If you’re a programme director or accelerator manager, you know the challenge: how do you design and run programmes that actually move the needle for your cohort? How do you go beyond activity and engagement metrics to create real, measurable value?

In mid-February, we brought together key ecosystem leaders and shapers from Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, Southampton, London, Norwich, Liverpool, and Bristol—to explore what separates programmes that create millions in value from those that don’t, to unlock greater results.

Our starting point were insights from years of partnership work with accelerators, universities, and corporates—our seven principles for running programmes that work. With key industry players in the room, we wanted to give everyone the opportunity to validate what works in their programmes and learn from each other’s unique perspectives on what can be done differently to unlock more value.

An excellent opportunity to discuss value creation with an inspiring group of peers.
Faye Holland, Founder, Chair, Ecosystem Builder

The Premise

To make the most of the day together, we structured our exploration around three core elements—a framework we used to provide insights, reflection space, and coaching exercises for the leaders in the room.

1. Everything rests on clear outcomes. Be really clear on the programme outcomes that need to be achieved and design back from there.
2. Know how you will measure performance. Metrics reinforce everything. They tell you what’s working, what’s not, and where to adjust. They’re the feedback loop that keeps the programme targeted.
3. Enable cohort participants to thrive. Programme interactivity keeps people engaged and content relevant. Mentoring provides the focussed support to unstick blockages and turn thinking into action.

Start With Outcomes

Programmes that deliver measurable value are ruthlessly clear about what participants are there to achieve. Not what the curriculum covers, but what the key results we are designing for are.

This clarity does two things. It helps drive the programme in the right direction. And it accelerates participants’ engagement. When participants see immediately how each session maps to their actual goal, they know they need to get the most from it.

Performance Metrics: Measuring What Matters

Most programmes measure activity—attendance, engagement scores, completion rates. But some metrics separate valuable programmes from mediocre ones.

We worked through an exercise that invited participants to plot their metrics on a grid: ease of measurement on the Y-axis, importance as an outcome on the X-axis.

Our learnings: Track the outcomes that matter most to your programme regularly – through numbers, structured reflection, founder interviews, participant journeys, and the decisions they make. Report what you find back to the cohort members. Adjust your programme based on what’s actually working.

The programmes that create measurable value obsess over these outcome metrics. They understand that “founders in this cohort raised £20 million” matters infinitely more than “we had 95% attendance.”

A privilege to be able to discuss the key issues in value add at the early stage with such an illustrious group. So many actionable insights to take away.
Andrew Muir, UKI2S Managing Director, Future Planet Capital

Enable Participants to Thrive

Interactivity

The programmes creating real value don’t treat reflection as soft-skill content. They architect it as essential thinking work. Interactivity must be built into the programme.

Exercises like Future-Past reflection (generating what’s possible), Kryptonite work (naming real weaknesses), and Cohort Charters (defining ways of working and keeping each other accountable) immerse participants in the programme and give them tools for effective participation and accountability.

The pattern that emerged: when participants feel genuinely safe to be transparent about what they don’t know, what’s worrying them, where they’re stuck—the conversations shift. They move from “this is interesting” to “I need to shift this” and “I need to make a decision about this.”

Practically, this means:

Tailor to participants’ real challenges. Choose speakers who facilitate discussion over those who lecture. Create curated peer learning—treat the cohort as a valuable peer insight network.. And protect implementation time. Participants need space to act on what they’ve learned, take committed actions, and report back results.

Minimising Value Leaks

Be mindful of cracks in the programme design that make value leak. The feedback mechanism you establish with the cohort will be the most useful thing here—and will make programmes get better each month.

Fantastic session discussing how to add value in early stage businesses. Engaging delivery, built a safe space and sparked lots of discussion and ideas.
Cathy Lucas, Innovation Discovery Manager, University of Manchester Innovation Factory

Mentoring: Four Pillars of Real Value

The mentoring relationships that move the needle have been set up for success from the very beginning. See our guide on maximising mentor relationships.

Clarity and boundaries that mentors bring into these conversations allow for focused, practical value to be given.

We explored the importance of setting the relationship up for success from the very beginning, by getting on the same page in four areas: Contribution, Permissions, Boundaries and Practicalities.

It’s so great to connect with people that understand some of my challenges and have useful insights to share.
Alice Iles, Head of Tech Acceleration, Future Worlds

This is what separates programmes that create real, measurable value from those that don’t: clarity of direction and the willingness to stay responsive. Design with intention. Measure what matters. Listen to what the data and your cohort are telling you. Adjust.

Excellent cohort, amazing delivery and great value workshop.
Charo Bajo, Data and Projects Management, Oxford Science Enterprises

At Horizon37, we help accelerators, innovation hubs, and investors design and deliver leadership and growth programmes that actually deliver results. Our work turns leadership theory into business traction — helping founders lead confidently and scale successfully.