On 25 March 2026, over 175 researchers, innovators, investors and ecosystem leaders gathered at the Sister-Renold Innovation Hub in Manchester, for ICURe NxNW: Powering Research Commercialisation Across the North.

Hosted by the Innovate UK ICURe programme in partnership with The University of Manchester and NxNW Partners, the event marked the launch of the next phase of the Innovate UK ICURe strategy, with a renewed focus on aligning research commercialisation with the UK’s priority industrial sectors (IS-6) and strengthening coordinated regional delivery.

Reflecting on the significance of this next phase, Geeta Nathan, Deputy Director of Innovation Ecosystem at Innovate UK, said:

Bringing together the ICURe and NxNW community in Manchester highlighted both the strength of the UK’s research base and the scale of opportunity ahead. Our focus is on backing bold ideas aligned to the UK’s priority industrial sectors (IS-6), with real commercial potential, supporting strong teams and creating clearer pathways from research into market.

Strengthening a national approach to commercialisation

The event highlighted Innovate UK’s wider approach to supporting research commercialisation, building a stronger pipeline of investment-ready opportunities and deepening connections between research, industry and investors.

A key announcement confirmed that the University of Manchester will take on a leading role within NxNW Partners, helping to drive delivery across the northern innovation ecosystem. The role of ICURe’s national Delivery Partners was also reinforced, with NxNW Partners (North), Midlands Innovation (Central) and SETsquared Partnership (South) working together to deliver a coordinated and connected approach across the UK.

ICURe’s role in driving innovation and scale

Since 2014, Innovate UK ICURe has supported researchers to turn ground-breaking research into investment-ready spin-out companies and licence agreements. This has resulted in 388 spin-outs, £1.61 billion in additional investment raised and 2,495 jobs created, with 32% of teams female-led.

The programme continues to act as a critical pipeline for research-driven innovation, supporting ventures aligned to the UK’s priority sectors and enabling them to progress from early-stage discovery towards investment and scale.

Regional ecosystems as catalysts for growth

A central theme of the event was the importance of regional ecosystems in accelerating research translation.

In a fireside chat chaired by Ewa Nowicka-Ratajczak, Innovate UK ICURe Lead, panellists including Tony Walker (Innovate UK ICURe), Matthew Kershaw (Greater Manchester Combined Authority), John Whaling (Liverpool City Region Combined Authority), Joy Baraza (STFC) and Nicola McMillan (High Growth Company Creation Team) explored how regional strategies and clusters contribute to a thriving innovation economy.

The discussion highlighted that strong regional ecosystems provide access to networks, infrastructure and leadership, alongside closer connections between universities, investors, industry and government. Clusters and partnerships act as multipliers, accelerating the translation of research into commercial opportunity.

A clear message emerged: place matters, but so does connectivity. Stronger links between regions, aligned pathways and coordinated support are essential to help companies move beyond early success and scale.

However, challenges remain, particularly in access to scale-up capital, leadership capability and coordination across regions. Strengthening connectivity between regions, aligned with national priorities, will be critical to unlocking the UK’s full innovation potential.

Unlocking investment and enabling scale

An investor panel, chaired by Scott O’Brien, Chief Investment Officer at Innovate UK, brought together Joanne Hosker (Northern Gritstone), Ranvir Singh (GC Angels), David Levine (Manchester Angels), Sim Singh Landa (PXN Group) and Tom O’Neill (North Star Ventures) to explore how to better connect early-stage research with investment.

The panel highlighted that investment readiness remains a key challenge, with investors looking for clear commercial propositions, strong teams and evidence of market demand. Academic founders often face barriers in transitioning into business leadership roles, while gaps in scaling capability can limit growth.

Investors also emphasised the importance of agility, the ability to pivot and align with the right investors at the right stage of growth as companies develop.

Stronger collaboration between universities, investors and public funding programmes was identified as essential. Earlier investor engagement, clearer pathways to investment and improved coordination across ecosystems will be critical to unlocking growth. Investors also emphasised their role beyond capital, providing strategic guidance, networks and support to help ventures scale successfully.

Across both discussions, the message was clear: a thriving innovation economy depends on collaboration, coordination and connectivity.

A connected future for UK innovation

The event underscored the growing strength of the North as a connected and collaborative innovation ecosystem, and the importance of aligning regional capability with national ambition.

Professor Aline Miller, Associate Vice-President for Enterprise at the University of Manchester and Chief Scientific Officer at Unit M, said:

NxNW Partners, University of Manchester and Unit M all share a strategic vision; to strengthen the innovation ecosystem across the northern belt of the UK. We see ICURe as central to our plan and an enabler of commercialisation of cutting-edge research across the priority sectors of the UK Industrial Strategy.

It was clear from the event that the UK’s ability to scale research-driven innovation depends on stronger connections between regions, partners and investors. We’re working in collaboration with our regional partners to build the conditions for research-led companies to start, stay, grow and scale.

As Innovate UK ICURe enters this next phase, the focus will be on deepening partnerships, strengthening investment pathways and ensuring that the UK’s most promising technologies are supported to reach their full potential.