From Theory to Practice : The Collaborative Model for Investing in Innovation and Energy

Innovation and Energy are likely to be two of the most attractive investment themes in the coming years. The world is moving to an increasingly technical and digital age, and the search for renewable sources of energy intensifies as the detrimental impacts of climate change increase in frequency and magnitude. There are, however, structural deficiencies with existing market mechanisms that constrain large, long-term investors from looking to invest in these areas. The ‘Collaborative Model' has emerged as a distinct model of institutional investment management that aims to re-orientate long-term investment capital more efficiently into long-term investments such as innovative companies and energy infrastructure. The Collaborative model requires an organizational mindset shift towards the long-term and centers around the importance of institutional investors to develop their social capital. We believe this can help build organizational capacity, improve knowledge sharing and ultimately form innovative, efficient vehicles for investing into the assets. From the implementation of the Collaborative model at the University of California Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents, we illustrate how beneficiary organizations can leverage their unique organizational competitive advantages for finding the most efficient access points for investments in innovation and energy. We also show that through working together, having disciplined decision-making processes and thinking innovatively, the collaborative model is not restricted just to the largest and most sophisticated institutional investors