A well-run innovation programme always carries with it the risk of failure, but government has yet to define what failure is tolerable overall before its net zero objectives are jeopardised. We recognise that innovation involves a degree of risk and that a successful innovation portfolio will include both failures as well as breakthroughs. DESNZ, with other government departments, have yet to define what level of failure it could tolerate across the Framework, instead placing reliance on risk management by departments at the individual programme level. Each funding programme will have a business case including an assessment of risk. DESNZ says it has set a risk appetite for these sort of activities – ranging from medium to very high. However, the Innovation Framework does not include a clear assessment of risk against each of the priority technology areas. Recommendation 6: In reporting on progress on the priority technologies, government should include its assessment of which technologies are likely to deliver within the timescales required and those it regards as higher risk.