Innovate UK, the non-departmental Government-backed innovation agency which has a budget of over £400m, has appointed MSQ Partners to transform its data and communication capabilities following a competitive pitch.
MSQ, which has already worked with the organisation on a separate account, has now been briefed to help lay the foundations for generating data-driven insights that ultimately increase R&D investment and GDP in the UK.
This will involve widening awareness of the Innovate UK offering among business, as well as increasing the size of Innovate UK’s database – and therefore reach – to ultimately improve relevance of its activities.
The new approach will be fully adopted by mid-2020 and will help turn Innovate UK’s data into meaningful, usable insights.
The organisation can trace its roots back to the Technology Strategy Board – established in 2004 within the Department of Trade & Industry – before it became an independent body in July 2007. In 2018, it joined the UK’s Research & Innovation organisation.
Since 2007 it has invested over £1.5bn in innovation, matched by a further £1.5bn in partner and business funding. It has helped more than 5,000 companies in projects estimated to have added £7.5bn to the UK economy and created 35,000 extra new jobs.
Innovate UK digital innovation engagement manager Pete Wilson, said: “MSQ demonstrated an approach to turning data into insights that was highly credible based on their experience in this field. Data has been an undervalued asset in the past but that’s no longer the case.”
MSQ chief executive Peter Reid added: “We’re really excited to have the opportunity to work with Innovate UK to better realise their data capabilities. Innovate does some fascinating work and we look forward to joining them on their journey throughout 2020 and beyond.”
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