The UK spin-out register marks a step-change in the depth of insights possible about these important ventures.
New and innovative data
Research England today welcomes the launch of the UK’s first spin-out register by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), part of Jisc.
The register has been developed with expertise from the Policy Evidence Unit for University Commercialisation and Innovation at the University of Cambridge.
It marks the first major output associated with Research England’s national knowledge exchange metrics programme.
First of its kind
The UK spin-out register is the first of its kind internationally, and marks a major milestone in the quality, completeness and transparency of national data on university spin-outs.
For the first time there is baseline of all companies from which to analyse growth pathways across different sectors and regions.
The baseline will be available to all stakeholders for a range of purposes.
Landmark achievement for the sector
Professor Dame Jessica Corner, Executive Chair of Research England, said:
The Spin-out Register is a landmark achievement for our whole sector, including for Research England in our support of its development by Higher Education Statistics Agency and with the Policy Evidence Unit for University Commercialisation and Innovation.
The Register gives us the evidence base we need in order to inform national discussion, shape effective policy, and support a stronger, more connected innovation ecosystem.
The publication of the Register today marks a major milestone in the delivery of the recommendations of the 2023 Independent Review.
Beyond the review, our continued support of the Register reflects Research England’s commitment to building better, more robust data to evidence the vital role of universities and their spin-outs in driving innovation, and towards the Government mission of kickstarting economic growth.
Register is a key resource
Heidi Fraser-Kraus, Chief Executive of Jisc, said:
Jisc, as the home of HESA, is in a unique position to collect and publish this important new UK-wide dataset.
I’m proud that HESA’s expertise has made this first-of-its-kind Spin-out Register available as an open data resource for policy makers, researchers, and anyone with an interest in innovation.
I’m also very grateful to colleagues in higher education providers who have worked to provide this novel data to a short timescale in the interests of the sector and the wider UK economy.
The Register is a key resource in understanding the role that universities play as generators of innovation and will continue to grow in value with future updates.
Why a spin-out register is important
The register includes key identifying information for spin-out companies from all UK universities (all those founded since 2012 to 2013) as well as older spin-outs that remain active today.
This is a step-change in the type and quality of data that is available publicly.
This is compared to the estimates previously provided at only a university-level in the national Higher Education Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey .
Improving data consistency and robustness
The register also introduces updated definitions to improve consistency and robustness of data returned across institutions, supporting more consistent and comparable insights.
It creates a national baseline of activity at a company level, enabling new analysis revealing:
- the diversity of the spin-out landscape coming out of UK institutions as well as the UK regions and nations
- patterns of inter-university collaboration
- evolving relationships between universities and their spin-outs
- trends in the academic disciplines spin-out companies are arising from
New insights through data linking
The register also has a second use and lays the foundation for even deeper analyses through linking to other datasets.
The Policy Evidence Unit for University Commercialisation and Innovation is funded by Research England as a partner in their national knowledge exchange metric programme.
The unit will publish their expert analysis in due course, showcasing the richness of insights possible using the data on spin-outs held in the first register and elsewhere.
Further information
Key identifying spin-out information
The spin-out register is published by HESA as part of the HE-BCI survey, and contains key identifying information on UK spin-outs from within the reporting period, including:
- company name
- company registration number (or non-UK registration number)
- country of registration
- website (or alternative web source)
- incorporation year
- foundation year
- whether it is a social enterprise
Data quality
This first iteration is accompanied by HESA’s official statistics quality report and HESA’s detailed insights data outlining data quality considerations.
It provides supporting background information to aid users in their understanding and use of the data.
The data included has been collected in consultation with higher education providers across the UK.
Historical ‘census’
The curation of the first spin-out register involved a one-time historical ‘census’ to collect university data about all spin-outs founded since 2012 to 2013.
Future data collection will only require newly registered companies to be returned and updates to the data of older companies.
This is anticipated to significantly lower the burden of current annual data collection processes for universities.
Future development
HESA seeks feedback on the register, and intends to further enrich the data and related guidance to support user needs.
More detailed information about the design principles and future use opportunities of the register are provided in a joint visioning report.
The report is by Research England and their national knowledge exchange metrics advisers at the Policy Evidence Unit for University Commercialisation and Innovation.
