By Kalyan Sarma, VP of Climate, Environment, and Sustainability Commercialisation at Ploughshare, and Huw Gullick, Associate Director NOC Innovation and Engagement at National Oceanography Centre (NOC)

“Innovation” is a term thrown around so frequently that it risks losing its meaning. Company slogans, embedded in commercial strategy documents, and hailed as the answer to virtually every modern challenge – it runs the risk of being made irrelevant. This begs the question: what does innovation actually mean? More importantly, how can we ensure it drives real, measurable progress?

It’s time to take a step back. To truly harness innovation’s power, we must shift from treating it as a trendy buzzword to embedding it as a practical, impactful mindset. At its core, innovation should be about impact – the translation of ideas into outcomes that make a tangible difference. This is what innovation means to us both at Ploughshare and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) – we innovate and liberate innovation to ensure the world changes for the better. But we also observe in the outside world that, all too often, the word is used without substance.

It’s time to take the word back – with some choice advice.

Defining Innovation in Practical Terms

Innovation isn’t just about creating something new. Something new that doesn’t have real and impactful value doesn’t mean that progress has been achieved. The realisation that real innovation solves problems, meets needs, or improves on existing ways of doing things – whether through products, services, systems, or even ways of thinking – is forgotten quite often.

The difference between an idea and an invention is a prime example of confusion. An idea might be clever, but unless it’s tested, refined, and implemented in a way that brings benefit – whether to an existing process, technology, or group of people even – it remains an idea.

This brings us to another important distinction: research is not the same as innovation. Research – especially academic or scientific – is essential for generating new knowledge, testing hypotheses, and advancing understanding. No one can deny that, and we would argue that nobody is. But what many people would potentially argue, and we would argue against, is that it automatically translates into innovation. Many research institutions may appear innovative because they’re at the cutting edge of discovery – and to a point they are. However, unless their outputs are taken forward, applied, and adopted in a meaningful way to make positive change, they remain within the confines of competition and curiosity – not transformative impact.

People often picture AI algorithms, humanoid robots, or futuristic labs when they think of innovation. And, while these visuals are compelling, they don’t always reflect what innovation really looks like on the ground. In fact, real innovation can be deceptively simple: a new approach to logistics that reduces emissions; a novel data-sharing platform that streamlines emergency response to climate crises; a redesign of a product to make it more sustainable. These aren’t always headline-grabbing (and innovation doesn’t always have to be) but they make a real difference – especially when scaled.

From Research to Impact: The Role of Commercialisation

We both believe that the path to real innovation happens when research leaves the lab. Prototypes and pilot projects are important steps, but they’re not the end goal. Until a technology or idea is commercialised, deployed, and used to solve real-world problems, its potential remains untapped. Unfortunately, this is where many promising ideas remain – stuck in the so-called “valley of death” between invention and adoption. Bridging this gap requires more than technical expertise. It calls for investment, market readiness, stakeholder engagement, and a very real understanding of user needs.

Technology transfer is the process that enables this transition – turning scientific discoveries into practical tools for business, government, and society. But it’s not always straightforward. Intellectual property, regulatory hurdles, funding gaps, and cultural divides between academia and industry can all slow progress. To overcome these, we need stronger mechanisms for commercialisation: clearer pathways, better support for start-ups and spin-outs, and a more joined-up approach between innovators, investors, and implementers. Ploughshare’s mission is exactly this, and alongside the team at NOC, we’re all looking to ensure the tech transfer process is developed – innovated you might even say.

We’re acutely aware that innovation doesn’t happen in isolation. It thrives in ecosystems – dynamic networks of research institutions, businesses, government bodies, and users working together to accelerate the journey from idea to impact. Organisations like NOC, for example, are championing these ecosystems – connecting science with industry and policymakers to tackle global challenges such as ocean sustainability and climate change. By creating dedicated innovation hubs, they help ensure that new technologies don’t just sit on shelves and wither away, but are deployed where they’re needed most, to make the most positive impact and change.

Scaling Innovation for Societal and Environmental Good

We also need to remember that commercial success is important but it isn’t the be all and end all. The most valuable innovations, we believe, are those that deliver benefits for people and the planet. The globe faces urgent challenges – from climate change to inequality – and we really must expand our standard definition of innovation to include social and environmental value.

It could be creating cleaner energy systems, or designing inclusive public services. Maybe it’s developing tools to improve disaster response. In any case, innovation must contribute to progress that’s fair, sustainable, and long-lasting. But no single organisation or country can scale innovation alone. The complexity of today’s challenges requires – demands almost – international cooperation. Real impactful and for-good breakthroughs require diverse perspectives, shared resources, and joint commitment. Global partnerships not only strengthen innovation outcomes – they also speed up adoption, spread risk, and ensure solutions are culturally and contextually relevant.

Perhaps most crucially, innovation is not just about technology – it’s a mindset. It’s about being open to new ways of working, being willing to take risks, and having the resilience to learn from failure.

Human behaviours are at the core of this. Behaviours like:

• Curiosity to ask “what if?”
• Collaboration to bring together different skillsets and sectors
• Courage to challenge the status quo
• Commitment to see an idea through from thought to impact

All of these characteristics should demonstrate to anyone and everyone that innovation isn’t the sole preserve of scientists or entrepreneurs. It can happen anywhere. It can happen in boardrooms, classrooms, council chambers, and community centres. It thrives wherever there are people who want to make a difference.

Rethinking Innovation for the Future

If innovation is to live up to its promise, we must stop treating it as a label and start treating it as a culture and a frame of mind. It values real-world outcomes, it’s wary of over-hype, and most importantly it values and hopes for long-term progress over short-term wins.

This means supporting not just invention, but application. Not just breakthrough technologies, but the systems that bring them to life. Not just individual disruptors, but the networks that amplify their impact.

In the end, the measure of innovation isn’t how futuristic it looks, but how effectively it improves lives, protects the planet, and shapes a better tomorrow.