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Dell, Accenture, Google & Microsoft feature in new research from Nesta & SEP on how corporates and startups are collaborating for success.

Many view the relationship between corporates and startups within the context of the challenged and the challenger, with the age-old metaphor of David and Goliath being too easily thrown around. Yet, is this narrative always true?

New research from Nesta, Founders Intelligence and Startup Europe Partnership is challenging this perception, 'Winning together: A guide to successful corporate-startup collaborations' looks at how corporates and startups are finding new ways to work together.

The report gathers together 11 successful case studies, including techUK members Dell, Microsoft, Accenture and Google, to showcase how collaborations are an important way for startups to scale up, with corporates acting as partners, customers, and potentially investors.

The report offers ten guidelines on how to overcome the three identified barriers to collaborations: 1) securing top level buy in, 2) stakeholder buy in and 3) how to actually engage startups.

Key findings of the report include:

• Working with tech startups has become key to corporate innovation strategies.
• Currently a third of Europe's accelerators are run in partnership with corporates from across various sectors.
• Corporates from all sectors and sizes can significantly benefit from working with tech startups. Benefits include rejuvenating corporate culture, innovating big brands, solving business problems, and expanding into future markets.
• To identify suitable programmes to work with startups, corporates should follow these 3 steps: clarify your objectives, consider the programme options, and connect potential resources.
• Successful startup programmes combine a range of smart features, including effective internal management, new incentive structures inside the corporate to engage senior management, and employees and simplified processes to make collaborations easier for startups.

Speaking at the launch event, Geoff Mulgan, CEO, Nesta, highlighted that "In business, as in nature, the big often depend on the small". The report closes with interesting examples and lessons on how policy-makers can support these collaborations and potentially facilitate public-private partnerships.