Faculty
Phil Budden is a Senior Lecturer at MIT's Management School, in Sloan's TIES (Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management) Group, where he focuses on innovation ecosystems around the world, their key stakeholders, and especially, ‘corporate innovation’.
Phil co-teaches in the successful 'Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program' (REAP), an MIT global program for teams from around the globe interested in accelerating 'innovation-driven entrepreneurship'; in his related class, known as the 'Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration for Leaders' (REAL: 15.364); and on similar topics—especially ‘corporate innovation’—in a variety of executive degree and ExecEd settings.
Phil's approach combines academic, historical, and real-world perspectives on how different stakeholders—including entrepreneurs, universities, and 'risk capital' providers, alongside corporate enterprises and government policymakers—can all contribute to building successful innovation ecosystems. His background as a diplomat makes him well-suited to the 'global innovation' of REAP/REAL, the interplay among the stakeholders, and to the negotiations within the 'innovation ecosystems' (especially for Corporate and Government stakeholders).
Prior to MIT, Phil had served as a British diplomat (1993-2013), with his first decade focused on Britain's membership of the European Union (EU), involving its key economic, financial, and technology policies. After 9/11, his second decade as a British diplomat was spent in the US: first at the British Embassy in Washington (2002-2007), focused on transatlantic economic and business issues, including technology security, international science and innovation links, and trade policy; and later based in Boston (2007-2012) as Her Britannic Majesty's Consul General to New England.
Phil holds a BA and MA in history from Lincoln College, the University of Oxford; an MA in history and government from Cornell University; and a PhD (DPhil) in history and international political economy from the University of Oxford.
Featured Publication
"An MIT Framework for Innovation Ecosystem Policy: Developing Policies to Support Vibrant Innovation Ecosystems (iEcosystems)."Budden, Phil and Fiona Murray, Working Paper. October 2018.
Budden, Phil and Fiona Murray. MIT Sloan Management Review, September 2022.
Budden, Phil, Fiona Murray, Isaac Rahamim, Dylan Brown, and Nick Setterberg, MIT Sloan Working Paper 6513-21. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, May 2021.
Stebbins, Katie, Roni Zehavi, Godfrey Gaston, Phil Budden, Fiona Murray, and Lars Frølund, MIT Sloan Working Paper 6514-21. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, April 2021.
Budden, Phil, Fiona Murray, and Ogbogu Ukuku, MIT Sloan Working Paper 6515-21. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, January 2021.
Budden, Phil, and Fiona Murray, MIT Sloan Working Paper 6214-20. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, March 2020.
MIT Sloan’s Phil Budden offers tips to avoid confusing technology with innovation, trying for 10X when 10% will do, and ineffective external engagement.
MIT experts on product-led growth, increasing AI buy-in, and more.
Based on MIT's research into the science of innovation ecosystems, this course equips executives with the high-level frameworks and tools necessary to understand corporate innovation and entrepreneurship in the ecosystems around them, shift to a more effective ecosystem-based open innovation approach, and design programs to engage effectively with external stakeholders.
Innovation is a big buzzword that means different things to different people. Where do innovative and revolutionary business ideas come from? According to research by Hal Gregersen, co-author of The Innovator's DNA and executive director of the MIT Leadership Center, mastering five key skills forms the foundation for finding ideas that create value. This innovation program helps executives learn to achieve breakthrough insights through self-assessment, catalytic questioning, deep observation, diverse networking, and rapid experimentation.