Corporate report

GOTT snapshot report 2024 to 2025

Published 17 July 2025

Minister’s foreword

I’m pleased to introduce Government Office for Technology Transfer ‘s (GOTT) 2024/2025 annual Snapshot report at this pivotal moment for our economy, as we accelerate efforts to drive innovation, unlock public sector potential, and deliver sustainable economic growth across the UK. The public sector, particularly its research organisations, is home to remarkable innovation. Our goal is to ensure these innovations are recognised, scaled up and developed into their full potential. By exploring the commercial potential of Knowledge Assets, and seizing opportunities as they arise, we can help unlock the economic growth our country needs. This means bringing new products and services to market that deliver real benefits to our citizens.   

Over the past year, GOTT has been working to support public sector organisations in translating innovation into impact. This report highlights how those efforts are helping to move research and innovations out of government and into the marketplace. It takes determination, creativity and collaboration to make this happen but we’re seeing inspiring examples of what’s possible, from a self-service synthetic data platform that has the potential to revolutionise different sectors to a regulatory digital Sandbox that brings together industry leaders, tech innovators, and regulators in a bid to unlock new products and services. I hope these examples will encourage others who may be unsure about how to commercialise a promising innovation or Knowledge Asset.

Support is available. I would urge government research organisations to get in touch with GOTT who stand ready to help you make Knowledge Assets investment-ready and attractive to the private sector.

I look forward to seeing increased investment in early-stage spinouts from the public sector this year, and to the many other commercial opportunities that lie ahead.

Lord Vallance
Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation

CEO foreword

This past year has been another rewarding one for the Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT). We’ve seen real momentum building across public sector organisations in recognising the value of Knowledge Assets (KAs). Increasingly, KA commercialisation is being embedded as a key pillar of organisational strategy as a means to delivering impact. From developing best practices in KA management to championing new commercial opportunities, public sector organisations are rising to the challenge. Their efforts are helping to deliver innovations that not only have the potential to improve lives but also contribute to the UK economy.

Now in its third year, this Snapshot report reflects this growing appetite and ambition for commercialisation across government. We’ve included some examples which highlight the breadth of KAs and the wide range of organisations involved. We are proud to support the commercialisation of innovations such as these through our dedicated team of technology transfer experts. 

GOTT has also been supporting and encouraging commercialisation at grass roots level by expanding our KA skills programme and enabling knowledge exchange across the public sector through our growing Knowledge Assets Network. 

The size of the prize is too big to ignore. Our commissioned report on the public sector spinout landscape found that, as of September 2023, spinouts from public sector bodies had raised £5.1 billion in investment. Many of these businesses were shown to have grown in scale, employing thousands of people.

As we look ahead, we remain focused on unlocking the commercial potential of research and innovations with a particular emphasis on government Research Organisations. There is a wealth of IP in these organisations that has the potential to deliver benefits through commercialisation. By continuing to champion innovation and support commercialisation, together with these organisations we can help drive private sector investment and deliver economic growth for the UK.

Dr Alison Campbell OBE
Chief Executive

How we work

The Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT) supports public sector organisations in commercialising their research and innovations. By moving research and innovations out of government into market-ready products and services, commercialisation brings significant benefits to society and helps to grow the economy.

With decades of experience in commercialisation, policymaking, and capability development, our central team in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is uniquely positioned to support public sector organisations in managing and commercialising their KAs. We take a collaborative and tailored approach, recognising that no two public sector organisations are alike. Each has its own structure, culture and varying levels of expertise in commercialisation. Our first step is always to understand organisational goals and determine how best we can support them.

In most cases, our work involves a multi-faceted approach that may include strategic advice, practical guidance, knowledge exchange, skills development, and proof-of-concept funding. For example, we might help shape an organisation-wide strategy for protecting and commercialising KAs, share best practices for managing intellectual property (IP), or advise on how to position a KA as an attractive investment opportunity for the private sector. We may also conduct IP audits, support market validation activities, facilitate licensing deals, or make introductions to potential investors and help shape propositions. We manage a proof-of-concept fund designed to explore the commercial potential and routes to market for early-stage KA opportunities.

We strongly believe in the power of collaboration and shared learning across government. Our thriving KA Network enables members to support one another and openly exchange insights and experiences. As GOTT, we work closely with other policy teams across government to help create incentives, remove barriers and shape a consistent and supportive public sector commercialisation environment.

This report showcases just a few examples of our work and the potential for real-world impact successful commercialisation can have.

GOTT moments

• Publication of an Intellectual Property checklist (April 2024)
• Launch of Knowledge Asset Strengthening Programme pilot (April 2024)
• Publication of the Public Sector Spinout Landscape report (May 2024)
• Knowledge Assets Beginners Bootcamp (June 2024)
• GOTT’s Public Research Innovation and Market Accelerator pilot completed (June 2024)
• GOTT Progress evaluation report (October 2024)
• Launch of KA Ambassador pilot (January 2025)
• GOTT’s annual Conference (March 2025)

GOTT in numbers

• Granted funding to support 142 KA projects in 43 organisations with awards totalling £14.1 million

• Increased our Knowledge Assets Network from 154 to 258 members in 69 organisations

• Grown our LinkedIn followers from 1,834 to 2,700

• Piloted KA Strengthening Programme, supporting KA Managers in 5 organisations

• Appointed KA Ambassadors in 10 organisations

Developing KA commercialisation capability

In its early years of operation, GOTT has explored different approaches to stimulate and support KA commercialisation. During the year 2024/2025, we developed a range of new initiatives and continued to promote knowledge exchange and grow KA management capability in public sector organisations.

GOTT piloted three new schemes to bolster commercialisation capability in the public sector:

1. A market discovery accelerator programme, known as PRIMA (Public Research Innovation and Market Accelerator), in which a cohort of 28 people took part. The programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, equipped individuals with a deeper understanding of the commercialisation process and provided market discovery support to help accelerate their KA towards market readiness.

“Through working with the PRIMA team, both during focused away days and joint consultancy calls, we were able to formally identify our problem area and develop an approach to solving this. This was achieved through drafting a highly tailored value proposition canvas”.

Dr Claire Kerridge, Head of Gene Therapy, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

2. A KA Strengthening Programme that aims to deepen the knowledge and skills of KA commercialisation in five public sector organisations. GOTT has funded a dedicated KA Manager for two years in each organisation to embed a strategic approach to their KA commercialisation and achieve KA commercialisation outcomes. The KA Managers receive mentorship from GOTT’s Technology Transfer Strategic Partners, a dedicated learning and development budget, and benefit from being part of a cohort.

3. A selective volunteer KA Ambassadors scheme through which participants help champion the KA agenda and drive positive change in KA Management in their public sector organisations and across their wider networks.

Ten public sector organisations now have a KA Ambassador, each serving a 1-year term. In addition to being active members of the KA Network, these Ambassadors play a key role in shaping its direction and development.

The KA Network continues to go from strength to strength and we’re particularly proud that we’ve been able to improve its offer to members which now includes the popular coffee roulette, a Register of Expertise and a new online Knowledge Hub community space. We also hosted the first Autumn Forum, an in-person KA Network event, in October 2024. Members came together to discuss how we can effect positive culture change around KA commercialisation including approaches to senior buy-in.

Our annual conference was a highlight of the calendar with a record number of attendees and a waiting list which shows the demand for knowledge exchange and the strong appetite to hear from others who have trod the path of commercialisation in government. The event began with keynotes from the National Technology Advisor and the Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation who talked about the importance of commercialisation in driving economic growth and benefits for citizens. This was followed by two lively panel discussions picking up two hot topics - how to manage risk in the pursuit of innovation and the identification of market needs.  A series of breakouts dived deep into four different public sector organisation’s experiences of commercialising their KA (s). The Natural History Museum, Government Internal Audit Agency, National Physical Laboratory and Health and Safety Executive shared their approaches and experiences in commercialising their KAs through specific innovative projects, offering valuable insights to an audience keen to learn from their peers.

“I think my key takeaway from today’s conference is to have war stories because even though you don’t commercialise everything, you still learn from the process”.

Nickolas Laport, KA Manager, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Accelerating KA commercialisation

Over the last year GOTT provided a diverse range of services to researchers and innovators, supporting them at different stages in the commercialisation cycle – from proof-of-concept funding that enabled prototypes, to advice on IP management and commercialisation routes. Our 2024/25 KA grant fund supported 142 projects in 43 organisations. Many of these projects are early stage but look set to deliver impact for the citizen and show commercial promise. For example, the British Antarctic Survey is developing a Universal Data Toolkit to construct environmental Digital Twins, enabling them to answer “what-if” environmental scenarios. Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency’s is undertaking a feasibility study into a novel formulation for vaccine delivery.

Funded projects often act as a catalyst for organisational momentum and show senior leaders the value of developing KAs. Many of the organisations GOTT works with have shared that their KA projects have given profile to innovation internally. In several cases, these projects have also created a way for innovators to engage senior managers and leadership teams, helping to build support from the top down.

“The provision of the KA Grant Fund has enabled us to progress our exploitation plans, which would have been impossible to do without the funding”

Public sector research organisation grant recipient

GOTT is launching a new grant fund for the 2025/2026 financial year with a focus on supporting eligible government research organisations to move viable public sector KAs towards commercial readiness.

In addition to grant funding, GOTT has also provided strategic advice at an organisational-level to help public sector organisations protect their IP and transform early-stage opportunities into investable, scalable KAs.

This year, our team of technology transfer strategic partners have completed in-depth reviews of the KA portfolios for three of our client organisations. These reviews helped the clients discover and document the commercialisation opportunities that exist within their organisations, clarify IP ownership and protectability and bolster their KA management strategies through a deeper understanding of their KA portfolios. We’ve begun exploring how offering consultancy can further enhance the dissemination of the deep knowledge and expertise within our client organisations and unlock potential new revenue streams. This is an area with significant promise for future KA exploitation.

We have also refined our own portfolio management processes to focus on projects with strong potential for commercialisation and have increased the range of targeted interventions we can provide to support the commercialisation process. We also have access to a network of external experts in market research, IP and commercialisation strategies, to supplement our internal capabilities. This year we have supported over 178    projects.

These strategic interventions are giving organisations and their leadership greater confidence to invest time and resources in   KA management and commercialisation, where they can see potential value and impact. But the real story lies in the tangible progress made on the ground, through detailed engagement with researchers, innovators, and delivery teams. Highlights from the year include:

• Supporting the Natural History Museum’s development of a real-time airborne pathogen monitoring system, with potential to enhance biosecurity and public health.
• Helping Clinical Practice Research Datalink advance its synthetic data platform from concept to working prototype - enabling safe, scalable use of health data for research and innovation.
• Mapping a route to market for the British Antarctic Survey’s snowfall sensor, which helps quantify freshwater stored in snow - a critical resource for one-sixth of the global population.
• Identifying opportunities to scale the economic impact of GIAA’s AI Engines, which are already delivering £1 million per annum in productivity and efficiency savings.

Looking ahead, GOTT is developing a programme of enhanced support for spinout creation. New ventures such as Sona (breast density measurement), K3M (precision metrology for high value manufacturing), and Thermology Health (thermal measurement for detecting diabetic foot ulcers) are attracting private investment, demonstrating the power of strategic KA support to catalyse innovation and growth. More to come on this in the months ahead.

Client spotlights

Sona, a groundbreaking spinout from the National Physical Laboratory

Sona, developed at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), is set to transform breast health assessment.  It uses an innovative ultrasound-based technology to characterise breast density safely and affordably, without the need for trained specialists. The low-cost, desktop platform—now patented—enables consistent, accessible insight into breast tissue composition, supporting more personalised care. By overcoming limitations of existing breast care pathways, Sona creates new opportunities for earlier, broader access to breast health information for all women.

With £250,000 in grant funding from GOTT, the team successfully advanced their technology to a pre-commercial stage, securing its IP and developing innovative prototypes. This positioned Sona to attract external investment, culminating in £200,000 pre-incorporation investment by the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund to support the next phase of product development and work towards clinical demonstrations. The team is now well on their way to spinning out and bringing their innovation to market.

A Self-Service Synthetic Data Generation Platform from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) ‘Emulate’ project has made significant strides in developing a robust self-service platform for generating high-fidelity synthetic data. High-fidelity synthetic data is statistically indistinguishable from real patient data, protecting patient privacy and usability. This tool has the potential to revolutionise how synthetic data is generated and used across various sectors, including enabling researchers to incorporate virtual control arms in clinical trials and accelerating drug development, as well as training AI. Through the development of this KA, MHRA is unlocking scientific innovation that supports world-leading research and advances its mission to protect patient health.

The project successfully enhanced the synthetic data generation algorithm, integrated advanced data privacy measures, and developed a user-friendly self-service interface for researchers, medical product developers, and data owners.

With funding and support from GOTT, the MHRA is exploring different commercialisation routes for the synthetic data  platform and will enhance the platform’s capabilities based on user feedback.

“We wanted our work to make a lasting difference beyond just publication in a few academic journals. This is where the support provided by GOTT advisors was invaluable, as they helped us think through the value generation options for our work, including commercialisation strategies.”

Dr Puja Myles, Director of the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, Medicines

AI-based tools saving £1 million per year, thanks to the Government Internal Audit Agency

GOTT has helped the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) to unleash innovation through developing three AI-based tools that boost productivity, manage risks and save time for public servants. From a total investment of £75,000 from GOTT’s grant fund, GIAA estimates they save £1 million per year through the use of these three innovative tools.  

The Insights Engine enables users to quickly and easily search across multiple documents and identify common themes, while the Writing Engine uses Generative AI to dramatically reduce the time taken to write reports, and the AI Risk assessment tool identifies risks and suggests mitigation activities.

Beyond GIAA, more than 350 users across various government departments apply these tools to enhance operational efficiency in areas such as document review, report writing and risk management.

Based on private sector interest in the Engines, GOTT is supporting the GIAA to evaluate the market opportunity of the tools outside of government and to consider the best route to deliver commercialisation.

Acknowledgements

We value the engagement from our stakeholders and Advisory Forum, and extend our sincere thanks for their time and unwavering support. Our progress throughout the year is a reflection of our collective effort and shared vision. We look forward to another year of collaboration.

Thank you.

• General enquiries : gott@dsit.gov.uk
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/government-office-for-technology-transfer/
• Website: Government Office for Technology Transfer - GOV.UK