For successful innovation you need to think about the future market and consider what is driving the business opportunity you have identified.
The Horizons tool is used internally by Innovate UK when shaping all programme strategies, competitions and Catapults.
For successful innovation you need to think about the future market and consider what is driving the business opportunity you have identified.
The Horizons tool was developed by Innovate UK with leading sustainability NGO Forum for the Future, and is used internally by Innovate UK when shaping all programme strategies, competitions and Catapults.
It describes the social and environmental factors that define a sustainable economy – an economy that delivers social value and operates within safe environmental limits. These factors can be used as a checklist and brainstorming tool to stimulate your thinking when developing innovation projects.
It can be accessed free of charge and can be used to inform your organisation’s strategy. It can also help when preparing proposals for Innovate UK and other competitions. It will help you explore:
- What factors are driving changes in the market opportunity you have identified
- How they are changing the market
- How will your project respond, eg. what partners might you work with?
- How might this shape the route to market exploitation
- What are the wider benefits that your project might deliver
To create successful businesses and societies in the long term, we need to think sustainably. Horizons has been developed to help you do just that.
Please make use of the Knowledge Transfer Network for support using the tool, and assistance exploiting the insights gained through its use, for instance locating partners with specific expertise.
The ideas behind the Horizons tool, and the vision of a sustainable economy that it embodies, are embedded across KTN. This is supported by a team of champions across our communities who work to foster innovation by sharing knowledge and ideas across communities, facilitating cross-disciplinary working, and enhancing awareness of the global trends that are impacting on markets and creating massive innovation opportunities.
Please get in touch with them for information, insight and partnering, and for support regarding the Horizons tool:
Ben Peace – Sustainability & Resource Efficiency / Manufacturing / Design
Simon Baty – Food
Sally Beken – Materials
Louise Jones – Photonics & Quantum Tech / Manufacturing
Simon Yarwood – ICT
Jenni McDonnell – Energy
Peter Clark – Chemistry
Ian Stock – Transport