From Research to Reach: Why SHAPE needs scalable ventures

SHAPE ventures have demonstrated remarkable diversity for little cost but major national and global challenges also require scalable solutions

There are typically two conversations you have when talking about SHAPE ventures. Technology transfer offices and university staff discuss nurturing these fledgling enterprises - Where do they come from? What do they look like? What do they need to get going? Central government policy makers and investors (usually impact investors) ask blunter questions: How many customers/users? What kind of revenue? Their divergent concerns point to a thornier question: Will SHAPE ventures remain a low-cost cottage industry creating impact in the areas they are active or can they also play a role in tackling larger societal and economic challenges?

Scale in startup terminology typically means the capacity to handle increased users/customers without proportional increase in costs. Software achieves this almost by definition but STEM ventures manage it too - typically gaining in efficiency as they grow because of economies of scale in production. Such scalability justifies the enormous capital these ventures demand - and the research funding that precedes it. Equipment costs and lengthy development cycles require deep-pocketed investors, who in turn demand exponential returns.

SHAPE ventures follow different rules. Their capital requirements rarely extend beyond researcher time and modest equipment. This parsimony has bred diversity: high-street social enterprises rub shoulders with boutique consultancies and steady-growth firms. Some might view this as a weakness but they would be wrong.

Their capital-lite business model enables researchers to pick a venture model best suited to their intended impact. Ventures like Thin Ice Press might not attract venture capital but it's hard to think of a better way of connecting people on York High Street to their city and university research. As universities are perceived as detached and elitist - ventures such as these help them connect to communities and fulfil civic missions many were founded on.

But scale also matters. Today's challenges—from climate adaptation to education to aging populations demand solutions that reach hundreds of thousands if not millions. SHAPE typically achieves impact through policy papers - influencing government and by extension everyone in the country. But many important trends happen beyond the government's influence or control. Who is more influential in AI - a handful of Silicon Valley firms or the UK government? If SHAPE wants to build solutions rather than just pointing out problems, then amidst the range of ventures SHAPE can produce - will need to be ventures that scale.

The risks of remaining subscale are substantial. Without SHAPE ventures that can grow exponentially, purely market-driven solutions will dominate. Research and commercial funding will flow to those who can provide solutions whether optimal or not. Society's greatest challenges will be tackled without the context and depth that SHAPE disciplines bring.

Consider Edtech. Improving education during tighter national budgets is fiendishly difficult yet few could think of a more pressing challenge as human capital becomes ever more important and most of the world’s youngest people live in countries with limited and underfunded education systems. Edtech - one the few SHAPE areas that has substantial investment - has been growing for 2 decades and yet a recent UNESCO report paints a damning picture of little to no improvement and often declining pupil test scores. The problem is that actual improvements in Education are very hard, and lots of Edtech is well-meaning but with little if any evidence that it improves educational outcomes. Edtech that actually moves the dial on pupil learning is rare and almost always contingent on expertise, research and a substantial evidence-base that has passed peer review. Such ventures are a tiny fraction of the Edtech market.

Fortunately, Teacher Success Platform has managed to do just that, helping identify better teachers and train existing teachers by focusing on classroom management (reducing disruptions in the classroom and thus learning minutes across the year. TSP has worked with over 150,000 educators worldwide from Teach First in the UK to educators across the Middle East and North Africa - scaling evidence backed interventions across developed and developing country education systems alike.

SHAPE's advantage lies in its versatility and capital efficiency. Small charities, local enterprises and SMEs will remain vital parts of its ecosystem. But the field must also build ventures that can reach millions. Without a critical mass of scalable SHAPE ventures, SHAPE will be marginalised in government thinking - and funding for commercialisation with society deprived of these benefits.

The stakes are high. As societies grapple with unprecedented challenges, they need solutions that are both scalable and evidence-based. Complex challenges defy easy market answers. The challenge for SHAPE ventures will be scaling without compromising the underlying rigour that makes them valuable. Yet we can already see SHAPE developing pioneering new means of scaling that help people in the millions without necessarily becoming VC-backed startups.