Innovate UK The UK’s leading innovation agency uses FT Professional to propel the next generation of business giants

Innovation is a key driver of economic growth and can lead to job creation, increased productivity and market competition. Innovate UK is part of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) family alongside seven councils and Research England. As the nation’s leading innovation agency, Innovate UK helps scale business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions. In the long term, this helps build a robust innovation ecosystem, one that is agile, inclusive, and easy to navigate.

Martin McGurk is head of operations and place and has been with the agency for nearly five years. He explains how the FT helps UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to maximise business opportunities in areas that fit current government policy. For innovators, an FT Professional Subscription serves as a compass to help navigate through constant changes in the market, all the while enabling innovators to make rational and more informed decisions.

According to Martin, FT insight enables the UK’s innovation ecosystem to take on calculated risks and become more “risk-embracing” than “risk-tolerant”. This is vital because innovation is "inherently risky" where oftentimes a lack of information means businesses are risk-averse. However, in his remit, Martin often finds that those who succeed “have tried before, failed multiple times, and learned from their mistakes before becoming visibly successful.” Ergo, innovators need to be more open to taking risks and business intelligence from the FT can support better risk management. This process is only viable when businesses have the insights to understand what risks are worth the uncertainty.

Business intelligence is vital; it helps fill knowledge gaps allowing innovators to meet market demand. For Martin and his team at Innovate UK, business intelligence is what sets apart likely successes from potential failures. “We are regularly asked by our innovators to help bolster their efforts to tap into existing markets in new and disruptive ways,” he expresses. In order to do that, one must be able to have a peripheral vision of what is happening in the markets as many elements are interlinked.

Martin is also in charge of establishing an Innovation Accelerator Programme that aims to stimulate innovation by tackling challenges faced in the UK. To understand themes and barriers, Martin frequently reads FT articles to develop his commercial acumen and uses the publication’s tools to go deeper. Looking ahead, Martin plans to curate a broader reading list more actively and sees the FT’s new AI-powered search tool, Ask FT, as especially useful for deep dives into specific topics. By searching and summarising trusted Financial Times journalism, Ask FT supports busy professionals like Martin in quickly finding the insights they need."

Martin notes that FT content regularly sparks action within the organisation. The central team uses Advanced Sharing to alert field advisors to relevant stories, from government priorities to investment developments, that could influence client conversations. While many advisors might encounter this news elsewhere, sharing FT stories ensures they are better timed and delivered with added editorial context.

For example, an article on the innovative dynamism of SMEs, which left large corporations in the shade, resonated with his team and reinforced their mission to support agile businesses. Martin was also impressed by a recent climate and economics briefing and encourages colleagues to attend such events to stay informed.

A strong understanding of current developments ensures that the leadership team at Innovate UK can better position services to meet evolving needs, preferences, and trends in the market. “Our Business Growth team delivers the growth and scaling advisory support that accelerates small to medium-sized companies on their growth journey,” says Martin. So grasping key concepts is fundamental for specialists at Innovate UK, who “work together with businesses to ensure product-market fit”. Martin and his team particularly value features, such as myFT instant alerts and myFT Digests as it allows them to optimise their use of FT content.

Currently, the agency has over 40 competitions listed on its Innovation Funding Service, which requires a significant level of research to ensure they “support, catalyse and propel the next generation(s) of UK innovators into becoming global players”. According to Martin, this means “balancing the science, the risk/feasibility and the business imperatives.” Using credible journalism can result in long-term economic sustainability, greater wealth and, as Martin puts it, “possibly even happiness!”

“I regularly comb through the FT’s feeds. Be it innovation, venture capital, global trade, technology or UK & international politics,” says Martin. Being a global newspaper with over 700 journalists means readers obtain a vantage point with exclusive scoops and interviews they wouldn’t get elsewhere. As a result, FT Professional can cater for various business needs by offering more detailed and diverse coverage of niche subject areas.

Although Martin finds it difficult to name favourite FT journalists, “as there’s so much great content out there,” he often finds himself drawn to articles by Tej Parikh, Carl Benedikt Frey and Susan Holmberg. Due to the nature of his role, it’s no surprise that he frequently quotes senior columnist Tim Harford and innovation editor John Thornhill in his work. Martin finds their writing on “innovation and its intersection with the growth and scaling agenda rather insightful.”

When Innovate UK signed up to the FT, their objective was to “enhance the eyes, ears and voice” of the agency by “increasing their ability to syndicate key articles”. Nearly 400 specialists deliver the Innovate UK EDGE service to approximately 8000 businesses a year. With an FT Professional Subscription, Martin’s team has access to expert commentary from award-winning journalists who are able to provide unique foresight that helps Innovate UK “plan for the future,” taking into account the “myriad ways that growing a business is changing on a global level.”

In simple terms, a Professional Subscription helps to reduce noise and save valuable time by offering real-time news from subject matter experts. Instead of searching for the right information, businesses can dedicate their scarce resources to utilising intelligence to achieve key objectives. FT Professional subscribers are also able to make use of exclusive features, such as our new highlighting tool to further enhance their reading experience.

FT Professional has proven to be a worthwhile subscription for Innovate UK in helping to align their strategic goals with partners across the ecosystem. Organisations require quick decision-making to stay ahead of the competition, yet this isn’t always through a rational approach. More often than not, decisions are based more on instinct than on facts. Martin echoes this point and how businesses cannot rely on information on unregulated sites and platforms. Innovate UK uses rigorous evidence from the FT with hopes to “develop a more robust innovation ecosystem,” where facts are kept separate from feelings. As a leader in the Business Growth team, Martin is responsible for looking "beyond the obvious.” With FT content at his fingertips, Martin can scope out opportunities and weigh up risks to enhance the UK’s approach to innovation.

Discover how FT Professional can support your strategic decisions. For more information about the FT’s trusted commentary and analysis or to request a free trial, please get in touch.