Interview with Abdul Rahim, SHIFT Chief Innovation Officer, on occasion of signing the partnership with Federated Innovation @MIND.

What is SHIFT and what is its role in London as an innovation ecosystem? 

SHIFT is a catalyst, curator and convenor; it is an agency that supports purposeful innovation projects and collaborations.  Operating out of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in east London, SHIFT forges partnerships across the United Kingdom and internationally.  It helps identify shared problems and solutions, and brings together innovators across business, academia, government and local communities to implement and scale innovation. Its ecosystem is made up of 200 cross-sector organisations, and it is backed by seven founders: the London Legacy Development Corporation, University College London, University of the Arts London, Loughborough University, Lendlease, Plexal and Here East.  

One of the unique propositions of SHIFT is that it uses the Olympic Park as a Testbed for innovative products and services and helps innovators to use the assets of the Park to build their evidence base to go to market more effectively.  For example, our Future Industries Demonstrator innovation challenge series is focused on problems such as ‘How can we minimise the waste created in London, and increase the amount of waste that is reused or recycled?’.  Or, ‘How can we update the measurement and communication of the environmental impact of buildings?’; or ‘How should we support innovative food growing models in urban areas?’.  We work with SMEs to identify solutions that can be tested, support them with grant funding and business support, help them find partners and sites to test and eventually help them scale their solution. 

What are the main points of contact, affinities, and synergies between the innovation ecosystems of London and Milan, especially from the perspective of developing the city of the future? 

Both London and Milan face similar challenges, particularly around increasing urbanisation and the impact on the environment and local communities’ health and wellbeing. Cities are the big emitters of carbon, and the places where inequality are felt most.  In this context, SHIFT and Federated Innovation have the opportunity to leverage the knowledge and capital assets of the institutions that are based in their innovation districts. We are well-positioned to bring together academic, governmental, business and community actors to unlock innovation capacity and to address the challenges head-on.  Both districts are led by public-private partnerships, presenting a unique opportunity combine purpose and mission-driven innovation with the greater good in mind, while opening up market opportunities.

What were the premises that led to the partnership between Shift and Federated Innovation? 

The two districts have many things in common.  A shared investor/partner (Lendlease), aligned missions, and a comparable range of engaged stakeholders, Both are driven by a commitment to fostering connections and creating opportunities for ecosystem participants, as well as the willingness to learn from and support each other.  

London and Milan are both leading lights in the innovation world; we were keen to explore what it could mean to foster more collaboration across international borders. 

What will be the benefits for startups, companies, and institutions involved in the respective networks of Shift and Federated Innovation? 

Thanks to our partnership, these diverse actors will be able to collaborate across two major global cities, gaining access to potential sales route into international markets and providing a soft landing for businesses. They will also have the opportunity to secure cross-border funding (such as EU funding through Horizon Europe) and, last but not least, to identify the best solutions and talent for tackling global challenges. This partnership will offer significant opportunities for learning, job creation and rapid startup scaling.