How UKIZ reaches a view.

Method

1. 01

   How missions are selected

   Missions begin from evidence of existing British capability and a global market opportunity, assessed against nine published criteria. No numerical score is applied. A mission can be withdrawn, merged or replaced.

2. 02

   How ecosystems are mapped

   Ecosystems are curated from authoritative sources — official designations, university and research council records, company and investor disclosures and infrastructure operators. The number mapped is descriptive of current research and is expected to change.

3. 03

   How UKIZ distinguishes fact from interpretation

   Factual relationships — an investor's portfolio, a university's research centre, a designated facility — are recorded separately from UKIZ interpretation, such as whether an ecosystem is relevant to a mission. Interpretation is always labelled as such.

4. 04

   How intervention hypotheses are formed

   Each mission carries one of four positions: Connect, Accelerate, Build or Under review. The position starts at the lowest rung the evidence supports and escalates only where connection and acceleration are shown to be insufficient.

5. 05

   How evidence is graded

   Four labels are used across the site: Established evidence, Supporting evidence, UKIZ hypothesis and Requires further research. The label is applied to the claim, not to the page.

6. 06

   How UKIZ treats uncertainty

   Where evidence is missing, the gap is recorded rather than filled. Requires further research is a permitted and frequently correct answer, particularly for market size, capital gaps, commercialisation gaps, international competitiveness, regional capability and infrastructure constraints.

7. 07

   How sources are selected

   Official government, UKRI, ONS, British Business Bank, IPO, university and peer-reviewed sources take precedence. Trade press may provide context but is not the principal evidence for a material claim.

8. 08

   How views are updated

   Every mission publishes what could change our view. When a hypothesis changes, the previous position, the new position and the reason are recorded in the evidence version history.

9. 09

   How additionality is assessed

   Each proposed intervention must state what would happen without UKIZ, what additional activity is hypothesised with it, and how the difference would be tested. Relocation within Britain does not count.

Evidence grading

• Established evidenceStrong evidence from authoritative sources.
• Supporting evidenceEvidence supports the proposition but is not conclusive.
• UKIZ hypothesisUKIZ interpretation requiring further testing.
• Requires further researchInsufficient evidence to draw a strong conclusion.

Sourcing standard

• Official government publications, UKRI, ONS, the British Business Bank and the Intellectual Property Office are treated as primary evidence.
• Universities, official company and investor disclosures and peer-reviewed research are treated as primary evidence for their own activity.
• Trade press and commercial data providers may support context but are not used as the principal evidence for a material claim.
• Where no adequate source exists, the claim is labelled Requires further research rather than filled with persuasive prose.

Definitions

• UK Innovation ZoneThe overall concept: a mission-led ecosystem, not necessarily a bounded piece of land or a single government designation.
• MissionThe opportunity being organised around — the economic or strategic outcome Britain could pursue.
• Ecosystem / clusterAn existing concentration of capability that already exists in a place, mapped by UKIZ from authoritative evidence.
• Hub / campus / infrastructurePhysical intervention — buildings, laboratories, compute, testbeds, manufacturing. Only proposed where evidence supports it.

Version history

Changes of view are recorded rather than quietly edited. This history is appended to, not rewritten.

• 2026-08-15 · UKIZ framing

  Previous view: 11 UK Innovation Zones presented as proposed places

  Current view: 11 proposed national innovation missions, with intervention hypotheses

  Reason: Presenting missions as predetermined places implied conclusions the evidence did not support. Physical infrastructure now has to be earned by evidence of additionality.

• 2026-08-15 · Evidence system

  Previous view: Unlabelled claims

  Current view: Four-level evidence grading applied to material claims

  Reason: Readers in government, capital and universities need to see which statements are established, which are UKIZ interpretation and which are untested.