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Trial your innovation at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park testbed

Innovators partner with SHIFT to run real-world trials that test and demonstrate the potential of new ideas, technology and products.

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Our Partners

The Testbed In Numbers

6 Million

Visitors Per Year

600

Organisations

12,000

Residents

4

Schools

6

Universities

500

Apprentices

4

London Councils

35

Trials In Progress

Accelerate Adoption, Amplify Impact

The real-world, controlled environment at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park offers the ideal conditions to test, trial and demonstrate innovative potential.

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Prove your concept by gathering real-world data and evidence

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Accelerate R&D by rapidly testing and adapting in a supportive, derisked environment

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Increase visibility with media coverage and civic, public and private engagement

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Make your innovation more fundable, scalable and effective

What’s included in a trial?

SHIFT works in partnership with local networks to open access to the area, giving innovators from all backgrounds an unrivalled opportunity to demonstrate their solution.

Testbed Access

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park contains 535,000 square metres of campuses, workspace, social spaces, venues and sports facilities of global significance — we help you deploy your innovation here.

Partnership Opportunities

Make new connections with SHIFT’s locally-based ecosystem of businesses, universities, councils and community organisations.

Best practice

Our team offers decades of experience running real-world innovation trials and will work with you to set your project up for success.

Ongoing support

SHIFT and our partners offer ongoing, tailored support throughout your trial, helping you get the most out of the project.
  • “Our trial was a really important milestone, enabling us to test the service with the public at a large and busy site for the first time.”​

    David Barwell, Capri

  • “We received substantial support from the public to tackle the issue of bike theft, as well as feedback to enhance the user-friendliness of our tech.”​

    Josh Liu, Mosa

  • “Our partnership has effectively demonstrated how innovation and inclusivity can go hand in hand to achieve greater social impact.”

    Marion Marincat, Mumbli

Who Can Apply?

We welcome innovators from all backgrounds working on city-based innovation in the climate emergency, health and wellbeing, or mobility sectors.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a startup, a big company, a university or community group — we can help make your solution an everyday reality, faster and with greater impact.

Early-stage Prototypes 

Early-stage Prototypes 

Test prototypes in a controlled environment purpose built for rapid research and development.

Scale-up Ventures 

Scale-up Ventures 

Demonstrate the scalability of established products at the district level, engaging new audiences and entering new markets.

Research Projects

Research Projects

Gather real-world data that brings the impact of academic research to life.

Community Initiatives

Community Initiatives

Explore new ways to improve outcomes for the local community,  shaping innovation with local knowledge and lived experience.

How to Launch Your Trial

SHIFT trials are designed to accelerate the scale up of innovative concepts, technology and products. Every trial follows the same five-step process:

1

Express Interest

Get in touch via our short application form, and we’ll arrange a chat.

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2

Tell Us More

If it sounds like a good fit for both sides, we’ll ask you to submit a more detailed application form.

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3

Develop Plans

If approved, we’ll work with you to finalise the plans for your trial.

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4

Live Trial

We’ll keep in touch throughout the trial to support your progress. 

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5

Learn and Grow

Post trial, we’ll work with you to evaluate learnings and share your story.

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Get access to our ecosystem of innovators, opportunities and partnerships in east London.

Join the ecosystem