The University of Birmingham’s City-Region Economic Development Institute (City-REDI) has published a new Research & Policy Briefing paper examining the role of innovation intermediaries in shaping regional and national innovation systems. The research underpinning the briefing was supported by funding from Research England Development (RED) Fund.
The briefing draws on a mixed-methods research project led by Carolin Ioramashvili, Chloe Billing, Pei-Yu Yuan, Magda Cepeda Zorrilla, Simon Collinson and Fumi Kitagawa. The study focuses on two major innovation intermediaries in the West Midlands – Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) – both part of the UK’s High-Value Manufacturing Catapult.
Innovation intermediaries are designed to bridge the long-recognised gap between academic research and business innovation – often described as the “valley of death” – by coordinating collaboration between universities, firms and other public and private actors. Through these activities, they support the translation of research into economic and societal value, including new technologies, improved processes, skills development and wider public benefits. While intermediaries have become an increasingly prominent feature of innovation policy in the UK and internationally, there remains limited evidence on how differences in their organisational structures shape their behaviour, the partners they engage, and the innovation outcomes they generate.
This briefing addresses that gap.
Key findings
The research shows that innovation intermediaries are not all the same – and that diversity matters.
- Innovation intermediaries play a critical role in shaping collaboration patterns, knowledge recombination and innovation outcomes at both regional and national levels.
- Organisational structure strongly influences how intermediaries operate. Some prioritise exploratory, frontier-pushing and mission-led research, while others focus more on applied innovation, diffusion and commercialisation through close industry engagement.
- Comparing WMG and MTC reveals distinct collaboration patterns despite their shared manufacturing focus and regional location. WMG tends to broker more unconventional combinations of industries and partners, while MTC is more oriented towards incremental innovation and technology adoption.
- The two organisations differ in their geographical, sectoral and institutional networks, meaning they connect firms, universities and regions in different ways.
- Together, these intermediaries increase the diversity and resilience of the West Midlands innovation system by fulfilling complementary roles rather than duplicating one another.
Policy implications
The findings highlight the importance of recognising diversity among innovation intermediaries in policy design and delivery.
- Tailored national policy: Policymakers should avoid one-size-fits-all approaches and fund a diverse mix of intermediaries, recognising that some focus on frontier, mission-led innovation while others are better suited to incremental adoption. Both roles are complementary and essential for a balanced innovation system.
- Regional resilience: A diverse set of intermediaries strengthens local innovation systems by fulfilling complementary roles. Aligning their capabilities with the specific needs of firms, regional priorities, and opportunities for cross-regional collaboration enhances both adaptability and long-term effectiveness.
- Strategic industry engagement: Policies should support both mission-driven and applied projects, with intermediaries clearly communicating their strengths. This helps firms identify the partners best suited to exploratory research or commercialisation, ensuring more effective collaboration and knowledge exchange.
- Evidence-based evaluation: Support mechanisms should consider how organisational structures shape intermediary functions, collaboration patterns, knowledge flows, and regional outcomes. Further research is needed to clarify which approaches work best across different sectors and geographies.
Innovation intermediaries are central pillars of the UK’s innovation architecture. This research shows that their value lies not in uniformity, but in diversity, and that recognising, supporting, and strategically combining different intermediary models is key to building resilient, place-based innovation systems. Beyond resilience, intermediaries play a vital role in recombining knowledge and competencies, shaping both regional and national innovation outcomes. Differences in organisational structures influence the type of innovation supported, collaboration patterns, and the impacts of projects, meaning policymakers, intermediaries, and firms all need to understand these roles. Regions, in particular, benefit from hosting heterogeneous intermediaries whose complementary functions enhance local innovation systems and inter-regional collaboration. Recognising these dynamics, and tailoring support, will ensure innovation policy is both effective and responsive to local and national needs.
Read the full policy brief for detailed analysis and evidence.
This blog was written by Dr Chloe Billing, Research Fellow, City-REDI.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this analysis post are those of the author and not necessarily those of City-REDI or the University of Birmingham.