Maximise impact
Make sure your results travel further.
Research only changes things when it reaches the people who can use it. We plan exploitation and dissemination from the start, protect and value the intellectual property, and open routes to markets at home and abroad.
Why impact is planned, not hoped for
From results to impact
Funders, boards and investors all ask the same question: what changed because of this work? Answering it well starts long before a project ends.
It helps to separate three things that are often blurred. Communication tells people the project exists. Dissemination shares the results with those who can learn from them. Exploitation puts the results to use: in products, services, policies, standards or further research. European programmes such as Horizon Europe expect a plan for all three, and UK funders increasingly ask for a clear pathway to impact.
We help you plan each of them with the same rigour as the research itself, and to keep the evidence that shows the difference you made.
How we work
Six steps from a result to a lasting difference.
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Impact plan
Who benefits, how, and how you will know: stakeholders, routes to use, measures of success and a simple theory of change.
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Protect
An IP audit and strategy: what you own, what you can protect, who owns what in a collaboration, and freedom to operate before you invest further.
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Choose the exploitation route
Licensing, a spin-out, a joint venture, direct sales, open publication or a standard, chosen for the value it creates and the capacity you have.
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Engage and disseminate
The right message for each audience: industry, investors, policymakers, researchers and the public, through the channels they actually use.
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Open markets
International partners, buyers and programmes, including bilateral innovation and trade programmes that fund and de-risk the first steps abroad.
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Measure and report
Indicators collected as you go, so reports to funders and boards are evidence, not anecdote.
Services
Services in this area
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Exploitation and dissemination
Take results to those who can use them
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Intellectual property optimisation
Audit your IP and get more from it
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Commercialisation and trade expansion
Routes into international markets
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Capacity building and training
Hands-on workshops for innovation teams
What you come away with
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An exploitation and dissemination plan
Audiences, messages, channels, routes to use and the indicators that show progress, in the form your funder expects.
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An IP register and strategy
Every asset, who owns it, how it is protected, and what to file, license, keep or let go.
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Commercialisation options
The realistic routes to market, compared on value, risk, cost and time.
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A stakeholder map
The organisations and people who can use, fund, regulate or champion your results, and how to reach them.
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A market entry plan
Priority markets, partners and the support available to enter them.
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Evidence of impact
A simple system for collecting the stories and figures that prove the difference your work made.
Questions we often hear
What is the difference between dissemination and exploitation?
Dissemination shares results so others can learn from them, through publications, events or open data. Exploitation uses the results to create value: a product, a service, a licence, a policy or further research. A strong project plans both, and is clear which results go which way.
What is freedom to operate?
Freedom to operate is whether you can make, use or sell something without infringing someone else’s rights, usually patents, in the countries that matter to you. Checking it before you invest heavily avoids expensive surprises later.
Who owns the intellectual property in a collaborative project?
It depends on what the partners agree, usually in a collaboration or consortium agreement. Agreements typically distinguish background IP (what each partner brings) from foreground IP (what the project creates), and set out access rights and how results may be used. Settling this early prevents disputes when the results turn out to be valuable.
When should we start planning for impact?
At the proposal stage. Funders assess the route to impact before they fund a project, and the activities that create impact, such as engaging users and protecting IP, need time and budget in the plan.
Ready to take your results further?
Tell us what your project has achieved, or is about to, and we will help you make the most of it.