Celebrating the Art of Collaboration
Edinburgh’s Data-Driven Innovation programme wins Recurve-sponsored Award
Congratulations to the team of place leaders from Edinburgh for being named winners of the Collaborative Initiative of the Year at the 2025 Institute of Economic Development (iED) Awards, sponsored by Recurve.
A Blueprint for Regional Transformation
The DDI Programme stands as a powerful testament to what is possible when place leaders unite behind a shared mission.
Operating as part of the Edinburgh & South East Scotland City Region Deal, the initiative brings together a formidable coalition of six local councils and two leading universities—The University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University.
Their shared goal was ambitious: to harness data for inclusive economic growth. In a landscape where aligning academic and local government priorities is notoriously complex, DDI has not only managed to bridge organisational divides but has delivered impact at a remarkable scale:
Unlocking Investment: The programme has supported over 600 companies, enabling them to secure more than £200 million in investment—over half of which was retained directly within the region.
Building Capacity: Through the creation of six new innovation hubs, DDI has added over 55,000m² of collaborative space to the region's knowledge landscape.
Solving Real-World Problems: Beyond the numbers, the partnership has tackled critical societal challenges, from using data to enhance homelessness services to providing policymakers with real-time insights into the cost-of-living crisis.
Celebrating place leaders
At Recurve, we are dedicated to equipping place leaders to navigate change and drive enduring economic renewal. We know that the most transformative changes happen when diverse partners learn to lead beyond the boundaries of their own organisation, sector and place.
We chose to sponsor the Collaborative Initiative of the Year category because we believe that multi-sector place-based partnerships are essential for good growth across the UK. The DDI Programme exemplifies the creative collaboration required to turn regional potential into prosperity.
Sam Markey, Founder and Managing Director of Recurve, presented the prize, commenting:
"The DDI Programme is a masterclass in strategic alignment. In an era of competing pressures, it is all too easy for institutions to retreat into silos. The DDI partners chose a different path—aligning their disparate interests around a shared vision for regional prosperity.
By overcoming the technical and cultural complexities of cross-sector working, they haven’t just hit targets; they have built a resilient engine for inclusive growth that is set to deliver lasting impact. This is exactly the kind of bold, boundary-spanning leadership that Recurve exists to champion."
Professor Kim Graham, Provost of the University of Edinburgh, expressed her pride:
“This award is fantastic recognition of the impact of the DDI programme. The partnership between the universities of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt is a shining example of how place-based investment in innovation and skills can have a transformative effect on economic growth, jobs and productivity, benefiting people in the region and beyond.”
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