Oxford Oracle
Bespoke innovation services from the Oracle.
Execution and advice in Innovation, R&D, Higher Education, Business Growth and Entrepreneurship.
Services
These include just some of the common areas in which we provide counsel for select clients from around the globe.
You may be interested in considering our services in the context of our past work.
About Us
Oxford Oracle is unique: our primary driver is to engage in truly useful innovation whilst forging lasting partnerships. Whilst we appreciate that our sustainability is dependent on some financial prudence, profit is not our primary consideration.
The long chronicle of the Oracle is regrettably hazy. Our library holds a grant of letters patent from King James I which dates to the seventeenth century. That said, we are not certain that the appointee was a practicing fellow of the Oracle! Our records show that the Oracle has existed on both incorporated and unincorporated bases over an extended history. The Oracle is nothing if not pragmatic and, for a time in the early 20th Century (when UK income and profit taxes were judged to be onerous), the bulk of the Oracle’s activities were temporarily relocated to the United States. Happily, we are now safely headquartered back in Oxford (England) whilst we maintain either physical or legal presences on four continents.
Where other consultancies and advisors may need to prioritise annual or even quarterly earnings results, the Oracle is able to deploy a business model which is adaptively commercial (and, when necessary, drawing on resources accrued throughout its history) to support initiatives which are important to us even if near-term prospects are limited. Our Investment Council furnishes a number of client subsidies and speculative investments each year.
In respect to those fellows who preceded us within the Oracle, we preserve the triglyph structure as well as post titles which pay homage to the traditions of Latin rigour and scholarly monasticism. However, we are certainly not a religious organisation and, indeed, we staunchly prize our open-minded secularism which allows us to work at critical innovation axes around the globe. We respond to other frequent specific queries elsewhere.
Over 90% of our work is done with repeat clients and partners. This is abundant evidence of the value that we provide.
People
Our human expertise is paramount.
Selected experts are profiled below and on this page. Full details of the full fellowship are available on request.
Our Sophos is an expert in innovation policy and diplomacy as well as a leader in entrepreneurship development and open international innovation. He was formerly the Director of the Office of Science, Knowledge and Technology Transfer within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oman. He maintains a keen interest in wielding innovation to develop transitioning economies. He has recently been particularly active in actualising key Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies (including overseeing the production of the world’s largest 3D-printed concrete building) and in embedding blockchain-based systems at national and regional levels. He worked at senior levels within the UN Science Technology and Innovation Forum and the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development. He established a national Venture Capital Fund which he ran with great success before stepping away to focus on the private sector.
Ph.D. | Cardiff | ||
Associate Deputy Rector for Innovation and Educational Services | German University of Technology | ||
Fellow | International Science Council |
Our Quaestor is responsible for outreach and ensuring that the Oracle meets its network development goals to acquire target partners and clients on an ongoing basis. The priority for this relationship building is long-term sustainability rather than near-term profitability. He thus works closely with the Almoner in petitioning the Investment Committee to support projects that would otherwise be financially infeasible. He routinely serves as point of first contact for clients, funders, and intermediaries. He is experienced in supporting Entrepreneurship (including recent work in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands) and he holds leadership roles in various French companies. He enjoys sailing and has completed major ocean crossings both solo and with a crew.
Ph.D. | Cambridge | ||
M.Sc. | Aix-Marseille | ||
Entrepreneur in Residence | ERVA |
Our Praecentor leads in market analyses and scope audits. He is particularly experienced in supporting the business acceleration of early-stage enterprises. He is a composer who is prolific in production for chamber ensemble and orchestra and he has also worked extensively in the world of pop music. He is the Oracle’s lead for licence and royalties management. He has worked across Europe and has particular experience of the Danish innovation ecosystem.
D.Phil. | Oxford | ||
M.St. | Oxford | ||
B.A. | Salford |
Dr T is the Oracle’s lead for environmental impact assessment within the energy sector. She has worked extensively in the UK, Italy and the Middle East. She is an expert in multi-factorial analysis and marine technologies. She has especially strong links within Saudi Arabia and has held various positions within King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
D.Phil. | Oxford | ||
M.A. | Oxford | ||
C. Ecological Assessment | Sheffield |
Our Prior has led innovation change for almost 30 years. With his colleagues, he works to ensure the successful exploitation of new ideas for both social and financial benefit. He trained as a biologist and worked in research roles on the European continent before moving into academic and consultancy roles within the University of Oxford. Thereafter, he was a management consultant and Head of Biological Sciences within the Higher Education Academy (now Advance HE). Within Oxford University Innovation, he served as a lead consultant before creating a spin-out (and managing a buy-out) to form an international innovation consultancy. For several years, he served as Director of this organisation with a particular focus on technology commercialisation, innovation training, Higher Education strategy, and partnership building. He has executed numerous large commercialisation deals and overseen the establishment of several new universities. At the Oracle, he has responsibility for ensuring superlative client outcomes as well as the satisfaction of all fellows (staff). Aside from maintaining and augmenting an international network, he is perennially involved in the direct day-to-day conduct of projects.
Ph.D. | Cambridge | ||
PG. Dip. LATHE | Oxford | ||
Principal Fellow PFHEA | Higher Education Academy |
The Oracle’s Hierophant is an expert in commercialisation in the disciplines of the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. She also leads the Oracle’s competitive intelligence activities. She has worked in senior industry roles right across Europe in sectors from professional services to construction. Her diverse experience in accelerating early-stage and growing businesses has encompassed the geographies of both Western and Southern Europe, South-East Asia, and the Middle East. Her career has previously involved extensive work within world-leading universities and, beyond business and innovation, her own academic background is in linguistics.
Ph.D. | Cambridge | ||
M.Phil. | Cambridge | ||
B.A. | Bologna |
Our Dean for Institutional Relationships has a background in economics and public policy. He has served as managing consultant in Europe and Australasia to major entities working in the sectors of agriculture, defence and higher education. He holds board positions in major legal and commercial entities in India, Japan and Sweden. At various times, he has held elected political posts in India. Dr S also serves as the Oracle’s Almoner and, in this role, he convenes the Investment Committee which allows us to conduct work which would be precluded if we were to be bound by strictly commercial considerations.
D.Litt. honoris causa | Emory | ||
M.Sc. | Lund | ||
B.Com. | Victoria University Wellington |
Our Censor leads in ethical measurement, data capture and storage, and analyses of global business trends. He focussed originally on technologies within organic chemistry and polymer engineering. His subsequent leadership of a technology transfer office of a major European university stimulated much broader commercial and technological interests! He has held leadership roles within the Association of European Science and Technology Transfer Professionals and, beyond Europe, he has especially strong links with businesses and the research base in China. He is an international partner of a major investment forum for business angels and he co-founded the Balkan branch of a major international early-stage incubator programme.
Ph.D. | Belgrade | ||
RTTP | Association of Technology Transfer Professionals | ||
C. Patent Practice | World Intellectual Property Organization |
Dr H is an experienced innovation manager who worked within four international consultancies and three universities before being elected to the Fellowship of the Oracle. She has an extensive track record in the creation of new technology transfer operations and in creating policy for governments and large charities. She is a founder of Europe’s major thinktank for perspectives on innovation development. Her recent projects have focussed on incubation, innovation strategy , technology commercialisation and IP assessment, infrastructure for SMEs, and accessing finance. She is a PRINCE2 Project Management Registered Practitioner.
Ph.D. | Cambridge | ||
M.Phil. | Cambridge | ||
MBA | Vilnius |
Our Dean for Medical Affairs trained in general medicine (MBBS and MM) before specialising in clinical cardiology in both major public hospitals and private practice. These roles provided extensive auxiliary experience in both pharmaceuticals and medical devices. He has a special interest in facilitating real-world impact in the areas of indigenous health, genetics and cardiovascular imaging. He sits on senior councils and boards in Europe, greater China, and Australasia.
FRCP | London | ||
FRACP | Australasia | ||
Ph.D. | Cambridge |
Our Postulant has some 20 years of experience in international policy development, strategic communication, and stakeholder engagement. His expertise in policy advocacy and cross-cultural collaboration within global policy fora is particularly sought. Beyond policy initiation, he deploys the Oracle’s proprietary methods in monitoring and evaluation in projects across a diversity of sectors. Beyond his responsibility for our communications training, he leads on activities in the Caribbean and in Europe.
B.A. (Hons) | Politics and International Relations Kent | ||
Adjudicator | Commonwealth Secretariat (awards | ||
Political Advisor | Port of Spain, London & Washington |
Portfolio
A few examples of our past work are included below. A fuller listing can be found here.
Ecotourism and Marine Food Security Strategy for an Ecotourism Social Enterprise in the Philippines (2014–2019)
Pre-Incubator Programme to Improve Venture Capital Outcomes (2020-21)
Business Support for UK Government Local Enterprise Partnership (2017)
University Rankings Enhancement and Degree Accreditation for Emerging Middle East Institution (2016–2018)
Innovation Support Partnership in the Western Balkans for Development Bank (2017–2020)
On-Call Support for the IP Unit of a Not-for-Profit Inter-Governmental Development Organisation (2020–2021)
Contact
We would be delighted to have an exploratory discussion at any stage.
Discussions are confidential and without obligation on any side.
Our priority is establishing long-term partnerships and we have seen that the most productive initiatives may take years or even decades to bear fruit.
In principle, we are happy to join you in your journey at any point: according to your need, we can deploy rapidly or wait patiently whilst potentially assisting you to achieve stakeholder buy-in and to obtain financial support.
We do not anticipate being able to take on all projects. Equally, we quite accept that other organisations will sometimes be better placed than us to provide support. Where we are unable to assist, we will be pleased to make introductions to alternative consultancies which you may wish to consider.
web
Contact us via this web form:
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Phone
Our Oxford-based telephone reception (manned during UK business hours) may be reached via this number. Clients also have direct telephone access to their dedicated fellows.
In Person
Central Oxford
by arrangement
Most of our fellows (staff) are located in our chambers in central Oxford, England. Clients are naturally welcome to visit us. Some fellows are based in other nations and these fellows are happy to host clients or to visit client sites.
Post
Oxford Oracle
275 New North Road
London, N1 7AA
United Kingdom
Oxford Oracle Company No. 12921119
Press
Press and media enquiries should be addressed to press@oxfordoracle.org.
Kindly note that we are not able to field initial press enquiries via any other channel.