The IPN promotes innovation and supports technology-based entrepreneurship through activities such as coordinating and participating in European and national projects, providing support on intellectual property matters, organising business idea acceleration programmes, and fostering internal innovation within companies and other organisations.

Of particular note is its partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), through the ESA Space Solutions Portugal programme aimed at boosting the space economy, incubation programmes, funding management and brokerage technology brokerage, and with NATO through the DIANA programme.