Innovation

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Accelerating innovation to transform markets

Innovation is a powerful driver of economic change, unlocking solutions, solving problems and disrupting the status quo. But innovation alone is not enough.

To address global challenges such as climate change, nature loss and growing inequality, innovation must scale in ways that reshape markets, not just generate new ideas. That means focusing on specific sectors and places where impact counts and change must happen - where investment decisions are made, infrastructure is built, food is produced and lives are organised. It is in these real‑world contexts that new market norms can be established, incentives aligned and durable structures take shape, enabling innovation to deliver impact at scale.

CISL’s systems-based approach

Breakthrough technologies do not succeed on technical performance alone. They scale when incentives, capabilities, norms and rules evolve to support them. CISL focuses not only on advancing innovation, but on shaping the wider market context in which it operates, helping solutions move from early promise to deployment and adoption.

We work at the intersection of academia, business, finance and policy to support interventions capable of reshaping entire sectors, rather than isolated projects.

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Find our more in our latest report: From Innovation to Impact: Scaling Climate Solutions to Transform Markets

Whether you are a potential founder, a start-up looking to scale, a corporate looking for solutions or a corporate leader interested in harnessing innovation, we can help.

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For innovators:

We curate an international network of entrepreneurs, start-ups and scale-ups to collaborate and scale solutions to some of the world's biggest challenges.

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The Canopy

A dynamic workspace and community where academia, industry and policy converge, CISL’s Canopy has supported more than 500 startups globally. It brings together the people and resources needed to help ventures developing solutions that will shape future industries.

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Accelerator programmes

The CISL Accelerator runs a series of programmes, events, webinars and hackathons, designed to connect startups and corporates to collaborate, pilot and scale solutions. CISL brings the knowledge and networks to accelerate your progress.

For business and investors:

We help corporates pilot and adopt new technologies and business models, support investors to align capital with credible solutions.

Trust in Sustainability Accelerator

Corporate innovation partnerships 

We help corporate leaders align their innovation strategy and activities with a resilient long term future, identifying challenges and opportunities for innovation in their current business models and future pathways.  

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Global Innovation

Our work with international markets and emerging technologies enables international innovation ecosystems to access the Cambridge and wider UK partners, building cross-border collaboration to scale solutions.

Multi-stakeholder innovation platforms

Sectoral transitions are where sustainability ambitions are tested. CISL’s work in this area takes a systemic approach by coordinating the ideas, technologies, policies and capabilities that enable change to happen.

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Built Environment / Living Lab

CISL's Living Lab is a collaborative platform designed to accelerate innovation for sustainable built environments. It enables companies, investors, academics and startups to share data from real assets to test, prove and scale solutions.

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Aviation Impact Accelerator

The Aviation Impact Accelerator is the global systems change organisation in aviation, based in the University of Cambridge. Combining data modelling and expertise across industry, governments and academia, we drive the transition to climate-neutral aviation.