AMION recently completed an evaluation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund funded Open London project on behalf of Newable.
The Open London project was designed to support London’s innovative SMEs to develop open innovation, collaboration skills and idea commercialisation to help solve London’s critical challenges. The project was designed to bring together these SMEs with local authorities and public organisations, large corporates and London residents to solve critical socio-economic, health and environmental challenges, thus increasing living standards.
Open London was based on an open innovation model which was designed to take residents’ and local authorities’ insights to devise a list of the pressing challenges across London which SMEs would then work towards addressing through innovation. The six key challenge areas identified were: Health/Wellbeing; Social Care; Transport; Environment; Energy; and Housing.
AMION were commissioned to carry out an evaluation covering issues such as: strategic relevance of the project; continuing rationale; extent to which outputs had been achieved; management and delivery; economic and social impacts; value for money; reasons for success; and identification of strengths and areas for improvement.
The evaluation found that the project is expected to deliver substantial economic impacts such as job creation, job safeguarding and GVA increases.