Last year, a European report on venture capital funding announced that women-founded start-ups outperformed men-founded ones by 96%, nearly twice the capital productivity. Yet of all companies that received investment, only 1% were of all-women-founded companies, while 94% were of all-male-founded teams. Could the low prevalence of women VC partners—7%—be at the root of this strong bias? Why is that so and how can we change that? What are people doing already that we can learn from?

In May, we had the pleasure to reunite all of the TenU members in London. We used the time to meet George Freeman, the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation; discuss successes and challenges with government officials, and share effective practices with new and old friends and colleagues. The following set of three podcasts offers insight into some of the discussions had, with a focus on three areas that will be central during the next five-year phase.

Leading universities around the world are increasingly supporting the creation of social ventures, and funders are announcing new funding schemes to build the capacity of knowledge exchange professionals to identify and support these opportunities. TenU convened an international expert panel to find out why social innovation was a good bet, how best to support and leverage it, and how to measure the resulting impact.

On our fourth event, TenU Hosts Regional Opportunities, a panel of experts debated emerging trends in regional entrepreneurial ecosystem development. In the light of growing interest by US and UK governments in investing in and growing regional innovation hubs, TenU convened this event to find out about the wealth of opportunities in the regions, the initiatives underway to develop regional ecosystems further and the incentives needed to increase their potential.

On our third event, TenU Hosts International Investment, a panel of experts debated emerging trends in international investment. In the context of the rapid digitisation of international communication brought about by the pandemic, TenU convened this event to find out about the pros and cons of global cooperation in early-stage technology investment.

On our second event, TenU Hosts Ecosystems, a panel of experts discussed targeted initiatives and policies for the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems. The event compared New York’s ecosystem development after the 2008 financial collapse and an emerging project approach in London, building on the inaugural TenU Hosts event discussing how technology transfer might aid in the economic recovery.

As we start preparing for the next iteration of the series, ‘TenU Hosts Ecosystems’, we reflect on the inaugural event ‘TenU Hosts Economic Recovery’ held on 18th September. The series offers opportunities for US and UK policymakers, thought leaders and leading practitioners in research commercialisation to hold conversations on topical issues.