Evaluation partners KEUK and Research Consulting welcome the publication of the ‘Connecting Capability Fund Shared Technology Transfer Office Pilot Programme’. The work was completed in the autumn of 2025, shortly after completion of the pilot funding. The evaluation was conducted against the background of wider (and ongoing) financial pressures across the UK university sector, with high expectations put on research commercialisation. But the level of enthusiasm that the project team saw through engagement with pilot institutions and partners was both rewarding and inspiring, and many groups indicated that pilots would be sustained beyond pilot funding because of the value they demonstrated to KE staff, to academics and to investor partners. We hope that they will inspire wider activity across more universities to sustain change and innovation in commercialisation for the long-term.
Unblocking the pipes
Research England launched the CCF Shared Technology Transfer Office pilot in May 2024, responding to a recommendation in the Independent Review of University Spinout Companies (2023). Aimed primarily at universities with smaller research portfolios and a lower critical mass of intellectual property, it sought proposals for more effective ‘spinning out’ of existing IP pipelines to address a perception of pent-up potential for new company creation in universities beyond the research-intensive usual suspects.
The pilot emphasised collaboration, requiring at least one other HEP and one partner with relevant skills and experience, diversity of approach, sustainability (potential for support beyond the pilot), and greater effectiveness and efficiency of existing services rather than creating new TTOs. Funding could be used to access expertise (people, but not new staff posts) and/or to improve operating procedures (systems and processes).
The call was clear that this was neither about creating a joint TTO for a group of universities, which might have been an initial assumption behind the ‘shared TTO’ headline, nor about providing Proof of Concept funding (a separate programme). Instead, universities could propose solutions for problems that they recognised and which they may have begun to address via deployment of HEIF or other CCF funds.
Taking the initiative
“This pilot…delivered a range of proposals demonstrating that knowledge exchange functions are willing to try to do things differently and change institutional culture or introduce novel processes to unlock potential in their research base.”
Just as the previous CCF programme generated diverse initiatives, so this pilot delivered a range of proposals demonstrating that knowledge exchange functions are willing to try to do things differently and change institutional culture, or to introduce novel processes and systems to unlock potential in their research base. This, as much as the outcomes of the pilot itself, should give confidence in the ambition of commercialisation functions.
Speed and focused activity were significant factors in the pilot, which funded just six months of project time. This led to the involvement of consultancies, accustomed to working across multiple institutions to tight deadlines, alongside legal and IP professionals. For small or generalist KE functions, this expertise gave confidence to frontier proposals (such as using AI) but also provided project management resources to drive projects forward and undertake tasks that could not be done by a single HEP staff member (cross-partner IP audits). It shouldn’t be a surprise that funding spent on project management achieves outcomes that, whilst not particularly novel, have never been prioritised for lack of (staff) time. The challenge is prioritisation beyond the funding window.
“Funding spent on project management resources can achieve outcomes that may not appear particularly novel, but which have never been prioritised for lack of (staff) time”
In this respect, projects arising from HEPs with pre-existing geographic, disciplinary or industry sector associations may prove more sustainable: the Manchester-Salford Commercialisation Consortium (MCC) has a tight urban association as well as being in the Northern Gritstone investment region; Pathways towards a shared TTO capability for the North East pilot builds on the Northern Accelerator grouping; STAGE uses expertise from the successful ASPECT CCF project. STTOAEMM and DigiSpin, both focused on advanced manufacturing in the Midlands, making the most of that region’s industrial heritage and modern-day investment via Midlands Innovation.
Seeding potential
“The pilot provided a kick-start to projects that demonstrated potential as to what might work, but further support is needed to capitalise on achievements in the short term and to see them really flourish.”
Our evaluation explores geographic and sector links and relationships to some extent, but it was beyond the scope of the evaluation to fully explore the multiple layers of funding and initiatives that contribute to building a successful and sustainable ‘Shared TTO’. One of our conclusions is that the pilot provided a kick-start to projects that have demonstrated potential as to what might work, but further support is needed to capitalise on achievements in the short term and to see them really flourish. We also note that our focus was on the pilot period alone, but many of the projects are ongoing and continue to advocate for shared resources in various ways.
“The level of enthusiasm that the project team saw through engagement with pilot institutions and partners was both rewarding and inspiring for the future of research commercialisation.”
Throughout the evaluation period, we were acutely aware of the expectations and spotlight put on research commercialisation, against the background of wider (and ongoing) financial pressures across the UK university sector. But the level of enthusiasm that the project team saw through engagement with pilot institutions and partners was both rewarding and inspiring for the future of research commercialisation, and we know that many pilots are being sustained beyond pilot funding because of the value they demonstrated to KE staff, to academics and to investor partners. We hope that they will inspire wider activity across more universities to sustain change and innovation in commercialisation for the long-term.
Tamsin Mann, Associate Director, Knowledge Exchange UK
Dan King Director, Research Consulting Ltd