The Innovation Arc, a key West Yorkshire Investment Zone innovation district, exemplifies Leeds' place-based innovation strategy.

Working with key regional partners, the Leeds Innovation Partnership will boost the city’s ambition to deliver innovation that creates a healthier, greener and inclusive future for Leeds, the region and across the globe, and will create a talent pipeline at the forefront of technological advances.

The university is also actively contributing to the regional innovation ecosystem through the delivery of long-term sustainable growth across a regional portfolio of seed funding, upskilling and early-stage support.

Working with Nexus – an innovation hub on the campus – the university has helped build a community of over 130 businesses which have raised £117.3m of private investment and secured £34.15m of grant funding, with a return on investment of £1.92 for every £1.

A West Yorkshire Mayoral Innovation Challenge, led by the university in partnership with Nesta, provides SMEs, entrepreneurs and start-ups with real-world tasks and then offers targeted support in developing a new products, services or technologies.

The university has also developed a diverse and inclusive community of more than 400 entrepreneurial innovators and researchers through a range of initiatives. These include the Innovative Entrepreneurs programme – part of the Mayor of West Yorkshire's £6 million Enterprise West Yorkshire project – in which 12 regional partners work with 75 diverse founders with innovative, high-impact ideas.

In addition, a partnership with Conception X – the UK’s leading PhD deeptech venture programme – unlocks the potential of scientific discoveries emerging from 15 researchers within the Leeds postgraduate research community. Meanwhile, the university’s Michael Beverley Innovation Fellowship has supported over 65 researchers on their innovation and entrepreneurial journey.