IIPM and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Research and teaching at the Innovation and Intellectual Property Management Laboratory examine how intellectual property (IP) in a broad sense (including informal, soft IP, such as data assets) shapes the direction, diffusion, and governance of innovation, and how these dynamics contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Across projects such as the IP for Sustainability Transitions project and the Impact Licensing Initiative, and through a substantial body of publications, the laboratory advances understanding of how IP strategies and licensing models influence industrial transformation and innovation systems (SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). This includes research on open and collaborative IP approaches in sustainability transitions, as well as studies of IP in sustainable manufacturing and circular economy contexts, highlighting how different IP configurations shape technology diffusion and systemic change (SDG 13: Climate Action; SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production). Complementing this, initiatives such as the GOCIA project, developed in collaboration with OpenAir Collective, investigate how governance and IP frameworks can support climate innovation ecosystems emerging from Africa, strengthening global knowledge exchange and collaboration (SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals). 

In parallel, the laboratory develops research-led teaching and capacity-building initiatives (including training programmes on impact licensing and a British Council-funded master’s-level curriculum on IP for green innovation) which contribute to skills development and institutional capacity across international innovation ecosystems (SDG 4: Quality Education). By addressing fundamental trade-offs between exclusivity and access, particularly in global and crisis contexts, this work also engages with questions of fairness, legitimacy, and institutional design in innovation systems (SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), positioning IP as a key lever for enabling equitable and effective sustainability transitions.