How we work

• We see… Our research into emerging trends and technologies helps us answer the big questions: what could health services look like in 2030? Which skills will matter most in an increasingly automated work? How might local councils improve their services and save money with digital technologies? How can public policy harness entrepreneurial energies and grow the creative economy?
• We spark…. Our programmes discover and nurture new ideas. We’ve offered early-stage innovation support to thousands of innovators in different fields. We champion creativity with challenge prizes like the Longitude Prize, a £10 million fund to hold back the rise of drug-resistant infections.
• We shape… Our funding programmes help brilliant ideas benefit more people. We’ve helped scale coding clubs that have taught over 48,000 young people, funded an app that alerts thousands of trained first aiders to nearby emergencies, and backed new approaches to broadcasting live performances that have been watched by millions in cinemas around the world.
• We shift… Sometimes it’s not enough to grow individual technologies or ventures - instead we have to transform the way whole systems work. That’s the approach we’ve taken in local health systems like Essex to improve care and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions. We also bring people together across sectors - including over 13,000 people who attend Nesta events each year - to help change policy from the top down, as well as growing new ideas from the bottom up.