funds

Published: 19 May 2009

This research seeks to characterise the micro fund investment experience for both fund and portfolio firms.
The connected university

Published: 30 April 2009

The innovative businesses created and supported by our universities will be essential to allowing the UK to emerge strongly from the recession.
Preparing for ageing

Published: 28 April 2009

This research describes the challenge of an ageing society, assesses the role that innovation is currently playing in meeting this challenge, and identifies where innovation needs to be harnessed more fully.
Nudging innovation

Published: 23 April 2009

Innovation services provided by creative businesses can help address behavioural failures to improve the innovation performance of firms in the wider economy.
Attacking the Recession paper

Published: 20 April 2009

If the UK's attempts to stimulate the economy aim at nothing more than restoring the pre-recession status quo, they are doomed to fail.
Demanding growth in Scotland

Published: 18 March 2009

Why Scotland needs a recovery plan based on growth and innovation.
Demanding growth

Published: 16 March 2009

Government policy should focus on innovation and growth, supporting innovative sectors that have the potential for strong growth once the recovery begins.
The innovation imperative

Published: 10 March 2009

Read our discussion paper to find out why radical innovation is needed to reinvent public services for the recession and beyond.
Arts and humanities research and innovation

Published: 24 November 2008

This paper investigates the role that arts and humanities research plays in the innovation system.
Linking innovators: Why the UK and India need to collaborate in a recession-hit world

Published: 11 February 2009

If India and the UK are to successfully exploit the opportunities for innovation partnerships, policymakers in both countries should actively help to establish the conditions conducive to cross-border collaborations.
Raise the Game Report

Published: 4 December 2008

This report shows that in spite of its high levels of technical and creative skills and its continued production of world-class games, the UK games studio sector faces important structural weaknesses.
Innovation by Adoption

This important new report shows the capacity cities and regions have to stimulate economic growth.
UK Global Innovation

Migration, ICT, and the entrance of new countries to the global knowledge economy are creating a new form of globalisation.
The art of innovation

Published: 17 September 2008

This report explores how fine arts graduates contribute to innovation in the creative industries and beyond, and what policymakers can do to support their contribution.
Shifting sands: The changing nature of the early-stage venture capital market in the UK

Published: September 2008

This report highlights the growing dependence by entrepreneurs in the UK on public sources of finance.
Developing entrepreneurial graduates

Published: 1 September 2008

This research examines how Higher Education can engage in producing more entrepreneurial graduates.
Hidden innovation in the creative industries

Published: 3 July 2008

This research uses the tools of ‘traditional’ innovation research to explore, analyse and compare innovation in four sectors that are critical to the UK’s creative future.
The New Inventors: How users are changing the rules of innovation

This report sets out a way of understanding user-led innovation.
History Matters: Path dependence and innovation in British city-regions

Individual policy interventions are likely to have little impact on economic development if they do not take into account previous economic structures and their legacy.
Selling sustainability report

Climate change is by definition a global problem, but one that requires each nation, each individual to take their share of responsibility – and more importantly, to take action.
Total innovation report

Published: 12 May 2008

This report examines why harnessing the hidden innovation in high-technology sectors is crucial to retaining the UK's innovation edge.
Taking services seriously

This report examines how we can help our services firms to become more innovative and more productive.
Creating Innovation

Published: 11 February 2008

This report presents the results of major new research into the role of the creative industries in stimulating and supporting innovation in the UK.
Beyond the creative industries

Published: 6 February 2008

This report complements existing work by DCMS and others and seeks to improve on the available data about the true extent of creative activity within the economy.
Transformers

Our Transformers Report explores why some places innovate more effectively than others.
Rural innovation report

These Rural Innovation collection of essays examines the social, economic and technological changes that are affecting rural areas and what these changes mean for innovation.
Leading innovation report

The innovation potential of the UK's 'ordinary regions' can only be unlocked through well-developed and realistic plans that play to their individual strengths.
Innovation and the City report

Innovation and the City explores the ways in which people, firms and organisations contribute to innovation within cities and presents two interlocking models for innovation in urban areas.
In and Out of Sync

This report is about how private and third sector organisations innovate to respond to social needs. It seeks to explain why certain social innovations grow and why others don't.
The Disrupters

The Disrupters report tells the stories of eight businesses and organisations that are pursuing low-carbon goals by putting into practice new business models or services.
Hidden innovation report

Innovation is essential to ensuring the UK's future economic competitiveness and social wellbeing. But in our October 2006 report The Innovation Gap, we identified a gulf between how innovation happens and how policy supports it.
Creating Entrepreneurship

This, the first large-scale study of its kind within higher education for the creative industries for more than 70 years, has been conducted in partnership with the Higher Education Academy.
Innovation gap report

This report seeks to clarify where innovation happens in the UK, the usefulness of our current indicators, and the new policy and metrics necessary for us to maximise the UK's capacity for innovation.
Creating growth

Published: 27 April 2007

'Creating growth: How the UK can develop world-class creative businessesâ€™ is an in-depth analysis of the current challenges facing the UK's creative industries.
Survey of Creative Businesses

Published: 25 April 2006

This survey reveals there is a lack of private investment and insufficient business support and development services for creative businesses in the UK.
Real Science report

Published: 14 November 2005

The report makes the case that innovative approaches to experimental and investigative science learning should be at the core of science education in the UK.
Creating value: How the UK can invest in new creative businesses

This report aims to achieve changes in both attitudes and practice by sharing learning, working collaboratively with other interested parties and thinking imaginatively.
Investing in the creative industries report

This report argues that there is potential for creative businesses to demonstrate their potential so that private investors can gain more intelligence about the sector.