Further Education Innovation Fund Pilot: Final report of the process evaluation
Fecha de publicación: 21 enero 2026 | Idioma del informe EN
Innovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency and a core component of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Its mission is to drive economic growth by supporting businesses in developing and commercialising new products, processes, and services.
IUK launched the FEIF pilot to enable further diffusion and adoption of innovation among UK businesses. FEIF recognises Further Education (FE) colleges’ potential in bridging the gap between vocational expertise and commercial RDI. FEIF funds such colleges to establish Local Innovation Centres aiming to reach less innovation-active businesses. A ring-fenced application round resulted in eight Innovation Centre projects across England and Scotland.
Technopolis was commissioned to run a process evaluation during the pilot implementation. Our findings indicated that FEIF is viable and well-perceived among beneficiaries and stakeholders alike. Colleges took on the challenge of extending their remit, and the Innovation Centres appear well-integrated in local ecosystems. The colleges demonstrated a promising level of collaboration between the within and across projects. Our landscape review suggested that these innovation centres are reasonably unique and complementary in the UK.
In implementation, an extension to the original 12-month funding period was deemed highly beneficial, and we recommend a 24-month funding cycle should the scheme be continued. We also found benefit in the regional invite model, which enabled greater collaboration between colleges and regional authorities to determine and address priority areas.
