Dr Huw Vasey is a seasoned innovation consultant with over 15 years’ experience at the intersection of research and impact. Originally an academic, Huw’s background spans anthropology and geography, with a particular focus on ensuring that groundbreaking research and innovation reach the people and places where they can make a meaningful difference.

Huw joined Oxentia in August 2025, bringing a wealth of expertise in knowledge exchange and commercialisation (KEC), social innovation, and research and innovation ecosystem policy. Prior to joining Oxentia, Huw held the position of Deputy Director at the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) within UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). There, Huw led the innovation, business engagement, and commercialisation portfolio, launching the first publicly funded commercialisation programme focused on arts, humanities, and social sciences. Huw also significantly expanded funding for business engagement and innovation adoption in the social sciences, drove the growth of UKRI’s research and innovation policy programmes (such as the Innovation & Research Caucus), and strengthened the ESRC’s Impact Acceleration Accounts.

Expertise

• Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation (KEC): Strategy and delivery
• Social Innovation: Commercialisation of SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy) research; service and social enterprise research commercialisation; entrepreneurship and enterprise support for social innovation
• Research & Innovation Ecosystem Policy and Evidence: Local and regional innovation; open and responsible innovation; research and evidence for R&I policy
• Design Thinking and Complex Systems Theory for Innovation: Co-design and collaborative innovation approaches; complex systems approaches to innovation; innovating for social change
• Training and Mentoring: In KEC

Education

• PhD in Human Geography, University of Exeter
• MA with Distinction, University of Sussex
• First-Class BScEcon (Hons) in Social Anthropology, University of Wales