Here, you’ll find overviews of the exceptional projects supported by the Aspect Testbed over the years. The valuable insights gained from these initiatives are shared across our network, fostering collaboration and enhancing collective knowledge. These learnings also inform the development of our training programmes—both online and in-person—ensuring they remain at the forefront of modern advancements and expertise.
Testbed Collaborations
We’re constantly exploring new ways to stimulate innovation across Testbed activities and deepen the impact of Testbed findings; working with Higher Educational Institutions, Government bodies and private and public organisations alike
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Initiate Microsite Maintenance and Course Promotion
This project focuses on improving the visibility and relevance of Aspect’s microsites, such as the Games Hub, by updating content and creating a strategy for long-term sustainability. It aims to promote underutilised training resources and ensure ongoing community engagement.
Laying the Foundations for a New SHAPE Spinout Guide
The project is developing the groundwork for a comprehensive SHAPE spinout guide. It will identify gaps in current guidance and propose a framework for drafting a SHAPE-specific guide to support universities in spinning out research ventures.
SHAPE CEOs in the Aspect Network (SCAN)
This project is conducting a UK mapping exercise to identify CEOs within SHAPE ventures. It aims to create a database of CEOs who could lead SHAPE spinouts or mentor future leaders. This will address the challenge of finding executives passionate about SHAPE research to enhance commercialisation opportunities.
SHAPE Ventures Directory
The project is developing a centralised directory of SHAPE ventures to foster collaboration and innovation. This resource will provide insights, highlight commercialisation examples, and connect academics and industry professionals across Aspect member institutions.
Strengthening Games Development and Distribution
This project aims to support SHAPE academics in developing and distributing games by mapping their needs and existing university resources. It will create a resource for connecting with developers, publishers, and distributors, and organise an event to foster industry partnerships.
Understanding the Barriers to Spinning Out Arts-Based Ventures
The project explores the barriers to arts-based ventures spinning out from universities. It will identify challenges such as institutional resistance due to unclear intellectual property (IP) structures and consultancy-based business models.
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Phase 2
A human centric research of skills and decision making capacity
Led by researchers from the RCA, Cranfield, and Manchester Metropolitan, the project team are building a business case to bring sustainable fashion garment manufacturing back to the UK.
Phase 2
ABaCuss Phase 2
Creating meaningful intrapreneurial placements and training for researchers.
Phase 3
APPLE
This project will explore how systems underpinning academic career progression can be better aligned to support meaningful engagement with Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
Phase 2
Apple – Academic Promotion Pathways linked to Enterprise
Aligning academic career progression through systematic change.
Phase 2
Applying social science to early-stage innovation to reduce environmental harms
Preparatory research for environmental start-ups grounded in robust research.
Phase 2
ARC Accelerator Phase 2: Accelerator for Shape Ventures
The first accelerator dedicated to building SHAPE ventures.
Phase 2
Artifical Intelligence in Arbitration: Ethical considerations
Ensuring the careful and ethically appropriate integration of AI technologies.
Phase 3
Artificial Intelligence in Arbitration: Ethical Considerations
This project will allow researchers to engage with the relevant commercial stakeholders (specifically AI firms, law firms and arbitral institutions) to ensure the careful and ethically appropriate integration of AI technologies into commercial arbitration processes through the application of the academic research conducted by the authors.
Phase 3
Aspect Angels
Aspect Angels is a first-of-its-kind network that builds pathways from ideas and research through to commercialisation via angel investment.
Phase 1
Aspect Research Commercialisation (ARC) Accelerator
Aspect’s accelerator programme for social science academics and researchers.
Phase 1
Aspect Student Accelerator Programme (ASAP)
Aspect’s social sciences student and alumni accelerator programme.
Phase 2
Aspect Translational Impact Acceleration Hub (TIAH) Phase 2
Generating frameworks for more efficient business-scaling support to academics.
Phase 3
Aspect Translational Impact Acceleration Hub (TIAH) Phase 3
As a result of the Phase 2 funding, the TIAH members developed a workable process, and an understanding of the the costs (in time and funding) required to deliver a comprehensive SHAPE commercialisation offer.
Phase 2
Bristol Impact Hub
Bringing Bristol’s professional services teams together to deliver support for SHAPE using a shared framework.
66 Testbed Projects | Page 1 of 4