Creating lasting impact, opportunities and connections for South London in 2024 and beyond
In a year of political change, policy updates and innovation, BIG South London, its boroughs and partner universities had a stellar year with lots more to come in 2025.
Delivering £30m GVA to the South London economy
Since its launch in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, BIG South London has supported more than 700 businesses and organisations. These findings, along with others, were celebrated at the End of Programme Impact event in April, which was hosted at Patch Twickenham, one of the BIG South London-funded workspaces.
From delivering 7,000 sqm of commercial floor space across ten new workspaces to supporting over 700 South London businesses and creating 100 new business and higher education collaborations, the programme has had a significant economic and social impact on the region. This has led to the creation of 80 new products and services, 800 new jobs, and £30m of Gross Value Added (GVA) for the local economy.
“The BIG South London initiative was set up to address three innovation challenges: increasing productivity, improving engagement between business and our higher education partners, and addressing the lack of affordable workspace. Three years on, it’s great to see these ambitions realised and more. It’s an example of what can be achieved in South London if all parties come together with a shared goal. It’s fantastic that the 13 partner institutions attach such a high priority to supporting South London’s economic, social and environmental health,” said Mike Jackson, Chief Executive of Richmond Upon Thames Borough Council.
South London businesses received even more support
While we celebrated the programme’s impact to date, the momentum didn’t stop there. Alongside our university partners, we offered South London businesses and charities a whole new suite of support.
Thanks to funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, university partner LSBU supported cohorts of businesses within the critical areas of low carbon, circular economy and digital health and wellbeing. So far, these innovation programmes have supported 82 businesses and created 58 new business and academic collaborations.
“Being part of the Circular Economy programme has been an eye-opening and enjoyable experience. It has been a privilege to be connected with knowledgeable and open-minded people within academia.
I would recommend the programme to other businesses. It’s a great way to partner with an academic institution, which supports you and helps shape your product better or, as in my case, streamline the process and make it more efficient,”
Commented Hugo Knox, founder of ORNA who participated in the Circular Economy programme
Innovation Vouchers stimulated further valuable collaborations
Also under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the University of Roehampton and the University of the Arts London were able to offer Innovation Vouchers worth up to £5k to enable businesses and community groups to access academic expertise and facilities to aid the development of new ideas, products and services.
The University of Roehampton’s voucher scheme was tailored to business and community groups. It supported seven ventures with £35k worth of vouchers. While the University of Arts, London voucher scheme was for arts, creative and tech businesses.
Find out more about the Innovation Vouchers
The Creative and Digital Innovation Cluster was launched
Following the success of the Creative Industries Network, an initiative launched by BIG South London and Kingston University, the new Creative and Digital Innovation Cluster was created to build and nurture creative collaborations, digital innovation, and long-term business growth.
The vision of the cluster is to develop and support a vibrant and diverse creative ecosystem that nurtures and showcases the work of South London’s creatives and digital innovators. It focuses on the priority areas of innovation, connections and skills.
Find out more about the Creative and Digital Innovation Cluster
Final four workspaces opened their doors to complete the network of ten BIG South London dynamic workspaces
The opening of the Mitcham Cluster, Kingston Riverside Workspace, The Vault Morden, and REACT Centre workspaces in 2024 marks a key step in supporting South London’s business growth.
These new hubs offer flexible, high-quality spaces for SMEs, startups, and social enterprises to innovate and collaborate. With modern amenities, they provide entrepreneurs with the tools to thrive and connect. These workspaces are set to play a vital role in fostering innovation and driving economic growth across the region.
Find out more about the full suite of ten workspaces
Showing our support for South London’s health sector
The year culminated with the third annual Business Innovation and Growth Summit celebrating future health in South London. Uniting over 200 healthcare leaders, academics, innovators, entrepreneurs and investors we explored how collaboration could drive meaningful improvements in the region’s healthcare system.
Hosted at LSBU’s Electric House in Croydon, the event delivered an unrivalled opportunity to explore cutting-edge ideas, share best practices, and collaboratively shape the future of healthcare through engaging workshops and networking opportunities.
“Health and life sciences are at the forefront of addressing some of the biggest challenges of our time. Whether it’s developing new treatments, creating smarter healthcare systems or working towards Net Zero transitions. The work being showcased today is transforming how we live.” said Executive Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry, who opened the Summit.
Catch up on all the action from the event
A round-up from our partners
Looking across our partner universities, boroughs and founding organisation, the South London Partnership, there have been many exciting developments for businesses and the community of South London. Here are a few highlights:
Retrofit sat front and centre of discussions across the South London Partnership
The Department for Energy Net Zero and Security, Greater South East Net Zero Hub, the South London Partnership and the newly formed Retrofit Skills Centre, established a partnership with BIG South London to deliver a new webinar series which sought to spark discussions.
Creating the series, the partners helped businesses, landlords and members of the skilled workforce to better understand the options available to them when retrofitting properties.
Understand the Retrofit opportunity in South London
Find out more about the Retrofit Skills Centre
The most recent roundtable event at the University of Roehampton led to the creation of a retrofit roadmap document which outlines several recommendations which will inform retrofit in South London, including education and upskilling the workforce, financing and funding, and policy, planning and structure.
Read Towards a Roadmap for Retrofit
People and Skills Programme supports 800 residents in preparing to re-enter the workforce
Since launching in July of 2024, the People and Skills programme, delivered by South London Partnership, has supported more than 800 economically inactive and unemployed residents by equipping them with the skills, training and support needed to re-enter the workforce.
Funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), the programme offered wrap-around employment and skill support for South London’s residents who are facing barriers to work.
University of Roehampton-led programme helps care leavers access careers in the health sector
A partnership between the University of Roehampton and the South West London Integrated Care Board launched in May to engage 18-29-year-old care-leavers in finding careers in healthcare.
The Initiating and Supporting Care Leavers into Apprenticeships in Nursing (I-CAN) programme is improving access to higher education for care leavers whilst addressing workforce challenges in this vital sector. Through an eight-week-long training programme, and signposting and referrals onto placements and apprenticeships, participants can gain the experience and qualifications required to kickstart a life-long career in the health sector.
A previous learner commented, ‘We brought our lives, our background, our situations and we laid it out on the table and you took all of that and moulded us to accept us individually, met our individual needs and got the job done, hands down. You accepted us just how we produced ourselves to you and ensured that we got everything we needed for this journey.”
After the completion and success of their first cohort and a well-attended taster day, the programme predicts that registrations will soar to more than double their previous learners for their second cohort.
Find out more about the I-CAN programme
South West London Research Support Network Cafe supports research capacity across its first calendar year
Established by the NHS South West London Integrated Care System, this collaborative initiative aims to bring professionals, academics, community leaders and residents together to foster collaboration and support voluntary organisations and communities in engaging with research.
Hosting six vibrant Network Cafes throughout 2024 which covered topics such as ‘How to Conduct Surveys’, ‘The Importance of Evaluation’ and ‘Measuring Outcomes & Proving Impact’, the network has created a welcoming space for researchers, community groups and organisations seeking practical skills that they can implement on the ground.
Sapna Kurade, Project Manager for the Network, shared: “This past year, I have seen the power of connection through the Network Cafés. Watching participants engage enthusiastically, share ideas and leave with greater confidence in conducting their research, has been a personal highlight. Research is not just about generating knowledge; it is about bringing people together to create change that truly matters. I cannot wait to see what we achieve next.”
The momentum continues, with exciting cafés lined up throughout 2025. Find out more and get involved in the Research Café
If you would like to share your ideas, please reach out to Sapna Kurade at [email protected].
St George’s merged with the University of London
August saw the merger of two major London universities from opposite sides of the river. St George’s University Twickenham joined forces with City, University of London to become City St George’s University of London, a pioneering new partnership to enhance research capabilities across the Capital.
Unifying strengths in health, medicine and life sciences education, the partnership is expected to support large-scale research projects and attract more funding in the coming years of its establishment.
Sutton’s London Cancer Hub: Driving Innovation in Cancer Research and Collaboration
In 2024, the London Cancer Hub in Sutton continued advancing cancer research by engaging local businesses, universities, and health institutions to collaborate on new treatments and better patient care.
The Hub hosted events and created opportunities throughout the year for local organisations to partner with research initiatives, helping to accelerate the development of innovative therapies.
Expansion plans for additional research and clinical facilities are underway, solidifying Sutton’s role as a global leader in cancer research and innovation.
With all of these promising developments building deep foundations for further activity and collaborations, 2025 promises to be just as busy.
If you haven’t taken advantage of the free support on offer, there are still opportunities to get involved, see:
Our calendar is packed with interesting and timely events to boost your business.
If you’re looking for support for your business and its Net Zero journey, look no further than the upcoming ‘On the Road to Net Zero’ on 22 January at LSBU Croydon.
