Scaling Social Science Research & Innovation

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There is a wealth of knowledge from social science research that can inform an understanding of the societal challenges currently facing the UK. Increasingly, there is a range of exciting technological innovations that could be harnessed to develop effective solutions. However, at present, these pockets of knowledge and emerging technologies sit in siloes - fragmented across disciplines and sectors. Zinc provides a platform to bring together social science and technologies (from life, computer and material sciences) with creative design and entrepreneurship, with the aim of tackling big societal issues through new, scalable products and services. Over the last two years, we have piloted a series of research and innovation activities that have drawn upon evidence, theory and methodologies from social science. These have included: embedding and generating research in new Zinc businesses; launching a Research Fellowship programme where researchers come to Zinc full-time to work alongside our entrepreneurs; establishing a network of experts (called 'Visiting Fellows') who engage with Zinc and Zinc businesses on an ad-hoc basis, creating opportunities for researchers to work in new businesses (through founding and advisory roles), building partnerships with universities at both the 'Zinc' and 'Zinc business' level; building relationships with research funders; disseminating learning; and creating a methodology for social science-based innovation. We have demonstrated proof-of-concept on all these activities; however, our capacity to 'scale up' has been limited. This Fellowship would allow the Applicant to establish a new scale-up team with the aim of creating, testing, scaling and showcasing a world-leading approach to commercial research & innovation for the social sciences. Specifically, the scale-up will focus on four missions, developing over 100 new businesses which provide consumers and businesses with new products and services. The missions are to:- Improve mental and emotional health;- Unlock new opportunities for people and places impacted by automation and globalisation;- Add quality to later life;- Enable individuals to halve their negative environmental impacts.This programme of work would contribute to our knowledge about the social problems we are setting out to tackle (helping to develop and test potential solutions, as well as to highlight gaps in knowledge that may require further research/investment), the process of business creation (helping to build our knowledge of how to build mission-driven businesses), and the process of social science-based research and innovation. Its outputs will be of potential benefit to a range of audiences, including users of the products/services that are developed, entrepreneurs and start-ups, and the research and innovation ecosystem. It also has the potential for broader societal and economic impact in the UK, through the creation of successful and impactful startups, as well as the opportunity to build on the UK's existing strengths in social science, creative design, and technology to build a global centre of excellence for social science-based innovation.