Data-Driven Innovation programme publishes latest annual report

The University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University’s Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) initiative has published its latest Annual Review, highlighting achievements from the academic year 2024-25.

Twelve case studies feature in the review, covering start-ups and spin-outs, research, and partnerships delivering positive impacts for a range of industry sectors.

2025 closed with the news that the DDI programme was named Collaborative Initiative of the Year by the Institute of Economic Development, with judges describing DDI as a flagship model of collaborative economic development, delivering innovation, skills, and infrastructure at scale.

The year also marked the conclusion of DDI's investment phase and completion of the final two Hubs. In April, Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) was officially opened by the University of Edinburgh Chancellor, HRH The Princess Royal, alongside Jenny Gilruth MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, the Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh and other city representatives.

The DDI Hubs continue to deliver significant economic benefit, with many examples noted throughout the report. By combining strengths across the University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University and City Region Deal partners, the initiative is driving inward investment, including support to grow emerging companies.

Achievements against targets are:

Talent: The programme exceeded its course target by 15%, meaning that the full end-of-programme Talent target has been achieved. In 2024/25, DDI saw more than 37,000 completions – an 18% increase from 2023/24.

Research: DDI delivered £188 million in research activity – a 17% increase compared with 2023/24. The programme delivered £778 million worth of activity in total, which represents 79% of its total research target.

Adoption: The programme generated £20 million in income alone, representing 21% of total activity to date. DDI has exceeded its end-of-programme target by 79%.

Entrepreneurship: The initiative supported 90 early-stage data-centric companies, surpassing its unique company end-of-programme target by 53%. DDI has exceeded its follow-on funding target by nearly 1,000%, with DDI companies receiving £225 million funding in 2024/25 alone.

DDI's Senior Responsible Officer, Professor Kim Graham, said: "Delivery of these outcomes requires commitment, imagination and ambition. I am grateful to our DDI staff and students for their hard work and thank our industry, third sector and civic partners, as well as the Scottish and UK Governments, for helping make the Edinburgh & South East City Region DDI programme so successful. The City Region Deal is evidence that local innovation funding – focused on growing regional sectors through the application of emerging future technologies – delivers to modern industrial strategies, boosting economic productivity, entrepreneurship and jobs."

Read the full report here

Supporting Individuals at Risk of Homelessness

Through close collaboration with NHS Lothian, The DataLoch team has improved the data underlying the Cyrenians InReach service that supports individuals at risk of homelessness.

By allowing address data to be updated more accurately and reliably every month – which hadn’t been possible previously – the latest information about emergency-accommodation locations allows Cyrenians to better prioritise where they focus their efforts. 

You can watch other videos which show how the City Region Deal’s projects and programmes are helping people, in the Annual Report 2024/25

Data-Driven Innovation Programme Annual Review

The University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University’s Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) initiative has published its latest Annual Review, showcasing achievements from the academic year 2023-24.

Twenty in depth case studies feature in the review, covering start-ups and spin-outs, research, and partnerships delivering positive impacts for a range of industry sectors.

The DDI initiative launched in 2018 as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal, and was set ambitious targets for increasing data skills, industry partnerships and entrepreneurship.

The Review provides a snapshot of recent activity across six DDI hubs, all now open and located at the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University, and delivering impact across ten industry sectors, from Argritech and Creative, to Fintech and Healthcare.

The review includes examples of how staff at the Bayes Centre and Edinburgh Futures Institute helped housing and homelessness teams at City of Edinburgh Council improve services. Also featured is a partnership from the Creative Informatics team, which enabled an arts organisation to enhance digital skills and data capabilities.

In the 2023-24 academic year, the DDI initiative delivered £160million in research activity and saw a 24% increase compared with the previous year. 80 early-stage data-centric companies were supported, surpassing DDI’s unique company end-of-programme target by 25%.

23-24 also saw the initiative surpass its entrepreneurship goal by four times the initial target. Since launch, 550 entrepreneurs have been supported through DDI, together securing more than £200 million of investments. Half of this funding has remained local, with businesses in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland area.

With all DDI hubs now open, the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University are able to increase learning opportunities for a variety of communities and organisations, additionally offering residency spaces for companies where they can benefit from University collaboration.

Expanding partnerships, and increasing engagement with business, remains a core future goal for the DDI initiative; the opening of all six DDI innovation hubs is a significant milestone in helping deliver that ambition.

View the Annual Report

Watch the video

Using Data to Support Public Services

 Team members from The City of Edinburgh Council's Housing and Homelessness department have been participating in the University of Edinburgh's The Data Lab - Innovation Centre Data Management Fundamentals course, aiming to enhance decision-making, develop more insights, improve efficiency, and ultimately, service delivery.

The course provided an excellent introduction to data management, specifically designed for professionals whose primary role wasn't data-centric but involved handling data. From managers to technicians and clerical support workers, this course offered key insights and tools to manage and analyze data effectively.

 Developed by The Data Lab - Innovation Centre, in collaboration with Bayes Centre, The University of Edinburgh, effini, and the DDI Data Skills Gateway, it was an invaluable resource for those seeking to improve their data proficiency.

You can watch other videos which show how the City Region Deal’s projects and programmes are helping people, in the Annual Report 2023/24

The National Robotarium wins Project of the Year at Learning Places Scotland Awards

Heriot-Watt University’s National Robotarium facility for robotics and AI took home the Project of the Year prize at this year’s Learning Places Scotland awards, held on 14 November in Glasgow. The awards, delivered in partnership with the Scottish Government as part of Scottish Learning Estates strategy, are an annual celebration of Scotland’s growing learning estate, recognising facilities that are making strides in sustainability, technology and student experience.

Supported by £21 million from the UK Government and £1.4m from the Scottish Government as part of the £1.3bn Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal, the National Robotarium officially opened in September 2022. Since then, the facility has been a catalyst for bridging knowledge between science and business, delivering sustainable economic benefit to Scotland and the UK through its expanding portfolio of industry partnerships that are developing new robotic technologies to address real-world and sectoral challenges.

Designed with sustainability at its heart, the 40,000ft² facility itself offers unrivalled learning spaces, allowing Heriot-Watt to maximise its AI and robotics strengths and lead the field in research. It boasts a variety of flexible spaces and test beds for specialist research, student projects, public engagement, and industry collaborations across three distinct themes; Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS), Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), and Precision Laser Applications (PLA).

The estates and projects team at Heriot-Watt, along with external consultants Michael Laird Architects and Atkins Realis, who collected the award on the night, were recognised for their collaborative efforts in creating a cutting-edge, sustainable centre for the advancement of research and learning in robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

The success of the project and its construction, enduring challenges such as the Covid pandemic and Brexit, was the result of extensive stakeholder engagement, ensuring the building met the requirements of individual teams and research areas, and accommodated emerging technologies through its flexible, fabric-first design.

More on the awards