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Our work Contents 01
01. Introduction 02
02. Innovation policy 04
03. Inclusive models for economic growth 06
04. Public sector innovation 08
05. Citizen engagement 10
06. Digital arts and media 12
07. Health and ageing 14
08. Opportunities for young people 16
09. Impact investment 18
10. Future thinking 20
Introduction
See how we...
work
01.
Our work 02
Were a champion of good ideas.
We research and test the best ones
from people and organisations all
over the world to bring about a new
way of doing things that will help
shape a happier, fairer and more
prosperous future.
Innovation is the way we talk about having new ideas and
making them happen. Its widely recognised by governments
across the world as crucial not just to economic growth but
also to greater human happiness and social justice.
But many of the systems that support innovation arent
working well. Our research shows that innovation
investment is stagnating in business; that some elds are
generating fewer good ideas than in the past; and that
important sectors lack capacities for innovation.
People with potentially worldchanging ideas still face
innumerable barriers.
We exist to tackle these challenges and to help you bring
your great idea to life.
Over the next few pages you can read about some of the
work were doing to help make this happen. If youre
interested in nding out more about us and how to get
involved, wed love to hear from you. You can visit our
website www.nesta.org.uk to nd out more.
Introduction 03
Innovation policy
Our innovation policy work looks
at how to make the UK a better
place for innovators, and to make
sure innovation is at the heart of
the political and economic debate
in Britain and beyond.
See how we...
shape
02.
Our work 04
1
INSIDE THE
DATAVORES
ESTIMATING THE EFFECT OF DATA
AND ONLINE ANALYTICS ON FIRM
PERFORMANCE
Hasan Bakhshi, Albert Bravo-Biosca and Juan MateosGarcia.
March 2014


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CHINAS ABSORPTIVE STATE
Research, innovation and the prospects for China-UK collaboration
Kirsten Bound, Tom Saunders, James Wilsdon and Jonathan Adams
October 2013
PLAN
INNOVATION
FOR EUROPE
DELIVERING INNOVATION-LED
DIGITALLY-POWERED GROWTH
By
Albert Bravo-Biosca
Louise Marston
Ann Mettler
Geoff Mulgan
Stian Westlake

Hasan Bakhshi, Ian Hargreaves and Juan Mateos-Garcia
April 2013
A MANIFESTO
FOR THE
CREATIVE ECONOMY
Decades of research have shown that innovation is the most
important driver of long-term prosperity, and that innovative
businesses create more jobs and grow faster. Our Plan I
campaign argues for an innovation-led change towards more
sustainable growth. Following on from our Plan I for the
UK, we launched Plan I: an innovation plan for Europe,
with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy
in Brussels. It has already begun to shape the European
Commissions policy on digital startups.
Our creative industries account for one-tenth of the UK
economy and provide jobs for 2.5 million people, more than
nancial services or construction. We are world-leaders
in this space, but history shows us that we cannot take
our leadership for granted. A Manifesto for the Creative
Economy presents ten big ideas to bolster our creative
industries. Since it launched, the manifesto has encouraged
the UK government to improve its policy towards the
creative industries and has led to a redenition of the way
that the UK government measures the creative industries.
We are also looking at how UK businesses can master the
greatest challenge of the big data era: how to turn data
into value. Our two reports: The Rise of the Datavores and
Inside the Datavores, highlight the importance of a growing
cohort of companies that put analytics and information at
the heart of their business, and demonstrates how others
can follow their example.
Innovation methods are constantly being reinvented, and
we know that policymakers and innovators need to look
beyond Silicon Valley for inspiration. Thats why were
committed to mapping new approaches to innovation
around the world. As part of this work we have published
a major report into Chinas innovation system, Chinas
Absorptive State and Our Frugal Future: Lessons from
Indias Innovation System.
2.5m
Our creative
industries account
for one-tenth of the
UK economy and
provide jobs for
2.5 million people
8%
Businesses that
use their data
more intensively
are 8 per cent
more productive
Innovation policy 05
The developed world faces a dual
economic challenge. Rates of
economic growth have been slow and
at the same time inequality has been
rising rapidly. New means of fostering
economic growth are called for -
and in particular, ones that can also
promote fairer distribution of wealth.
Inclusive models for
economic growth
See how we...
champion
03.
Our work 06
Within fve years,
crowdfunding could
provide around 15
billion of fnance per
year in the UK.
Our work on collaborative consumption and the sharing
economy focuses on how the internet is helping to bring
people together to make better use of assets, from cars
to DIY tools.
We are researching ways to apply the principles of the
sharing economy to the world of nance. Weve published
a series of successful reports and blog posts on crowdfunding,
including detailed research on how much money crowdfunding
has raised in the UK, and reports on equity crowdfunding
and peer-to-peer lending. Our directory of UK crowdfunding
platforms, Crowdingin.org, has become a widely used
resource for entrepreneurs looking to kickstart their ideas.
We also look at new ways to help turn great ideas into
successful businesses, taking an active role so that our
research is informed by data and practical experience.
We have been working with several accelerators around
Europe to build a network of accelerator programmes,
called the Accelerator Assembly. We now also host the
UKs leading social accelerator programme, run by Bethnal
Green Ventures in partnership with the Cabinet Ofces
Social Incubator Fund, Nominet Trust and Google. This
programme will accelerate over 80 social impact ventures
over the next four years.

THE RISE
OF FUTURE
FINANCE
The UK Alternative
Finance Benchmarking
Report
LiamCollins, Nesta
Richard Swart, University of California, Berkeley
Bryan Zhang, University of Cambridge
December 2013
1 BANKING ON EACH OTHER:
PEERTOPEER LENDING TO BUSINESS: EVIDENCE FROM FUNDING CIRCLE
Yannis Pierrakis and Liam Collins
April 2013
BANKING ON
EACH OTHER
PEERTOPEER LENDING TO BUSINESS:
EVIDENCE FROMFUNDING CIRCLE
1 CROWDING IN
HOWTHEUKS BUSINESSES, CHARITIES,
GOVERNMENT, ANDFINANCIAL SYSTEM
CANMAKETHEMOST OF CROWDFUNDING
December 2012
Peter Baeck, Liam Collins and Stian Westlake
CROWDING IN
Inclusive models for economic growth 07
Public sector
innovation
See how we...
help
04.
Our work 08
Local and national governments have
pioneered some of the great public
and social innovations of modern
history. But in a time of rapid change
they need new capabilities and new
ideas to solve complex problems.
Rethinking Parks
Public parks are an enduring and dening feature of towns
and cities across the UK. At their best, public parks dont
just provide space for leisure and relaxation, they are also a
hub of the local community and a green lung in the urban
environment.
Yet our public parks are at risk. With funding cuts of 60 per
cent and more projected over the next decade for non-
statutory services provided by local authorities, parks are at
risk of becoming no-go zones or being sold off.
Through our Rethinking Parks programme we want people
to develop new ways to operate, fund and use public parks
so that they continue to thrive, despite traditional sources of
revenue and support being eroded.
Our strategic partners, the Big Lottery Fund and the
Heritage Lottery Fund, have strong track records of
supporting parks, having invested upwards of 700 million
in them over the last two decades.
i-teams
We are working with Bloomberg Philanthropies to explore
the teams, units and funds that make government innovation
happen. Our aim is to understand the kind of structures
needed and share these key lessons for other leaders
looking to do the same.
RETHINKING
PARKS
EXPLORING NEW BUSINESS MODELS
FOR PARKS IN THE 21 CENTURY
Peter Neal November 2013
ST
Ruth Puttick, Peter Baeck & Philip Colligan
The teams and funds
making innovation
happen in governments
around the world
Public sector innovation 09
From school governors to special
constables there are lots of great
examples of people helping people.
But we think there could be more.
Citizen engagement
See how we...
promote
05.
Our work 10
Citizen engagement 11
People Helping People
The Centre for Social Action Innovation Fund, run in
partnership with the Cabinet Ofce, is nding new ways for
people to help others.
The fund increases the impact and reach of innovations that
use local peoples energy and talents to help each other. All
the initiatives in the fund work alongside public services and
include examples such as supporting people with long-term
health conditions, and helping unemployed people improve
their skills and get back to work.
Challenge Prizes
We know that challenge prizes are a great way to stimulate
new ideas from a broad range of people and our Centre for
Challenge Prizes is running its most ambitious challenge prize
yet - Longitude Prize 2014.
Launched on the BBC and with the Technology Strategy
Board as launch funding partner, Longitude Prize 2014 asked
the British public to decide which of six major challenges
they wanted to be the focus of a 10 million prize fund. The
challenges were Antibiotics, Paralysis, Food, Water, Flight and
Dementia.
The six scientic challenges were put to a vote on the BBCs
programmes Horizon and The One Show, and the public chose
the issue of Antibiotics. Now the race is on to nd a way to
keep Antibiotics effective for future generations. The prize will
be open for the next ve years, and we invite anyone with a
good idea to participate.
Innovation Skills
The Development Impact and You toolkit, developed in
partnership with and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation,
is a collection of 30 tried-and-tested tools to give practical
support to busy people around the world, in helping them to
develop, test and adapt their ideas. We have a growing network
of supporters who have adopted the toolkit in their innovation
practice, including the UNDP, Oxfam and Ushahidi.
The race is on
to nd the solution
The public voted for
Nesta is a registered charity in England and Wales 1144091 and Scotland SC042833.
Longitude Prize is a registered trademark of Nesta.
#longitudeprize www.longitudeprize.org
ANTIBIOTICS
The UK is a world leader in this
space, but we need to act now to
fnd new ways of supporting our
creative industries so they remain
competitive in the future.
Digital arts and media
See how we...
create
06.
Our work 12
Digital arts and media 13
Digital R&D Fund for the Arts
Three funds, across England, Wales and Scotland, have
encouraged more than 600 collaborations on R&D proposals
between arts, cultural, technology and research teams we
want to sustain this level of activity and support further
fantastic cross-sector experimentation.
By teaming up with the Arts and Humanities Research council
(AHRC) and the respective Arts funding organisations of each
nation, we hope to encourage public funders of the arts to
adopt and embrace the collaborative approach to R&D as a
way of encouraging digital innovation in the arts.
Destination Local
Our research into hyperlocal media showed that despite
rising demand, advertising alone is not going to sustain
these services. This fact presents a serious challenge to
emerging, but already important, public service media
namely, how to make it pay.
Some of the services we have supported through our
Destination Local work have ourished despite this
challenge and are running as sustainable businesses, with
high levels of community engagement. One in particular
is Kentishtowner. A daily publication serving Londons
Kentish Town community, it started as a blog and is
now a multi-platform, award-winning publication.
The challenge now is to attract much-needed public
investment into hyperlocal media as an emerging
technology eld.
Above and top left images courtesy of the Royal Opera
Health and ageing
See how we...
support
07.
Our work 14
There has never been a greater
need for new ideas to solve the
problem of an ageing population.
People Powered Health
Weve been working to inuence the health system, to
make it better-adapted to people with long-term conditions.
Our People Powered Health work has looked at ways to
re-balance our health and care system so that it is run for
people, by people and with people. That means a system
that cares for people when they need it, enables self-
management by people, and connects people with other
people with similar experiences so that they can support
one another.
The programme supported six health teams across England
by embedding and scaling-up collaborative approaches to
long-term conditions. These ranged from community-based
peer support groups to group prescriptions that help
people to do more exercise or connect with others.
Ageing Innovation
We all know that our population is ageing, but many of our
systems have not yet fully adapted. Our working patterns,
social care system and housing stock, for example, are
creaking at the seams, and not t to help an increasingly
older population to age well.
We published a report, Five Hours a Day: Systemic
Innovation for an Ageing Population which argues that
ageing is a systemic challenge requiring innovation not
only in products and services, but also in the political and
cultural domains. Were continuing to support a number of
innovative organisations in this eld, including Shared Lives
Plus, GoodGym and Social Finance.
Halima Khan
February 2013
FIVE HOURS A DAY
SYSTEMIC INNOVATION FOR
AN AGEING POPULATION
Health and ageing 15
Weve been working
to infuence the health
system, to make it better-
adapted to people with
long-term conditions.
Opportunities for
young people
See how we...
develop
08.
Our work 16
Our aim is to help as many young
people as possible learn about
digital technologies through making
their own digital products.
Digital Makers
The digital environment is ubiquitous. Understanding the
way that digital technologies are made and controlled
is important to understanding the world in which we
live. Increasingly, the ability to make and adapt digital
technologies is key to creative expression, social inclusion
and business creation, and it is a skill that is increasingly in
demand in the job market.
Make Things Do Stuff is a campaign run with our partners
Nominet Trust and Mozilla, to create a platform for young
people to test out and upload their own digital products. Since
it launched thousands of young people from all over the UK
have taken part and experimented, demonstrating the creative
potential that technology can unlock for their generation.
Digital Makers Fund
We are backing organisations with bright ideas for
signicantly increasing the number of young people who
participate in digital making. Notable successes include
Code Club and Technology Will Save Us. Code Club has
increased the number of schools it works with from 470
to 1,971 in the last year, and it has leveraged signicant
additional funding. Technology Will Save Us has developed
its most successful maker kit (the DIY Gamer Console) and
forged partnerships with Code Club and the Princes Trust.
Opportunities for young people 17
Impact investment
See how we...
invest
09.
Our work 18
We are a catalyst in the feld of social
impact investment, investing primarily
for a positive social impact, but also
for a fnancial return.
Through our research work, direct interventions and
support, we have helped to create a vibrant impact
investment sector in the UK.
Bethnal Green Ventures runs accelerator programmes for
early-stage social entrepreneurs and their organisations.
We have provided funding, alongside the Cabinet Ofce
and Nominet Trust, to help create 80 new ventures over
four years. We believe that creating this early support
for ventures is vital if we want to help build a vibrant,
innovative and impact-focused entrepreneurial community.
We have established our rst direct social impact
investment fund. Nesta Impact Investments provides risk
capital to early-stage ventures that have an impact for older
people, younger people and community sustainability.
In its rst 12 months of investing, the fund has made ve
new investments, totalling 2.5 million. We aim to back
organisations that can make a major impact and prove the
effectiveness of their intervention. Notable investments to
date include Oomph! and FutureGov.
Impact investment 19
Future thinking
See how we...
connect
10.
Our work 20
New ideas born today can change the
world we will live in decades from now.
We want to explore what these possible
worlds could look like, and how we can
help shape them for the better.
FutureFest
Our FutureFest events gather some of the planets most
radical thinkers, makers and performers to create an
immersive experience of what our future might feel like
a few decades from now. FutureFest is an answer to
the fatalism that often sties talk about the future, and
encourages people to look at the future as something that
can be shaped for the better and shaped by them.
Hot Topics
Our thought-provoking event series looks at how cutting
edge tech will affect our lives in the near future. We cover
ideas as wide-ranging as the potential of drones to the
future of prosthetics, and each event showcases the latest
technology in action.
Predictions
Every December we bring together our in-house experts
to make predictions about what the year ahead holds.
The predictions range from the rise of robot overlords,
to new science parks dedicated to social innovation. Our
predictions series is a popular destination for people
looking to us to get a sense of what the big trends for the
year ahead might be.
Future thinking 21
nesta.org.uk
Nesta
1 Plough Place, London EC4A 1DE
information@nesta.org.uk
@nesta_uk
www.facebook.com/nesta.uk
August 2014
Nesta is a registered charity in England and Wales with company number 7706036 and charity number 1144091.
Registered as a charity in Scotland number SCO42833. Registered ofce: 1 Plough Place, London, EC4A 1DE.