Spin-out founders survey

We are inviting you to take part in a survey produced in collaboration with The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and His Majesty's Treasury (HMT) of university spin-out founders.

The purpose of this survey is to collect data to improve understanding of the UK spin-out process. It will be used to help inform ongoing government policy analysis, including activity associated with the Independent Review of University Spin-Outs, led by Professor Irene Tracey and Dr Andrew Williamson.

Please use the following link to complete the survey

The survey should take 10-15 minutes to complete and is now live until 12^th July 2023.

Who is the survey for?

• We are interested in the perspectives of both academic and non-academic spin-out founders.
• The survey is aimed mostly at executive leaders of spin-outs.
• Multiple founders from the same spin-out can respond to this survey, although if only one does we would suggest a former academic founder.
• If you have founded multiple spin-outs, please fill this out for just one and leave a comment at the end noting any significant differences.
• The focus of this survey is on university spin-outs. However, we are also keen to hear the views of founders who spun-out from other research organisations (for example, research institutes).  
• We are also interested in the views of potential founders who did not succeed in creating a spin-out, despite trying. If this describes you, rather than completing this survey we would appreciate you sending a short account of why your potential spin-out fell through to [email protected].

Data protection

Participation in the survey is voluntary and questions relating to personal data can be left unanswered.

Your data will be processed by a small number of analysts and policy advisors at DSIT. 

As this survey has been produced in collaboration, where necessary some data may be shared with HMT. This will not include any personal nor identifiable data and only a small number of analysts and policy advisors at HMT will have access. 

For more information on how we will process any personal data you provide and the rights you have under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) please see the Privacy Notice here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spin-out-founder-survey-privacy-notice

If you have any questions about the survey or the sharing of this data please contact [email protected].

We look forward to hearing from you to improve government policy on spin-outs.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and His Majesty’s Treasury