Since launching Innovate we have received nearly 1,600 applications for support and have provided support to nearly 700 firms of varying shapes and sizes. We have played an active role in the fintech industry, and have produced policy on innovation in financial services markets.
Read: The impact and effectiveness of Innovate[1]
We need to understand the impact of Innovate on the firms we are supporting and how this promotes effective competition in the interests of consumers. We, therefore, have evaluated our effectiveness and the progress made. Early evidence suggests that our work:
- gives firms the regulatory certainty they need to develop their innovations and deliver them at speed
- improves outcomes for consumers
- encourages positive innovation domestically and internationally
This report focuses primarily on our work to encourage and support firms to deliver positive innovation to market, and its impact on firm and consumer outcomes.
We believe this represents the basis of an effective framework for evaluating the impact of regulatory interventions in areas that cannot be assessed in a purely quantitative nature.
It is still early days and there are limitations to our evaluation analysis. We expect to be able to draw clearer conclusions on Innovate's impact as firms spend more time in the market and the evidence base grows.