UK SBS FWRECR17064INN - Review of Innovate UK's KTN Connect activities

The aim of this project is to undertake a review of the KTN's remit, activities, governance structures and impact over the period April 2014 to March 2017. The successful bidders for this ITT will be expected to familiarise themselves with the KTN's current remit, activities, governance structures and strategy, as well as the planned strategy and business plan for 2017/18, through document review and engagement with key stakeholders (as a minimum).

Broadly, the key questions to be considered for each of these four elements of the KTN include the following:

Remit

The KTN helps businesses get the best out of creativity, ideas, and the latest discoveries, to strengthen the UK economy and improve people's lives. By bringing together business, entrepreneurs, academics, and funders, it helps them to develop new products, services, and processes to grow the UK economy.

Whilst the specific objectives of the KTN have evolved over time, the essence of them has remained the same, and the current set provide an overview of the objectives of the period in question;

1. Increase business-led R&D in the UK
2. Facilitate exploitation of R&D to capture more UK value from innovation
3. Increase collaboration between businesses (B2B) and between businesses and the research base (B2R) for UK benefit
4. Be the strategic partner of choice for innovation networking
5. Provide breadth and depth of experience for businesses wanting to innovate
6. Be a highly effective organisation.

The initial key research questions for this element of the review are;

1. Is the KTN's remit clear and understood consistently across internal and external stakeholders?
2. How does the KTN's remit and objectives fit with those of Innovate UK and other organisations in the innovation ecosystem?
3. How have the KTN's objectives developed over time?
4. Are they fit for purpose?
5. Do they have clear and measureable outcomes, or can such outcomes be further defined and measured?