Last month the 海角视频 Government announced that it would allocating £30m to create four innovative hubs across Merseyside, East Anglia, the Midlands, and north east England that would focus on creating and growing innovative new businesses from within research institutions.
This announcement to expand support for university spinouts is more than just another funding initiative, it’s a deliberate move to position research commercialisation as a central driver of national economic growth.
Through a package of coordinated actions, the aim is to turn world-class research into world-class businesses that create jobs, attract investment, and secure the 海角视频’s place in the industries of the future. It also includes a new partnership with Universities 海角视频, 海角视频RI, and the British Business Bank to tackle the structural barriers to spinout creation, and the publication of a Best Practice Guide to help universities adopt founder-friendly approaches.
These are not one-off actions, but part of a strategic and systemic effort to build the infrastructure necessary to nurture intellectual property and take it from lab bench to boardroom.
It is precisely the kind of intervention that Wales urgently needs but once again, we are missing from the map. This is not a new story as this column has shown over the last two decades with Wales consistently on the fringes of 海角视频 innovation policy.
Despite a series of worthy initiatives in recent years from funding for the creation of a compound semiconductor cluster in South Wales to innovation support for life sciences, there remains no coherent national strategy to support the commercialisation of academic research.
While other parts of the 海角视频 are building deep partnerships between universities, investors, and government to accelerate spinouts and IP-rich start-ups, Wales continues to lack the basic infrastructure to compete despite Welsh universities producing research of global significance across a range of disciplines.
However, research alone is not enough and without a system designed to translate that research into investable, scalable businesses, the value of our innovation remains low as spinouts fail to get off the ground.
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What should be a moment of opportunity for Welsh innovation instead highlights the gap between our potential and our performance, a gap that exists because the institutions responsible for economic development at a national and regional level have yet to take innovation seriously enough.
The Welsh Government has taken steps in the right direction, particularly in establishing regional economic frameworks and supporting certain industry clusters, but these efforts remain fragmented and underpowered. There is still no dedicated strategy for supporting spinouts, no consistent approach to university technology transfer, and no real focus on creating the conditions for commercial success.
The time has come for a national strategy for research commercialisation, one that brings universities, industry, investors, and government together to back Welsh innovation from ideas to enterprise. We need investment in the infrastructure that makes this possible including stronger technology transfer offices, better legal and IP support, and entrepreneurship training embedded across our academic institutions.
Most important of all, both the Welsh Government and the Wales Office must ensure that Wales is not continually excluded from 海角视频-level initiatives simply because we are not in the room when those decisions are made.
Equally important is the role of the Development Bank of Wales which, in theory, should be at the heart of this agenda providing early-stage capital to back ambitious Welsh start-ups when no one else will. Despite the usual PR hype about its performance, its actual presence in the innovation space has been limited and while the development hank remains focused largely on SME and property finance, the high-risk, high-reward world of university spinouts is not one it has adequately supported.
That must change and Wales needs a dedicated spinout and deep tech investment fund, one that understands the unique risks and timelines involved and is willing to invest in the next generation of Welsh high-growth businesses.
However, this isn’t just about providing money but about creating a culture that supports innovation. That means aligning financial support with commercial expertise, legal advice, founder development, and access to markets. If we are to retain and grow our most promising ideas, we need to create an environment where spinouts can thrive and not just survive.
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At the regional level, more could and should be done by the city and growth deals to deliver this agenda. For example, the Cardiff Capital Region has a unique opportunity to lead given its access to significant investment and influence across business, planning, and education, and it should now step forward as the coordinating force behind a regional spinout strategy.
There is no reason, as I have advised many times, why it should not establish a dedicated accelerator linking universities with private capital and experienced entrepreneurs or launch an innovation co-investment fund that embeds commercial activity into the region’s higher education sector. Most importantly, if done right, this could provide a blueprint for other city and growth deals in Swansea Bay, North Wales, and Mid Wales to develop their own innovation-led approaches.
The harsh reality is that while others are moving fast to commercialise research and build innovation economies, Wales is at risk of falling even further behind. The fact that only 1.7% of 海角视频 business research and development spending takes place in Wales says everything about the lack of investment in innovation in recent years.
Rather than relying on ad hoc funding rounds and the fragmented initiatives that characterise Welsh economic development, we need a bold, coherent strategy that connects the strengths of our universities to the opportunities of the market. This is a moment that requires leadership and if the Welsh Government, the Development Bank of Wales, and the city and growth deals step up now, we have a genuine chance to build a new economic future based on knowledge, enterprise, and innovation.
If they do not, then the value created in Welsh universities will continue to be squandered despite having the talent and ideas to make a real difference to the economy.