The University of Sussex Business School has been awarded the 2021 Innovations That Inspire award by AACSB International (AACSB) in recognition of the global impact of the Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium (TIPC). TIPC is coordinated by the School’s Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), the Centre for Global Challenges at Utrecht University, and Ingenio in Spain.

The Business School is one of just 24 Business Schools based in 13 countries to receive this year’s award.

"Business schools everywhere are defining impact objectives and strategies that align with the communities they serve, and the examples featured through AACSB’s 2021 Innovations That Inspire initiative perfectly demonstrate business education as a force for good," said Caryn L. Beck-Dudley, AACSB president and CEO.  "We are excited to honour the University of Sussex Business School for its innovative approach to society's challenges.”

Professor Steven McGuire, Dean of the University of Sussex Business School said:

“I am delighted that the ground breaking research and knowledge sharing of TIPC is recognized by AACSB. Transformative Innovation Policy is underpinned by a paper on the Three Frames of Innovation (2018) by Professor Johan Schot (TIPC founder) and Professor Ed Steinmueller.  Since its formation in 2016, TIPC has brought together policymakers and researchers to co-create transformative innovation policies and practices that help meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and which can be adopted worldwide.”

The work of TIPC draws on the strengths of SPRU which has been a world leader in science, technology and environmental policy research for over 50 years.

Professor Jeremy Hall, Director of SPRU said:

“Through the outcomes of its global field experiments in member countries, TIPC has shown that Transformative Innovation Policy has real and sustainable impact.  For example, in South Africa TIPC is working with the government to improve water and sanitation and address water scarcity, while the Latin America TIPC Hub is leading projects worth over £1 million that use transformative innovation principles to address complex social and environmental needs. Projects include establishing circular economy practices in urban waste disposal and bringing clean water to marginalised communities.”

Read more about the Awards and the Business School’s submission.