Governments around the world are seeking more effective approaches to fostering innovation. Ensuring innovation policymakers have the right skills, insights, tools, evidence and networks to help design, implement, evaluate and improve innovation policies is essential if these policies are to have the desired impacts on economic growth and social challenges.

We're partnering with Innovate UK and a unique team of academic, public and private sector organisations to lead the design and delivery of a tailor-made development programme for innovation policymakers in a range of emerging economies around the world.

In many areas, the UK is seen as a global leader on innovation policy issues and in leadership capacity building. Yet there is a global shortage of resources, professional development and peer-support networks for public officials tasked with designing and implementing better support for innovation.

By bringing together a strong network of UK experts around an innovative, system-wide capacity building programme, Nesta aims to increase the level of international collaboration on innovation policy and support the development of other countries’ innovation systems.

How does it work?

The Global Innovation Policy Accelerator programme is funded through the UK government’s Newton Fund and delivers executive development to national cohorts of senior policymakers from the main innovation institutions, while strengthening the implementation capabilities of their teams.

The programme is delivered by a consortium of leading UK expert organisations including the universities of Manchester and Oxford, and innovation and design expert consultants 100% Open and Uscreates.

We are also working with local partner organisations in each of the countries the programme is delivered in. These local partnerships are essential to our ability to fully grasp and navigate each of the unique national innovation systems we are working with.

This programme has the potential to make a real difference to national innovation systems and drive greater inclusive economic development.