[1] It is a non-departmental public body operating at arm's length from the Government as part of the UK Research and Innovation organisation.

This reconfigured the major funding mechanism as the Collaborative Research and Development Technology Programme, transformed the pre-existing Faraday Partnerships into Knowledge Transfer Networks, renamed the Teaching Company Scheme as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and set up an Advisory Board made up of 12 people from business, venture capital and regional government.

In the 2006 budget, Gordon Brown announced the intention to set up the Technology Strategy Board as a "non-departmental public body" operating at "arm's length" from the UK Government.

Under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, effective April 2018, Innovate UK ceased to report to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and became a council of the newly established UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) organisation.

Mukerjee was preceded by Ian Campbell who served as interim executive chair from early 2018[6][7] until summer of 2020;[8] [9] Campbell was preceded by neuroscientist Ruth McKernan, who held the chief executive post for the three years leading up to the transition to UK Research and Innovation.