For Ecosystems
Connect shared challenges with the innovators who can solve them.
CommonSource gives innovation programmes, accelerators, universities and testbed networks a connected pathway from challenge discovery to supplier engagement, validation and deployment.
Programme overview
Connected pathway across challenges, clusters and validation
42
Challenges captured
7
Confirmed clusters
63
Suppliers engaged
9
Test environments
- Healthy and resilient public buildings6 organisationsEvidence review
- Safe discharge and home adaptation4 organisationsSupplier scouting
- Flood-resilient highways drainage5 organisationsTestbed matching
Illustrative data — for demonstration only.
Ecosystems do the hard work, then lose it at the handover.
Most programmes already produce real challenges, real suppliers and real evidence. What is missing is the connective tissue between them.
Challenges collected, then stranded
Programmes gather real needs in workshops and calls, but they rarely become structured, comparable demand that suppliers can respond to.
Suppliers engaged in isolation
Cohorts are recruited separately from the buyers who need them, so matches depend on who happens to be in the room.
Validation without reuse
Testbeds and universities produce strong evidence that never reaches the next buyer facing the same problem.
No progression output
Programmes end with a showcase rather than a documented package that can support preliminary market engagement.
Workflow
A seven-step ecosystem workflow
- 1
Capture challenges
Collect needs from public bodies in plain language with scope, constraints, timing and the outcome required.
- 2
Cluster shared needs
Group similar challenges across organisations into demand clusters. Every cluster is confirmed by a human.
- 3
Discover suppliers
Surface credible innovators with reasons, confidence levels and the unknowns still to be tested.
- 4
Build complementary teams
Form consortia where no single supplier covers the full need, with clear roles and contributions.
- 5
Validate evidence
Structure what has been demonstrated, by whom, in what setting, and what remains unproven.
- 6
Test solutions
Match solutions to physical and virtual test environments and record the results in one place.
- 7
Generate progression outputs
Produce a structured package that supports preliminary market engagement and progression into an established route.
What each participant gets
- Ecosystem operator
One connected pathway instead of separate calls, cohorts and pilots, with visibility of what is progressing.
- Challenge owner
Sees peers with the same need, credible supplier options and the next actions required.
- Innovator
Engages with aggregated, better-defined demand and knows exactly which evidence gap to close.
- Validator
Contributes structured assessments that stay attached to the solution and can be reused.
- Testbed provider
Receives well-scoped test requests with clear success measures and interested buyers attached.
The public-body journey
- 1Submit a challenge with the outcome and constraints that matter.
- 2Review the cluster of organisations sharing the same need.
- 3Assess curated innovators with transparent reasons and unknowns.
- 4Agree validation or test steps before committing to procurement.
- 5Progress into an established route, subject to authority review.
The innovator journey
- 1Publish capability, deployments and evidence in one profile.
- 2Match to clusters with the number of organisations and combined need.
- 3See the specific evidence gaps blocking confidence.
- 4Use validation or a testbed to close them.
- 5Move into a documented progression package.
Validation
Evidence and test environments in one pathway
Validation is structured so it can be reused by the next buyer, and test environments are matched to the specific gap a solution needs to close.
- Physical testbeds: live estates, wards, depots and streets.
- Virtual environments: simulation, synthetic data and sandboxed integration.
- Assessments record what was proven, in what setting, and what is still unknown.
Validation and test environments
Evidence status for a confirmed cluster
- Ventilation performance in occupied buildingsEvidence: 2 sitesConfirmed
- Integration with legacy building managementEvidence: noneGap
- Energy saving at multi-site scaleEvidence: 1 pilotPartial
Illustrative data — for demonstration only.
Governance
Secure challenge spaces
Every challenge has an explicit visibility level, so programmes can shape sensitive work privately and open it up when engagement should be fair and wide.
Public
Open challenges visible to all eligible suppliers, supporting fair engagement.
Restricted
Shared with named organisations or an invited cohort under agreed terms.
Private
Held inside a single organisation or programme while scope is still being shaped.
Ecosystem intelligence
See where demand is building and where support is missing
Aggregate views show recurring themes, supplier coverage, evidence gaps and which clusters are ready to progress — always with the underlying reasoning visible.
11
Recurring themes
3
Clusters ready to progress
2
Themes with thin supply
14
Open evidence gaps
6
Test requests matched
4
Progression packages
Illustrative data — for demonstration only.
Turn fragmented programmes into a connected innovation pathway.
See how challenge capture, clustering, supplier discovery and validation fit together.