The London Business School (LBS) will launch a new research center for innovation and entrepreneurship as part of a partnership with accounting giant Deloitte. Deloitte’s gift and 10-year partnership, the most significant in the school’s 47-year history, will establish the Deloitte Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Neither LBS nor Deloitte has announced the exact size of the Deloitte gift, but it is thought to be at least £10m over 10 years, according to the Financial Times. The new center will focus on how innovation and entrepreneurship contribute to economic recovery and growth in the developed world and to economic development in emerging markets. It will generate new research into innovation and entrepreneurship, ranging from social innovation to financing innovation to co-creation and open innovation, and host a series of events, executive education, and networking opportunities.
“Innovation is one of the key drivers of everything that goes on in business,” Sir Andrew Likierman, London Business School dean, said in a statement. “Our aspiration is that some of the biggest new ideas in this field that combine academic rigor and successful implementation will be attributable to the Deloitte Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” he added.
According to David Sproul, who will become chief executive and senior partner at the U.K. arm of Deloitte in June, the investment makes perfect sense for a firm that is now involved in all areas of business life. Audit accounts for less than 25 per cent of Deloitte’s business, he told the FT.
“Innovation is at the heart of what we do and, with the U.K. at an economic crossroads, businesses and policymakers are seeking new ways to stimulate and sustain growth,” Sproul said in a statement. “This exciting new partnership will harness the benefits of London Business School’s leading research and education capabilities with Deloitte’s real time insights into the challenges and opportunities facing British businesses,” he continued.
For more on the new Deloitte Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, click here.
Read the full article: London Business School, Deloitte to Launch New Research Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship