Dr Onya Idoko secures funding to develop innovative business model design

Dr Onya Idoko, academic lead of the Institute for Global Prosperity's MSc in Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship has been awarded £20,000 from the UCL Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Fund to explore and co-develop with partner organisation Zhero a new form of organisational design for tackling societal grand challenges. The award is funded by Research England’s Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), which is administered by UCL Innovation & Enterprise.

While traditional organisational designs existed prior to the industrial revolution, these models do not always support the current and urgent need to tackle the grand challenges we face today. New ways of organising businesses that enable and foster the kinds of innovations required to address current societal challenges are needed.

The project examines the relationship between organisational design and impact investment - focusing on how alternative forms of ownership can attract impact investment needed to scale the social and/or environmental impact of a business.

Academic lead for the project Dr Onya Idoko says:

““For businesses to achieve the kinds of transformative changes required in society, a paradigmatic shift in the way they organise to deliver social, environmental and/or economic value is needed as old models only serve to perpetuate existing problems”.   

The partner organisation Zhero will serve as a case study and contribute key business data. By partnering with an East London social enterprise, the project contributes to the ongoing work of the University in Camden and East London and will have a significant impact on the local circular economy businesses in the region and the local community.

The project will provide a model for transitioning to an employee-ownership model that can be replicated beyond East London while also being adjustable to local regional needs and resources. The project contributes to the UCL Innovation and Enterprise Strategy objective of supporting SMEs as a key element of economic and social regeneration.