Innovation Archives - Page 12 of 19 - North East Local Enterprise Partnership

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is recruiting an Innovation Director to lead, animate and develop its Innovation Programme, with the aim of driving new thinking around innovation and its ecosystem in the North East of England.

This is a unique opportunity to help deliver the North East Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and define the North East as an innovation hot spot in Europe – an exemplar in ‘smart specialisation’ and open innovation systems and practice.

Working closely with board-level leaders and other professionals across a range of organisations and sectors, the Innovation Director will be accountable to the Executive Director.

To find out more and to apply for this position, please visit North East Jobs.

Two and a half years after joining the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), its Innovation Director Hans Möller is moving onto pastures new. Here he reflects on key achievements during his time in the role.

I look back at the last two and a half years with a sense of pride and a sense of sadness. Sadness to be leaving this incredible region, but pride for everything that has been achieved during my time here.

When I joined the North East LEP in March 2015 I had two aspirations; to transform the North East and help it regain its reputation as an innovation hotspot. This region led the industrial revolution and I had a very clear vision that we could do this again in a variety of ways.

As I leave, I am confident in saying that by embedding innovation as a matter of course within business, we are well on our way. One look at the smart spec areas set out in the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and we are not just performing well but thriving. And it’s thanks to a team approach that we’ve been able to achieve this.

Within the last seven days alone, it’s been announced that the North East is at the heart of the UK’s globally important offshore renewable energy sector. We’ve also just been chosen as a national testbed for a 5G trial.

These things happen by design, not by chance.

They happen through collaborations between likeminded people who place ego aside to put the region’s needs first. And it pays off.

An open mind to a new approach

The North East LEP’s team is a small one but it punches above its weight. I am grateful for the fact the Board was open to transforming its approach and to cascading smart spec thinking through all its programmes of activity, from Finance and Investment and Business Growth, right through to Skills and Enterprise Zones.

Since my arrival many projects that were previously only on paper have been realised thanks to this and our excellent partnerships. Consider the Centre for Innovation in Formulation based at NETPark, where the National Centre for Heathcare Photonics will also open next year. The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) has been instrumental in making these happen.

Newcastle’s Science Central boasts a National Innovation Centre for Ageing which is being funded by Newcastle University and the Medical Research Council.

These are just a couple of examples and there are many, many more.

Take the Innovation SuperNetwork, which two years ago was just a line in the SEP. Now it’s an eight-strong team supporting business growth and delivering inspiring events such VentureFest, Finance Camp and the Innovation Challenge.

The Innovation Observatory in Newcastle even has dashboards which allow us to measure how well or poorly the North East is performing in terms of innovation. This is critical to success because we must keep up the momentum and continue to lead from the front.

A healthy pipeline

Best of all, the work isn’t anywhere near finished yet. There is a very healthy pipeline of projects still to be delivered, including the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) near Nissan and the commercialisation of intelligent pharmaceutical packaging through a consortium that the CPI is involved in.

I really look forward to seeing the outcome of all the latest investment and to following the North East’s next steps from a short distance. As I head off, I’d like to thank those I’ve worked with for making me so welcome and wish you all the best.

Plans to position the North East as a key focus for the UK’s 5G revolution have been unveiled and will form the basis of a proposal to locate a national testbed here in the region.

The North East Combined Authority (NECA), the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Nexus, the Digital Catapult Centre and the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre have joined forces through a memorandum of understanding to develop a plan to provide mobile phone operators and technology companies with the environment they need to test out how the next generation of mobile and wireless technology can improve the delivery of a wide range of services to people and businesses.

The ‘testbed’ programme would establish the region as a location of choice for a range of potential 5G applications in areas including energy, transport and health care. This will be achieved by creating a ‘fibreoptic backbone’ around the Tyne and Wear Metro system and linking different parts of the region to provide testbed opportunities.

The Government is looking to establish the UK as a global leader in 5G enabled communications and is seeking to establish a group of testbeds to trial the technology and a range of possible applications in environments where it will be used every day. The ambition is supported by Digital Catapult, which has identified 5G development as critical in unlocking digital growth in the UK economy.

Richard Baker, North East LEP Head of Strategy and Policy, said: “Our diverse and well-connected economy means that North East England is ideally positioned to play a key role in helping the UK meet its aim of being a global leader in 5G development. Our aim is to ensure that the region can seize the economic opportunities presented by 5G by being involved in the early stage testing needed to develop national 5G capability.

“By 2030, it is estimated that the 5G enabled communications industry will be worth £198bn a year to national GDP and we want the North East to be at the forefront of this revolution, creating opportunities for local businesses and attracting new investment technology, as well as to ensure that our residents can benefit from new and improved services.”

Dritan Kaleshi, Digital Catapult’s 5G Fellow, and member of the Steering Group for the project added: “The role of the Digital Catapult is to ensure that new digital technologies deliver economic growth and new opportunities for businesses and services to the public. 5G has the potential to revolutionise each of these areas. We welcome to opportunity to work with the North East on this project which could add significant value to the UK’s work to be in the forefront of this global revolution.”

Keith Robson, Chief Operating Officer of the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre said: “The next generation of digital communications technology aims to significantly enhance the performance of digital connectivity in terms of reliability, speed and accessibility.

“This will change the way that devices can connect to each other by embedding boundless connectivity for mobile devices and online customers in the UK. 5G has the potential to transform industry and services through multiple new applications, huge data storage and critical communications capacity. We believe that the North East has a unique offer to make to this national initiative and are pleased to be working with North East partners to realise this with the support of our own regional LEP, Enterprise M3..”

Tobyn Hughes, Managing Director of Nexus, the public body which owns and runs the Tyne and Wear Metro, said: “We are delighted to be at the heart of this project, which is built on the unique infrastructure the Metro system’s region-wide fibre connectivity provides. It will enable us to test how 5G can improve transport services, but will also be able to provide the platform for testing other applications across the economy.”

The North East partners have secured initial funding from the North East LEP to develop a business case which will lead to a bid for investment in the testbed to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. If successful, the 5G mobile technology trials could see a range of opportunities for local business to engage with 5G development and see new services developed in the region.

The University of Surrey’s Government-recognised National Centre of 5G Industry Excellence is funded by major mobile phone operators and manufacturers who are looking for an environment to test the new technology which will reflect everyday conditions of use. It is backed by the Enterprise M3 LEP who have made it one of their key centres for their drive to capitalise on the growing global opportunities for Digital Enabling Technologies.

Mobile phone and internet providers say it is critically important to establish how the technology performs at a pre-commercial stage.

Councillor Paul Watson, Chair of NECA, said: “The North East partners see trials as an opportunity to be in the first wave of 5G‐enablement, improve the region’s digital infrastructure and position the North East as the first choice for inward investment in digital industries. We’re confident of producing a strong bid that will not only highlight the region’s suitability as a testbed but also demonstrate that we are primed and ready to go on this project.”

In a family ‘discussion’ lately, the subject got around to, ‘so exactly what do you do, Dad?’ The question was posed in unison by my daughter, Charlotte, and son, James, with rather inquisitive countenances. Resisting the obvious response around subsidising their existence, taxiing them around, being the fountain of knowledge on sport, embarrassing them as frequently as possible in public, etc., I pondered for a moment.

‘I network and join dots’, was my reply.
‘You do what?’ came back as a reply.

I then explained that, as subjects, innovation and entrepreneurship (they knew the context of those words having covered modules on them in their degree courses, which got us off to a flyer on this) fundamentally rely on communicating with others. In turn, this requires relationships, rapport and trust to be established to allow information to flow freely. Time must be spent creating this infrastructure. I went on to explain that without this process we would never understand the issues that people were grappling with or dreams that they were aspiring to realise, hence solutions would never be devised. As a result, the entire innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem would simply grind to a halt.

At this stage, I thought I’d better paint a ‘rich picture’ in their minds. To do this, I used the analogy of a spider’s web being spun around me – my own personal web – with strands radiating out and nodes where the strands intersect. When an opportunity (a fly) hits my web, I pop out to take a look as to where it is and which of the nodes in my network is best-placed to deal with it. It might be the one nearest the point of collision or one some way away. It is my job to find the relevant one and ‘join the dot’. However, without the strands, the web could not operate and the nodes could never be formed. The penny then dropped with the kids that it is the process of networking which creates the strands and it’s the relationships which crystallise in order to generate the nodes. The two are inextricably linked. A Eureka moment chez Lowdon!

My analogy must have worked as I am now occasionally referred to as ‘Spiderman’ by my offspring. At least there’s a little bit of an understanding where there was once a void! This represents material progress and means that they at least have a reply of sorts to give when asked by their peers, ‘so what exactly does your Dad do?’

Prof. Alan Lowdon is Chair of the North East LEP Innovation Board

A surge in Government innovation investment is under way. Laura White, Communications Manager at the Innovation SuperNetwork, finds out how regional businesses can take advantage of this by talking to local funding specialist Peter Graham who’s working with the North East BIC to ensure the area makes the most of the money.

Q. Tell us about this new wave of investment in innovation and how did it come about?

Late in 2016 the Chancellor Philip Hammond announced an extra £2bn a year of Government funds will be invested in innovation by 2020-21, a 20% increase on current funding. This rise in innovation spending is important because the UK has seen nothing like it for decades, during which time we’ve trailed well behind our international competitors in government R&D investment. It is causing much excitement as it represents a revolution in innovation funding, which could have far reaching benefits for businesses.

Q. So why now, and what does it mean for North East businesses?

The Industrial Strategy Green Paper, launched in January this year, heralds the arrival of a more interventionist Government approach to boosting economic growth in all parts of the UK. And innovation is front and centre of this, with more funding and support promised for UK businesses to develop the technologies of the future, creating jobs and prosperity along the way. The Government wants the UK to be a world-leading innovation nation, investing in technologies and sectors where we can take a global lead. To help us get there, two funding routes are being made available.

Q. Where is the new money coming from?

Firstly, the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) will invest £1bn in joint projects with businesses, supply chains and universities working together to solve global challenges and unlock the industries of the future. Technologies in focus include healthcare and medicine, battery technology, materials manufacturing, and artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, through its ‘open programme’, Innovate UK is inviting businesses of all sizes to bid for grants from £10,000 up to £300,000 for ‘disruptive’ innovation projects, developing technologies and products that shake-up existing markets or create completely new ones.

The opportunities are out there now, and look set to accelerate from 2017 onwards. Innovate UK ran an open funding competition in February 2017, with another open until August 9. And in April this year the first projects supported by the ISCF received their funding, with more bidding rounds announced in June.

Q. What does it mean for North East businesses?

Because this new money comes through national challenge funds, North East businesses must be ready to bid in direct competition with firms across the UK, from Gateshead to Glasgow, and Grimsby to Guildford. In many cases, it will mean groups of businesses collaborating to develop projects and win funding. Achieving success in this competitive environment requires strong innovation projects backed by equally strong funding bids.

Q. What support is there to access the funding?

To help the region capitalise on these crucial funding opportunities, the North East BIC is launching a brand new service to help businesses, research institutes, and universities to develop this winning combination of stand-out innovation projects and compelling grant funding bids.

As part of this November’s VentureFest North East, the BIC will be running a free workshop on how to secure UK grant funding for your innovation project, with essential tips for creating a winning bid. Register for this event here.

In the meantime, if you need advice on grant funding opportunities for your innovation project contact the Innovation Team on 0191 516 6035 or email [email protected]

About the expert

Peter Graham is a local funding specialist who has entered into a collaborative partnership with the North East BIC to help businesses to secure UK grant funding for innovation projects.

About the Innovation SuperNetwork

The Innovation SuperNetwork is a unique network supporting innovation and business growth across the North East of England. Its programme is developed with around 50 partner organisations and is supported by Innovate UK, the North East LEP, Northumbrian Water Group and the North East BIC, with part funding from the European Regional Development Fund. The Innovation SuperNetwork delivers inspiring events including VentureFest North East and FinanceCamp, helps businesses explore new opportunities through projects such as Innovation Challenge and supports collaboration by creating links between sectors and bodies of expertise.

Showcasing the North East is something we can all do very easily. So easily, in fact, I thought I’d have a go myself!

I grabbed at the chance to arrange a visit to the region for Derek Goodwin, Head of the Department for International Trade’s Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP) for which I am one of 23 Dealmakers. Derek and his colleague, GEP Senior Manager, Mike Forrest were keen to pay a visit to the North East to meet some of the key players and hear first-hand about some of the excellent research, innovation and entrepreneurship work I had been reporting in our meetings.

The support received from the North East LEP, Arch Northumberland’s John Hildreth and Julie Dodds and Business Durham’s Simon Goon was superb. An extensive day-and-a-half programme was quickly pulled together which comprised a visit to Avid Technology in Cramlington and IHC in Blyth, a river trip to see the full development and renaissance of the Port of Blyth, as well as a meeting at the Core building on Science Central with presentations from Science Central itself, NEL, Business Durham, the North East LEP (on the refreshed Strategic Economic Plan and the Innovation Programme), and Polyphotonix. The visit concluded with a mind-blowing visit to hedgehog labs in Newcastle where its VR work for Nissan was showcased and where Derek and Mike got to swap out a Nissan Leaf battery pack!

Walking Derek and Mike back to the Central Station from Generator Studios, it was clear that the GEP HQ team was mightily impressed. They had seen ‘big technology’ in Blyth, state-of-the art ICT/AI/VR technology in Cramlington and Newcastle and gained a firm understanding that all of this was underpinned by a strong, strategic direction set by the North East LEP and its supporting business development partners. The penny also dropped that all of this is also underpinned by financial support instruments designed and developed specifically for the North East Region.

The positive impact of the visit was confirmed the following week during the quarterly GEP Dealmaker get-together in London during which Derek and Mike eulogised about the North East’s rapidly growing, pan-sector innovation ecosystem and how good it is as a landing point for companies that GEP attracts to the UK. As I was quick to point out, given time constraints, we had only scratched the surface, a statement which left the duo from Whitehall Place wanting to hear and see more! Watch this space for round two!

Have a relaxing summer and remember to keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to promote the North East! It’s really easy!

Alan

Next week will see Newcastle Racecourse taken over by 400 people from a mix of big businesses, the North East’s SMEs and the public for the first Northumbrian Water Group Innovation Festival. The event will see attendees working together in a festival atmosphere to come up with innovative solutions to tackle six issues that will not only make a difference to the companies involved but also to society as a whole.

Innovation Director at the North East LEP, Hans Moller, tells us what he’s looking forward to at the Festival:

Think of all that has happened in the areas of innovation over the past ten years… Technology development is now so fast that even the most technologically-savvy among us have difficulty keeping up with the twists and turns.

Digitisation is almost everywhere in all contexts, both in our personal lives and in the business world, and the transformation of the workplace is happening at a raging speed, affecting all of us. Old jobs disappear and new digitally driven ones are added and if you’re not on board with this rapid change, you’re likely to be left behind.

It’s a bit hard to imagine that the iPhone was introduced just ten years ago. Try explaining to a ten year old that there was a time when there were neither Internet nor Smart Phones and you’ll be faced with a barrage of questions like: How did you find places you’ve not been to before? How did you find out when Coldplay’s next concert took place or how did you get a taxi booked or an airline ticket? And how on earth did you figure out how much 25% of 700 pounds was if you did not have access to a calculator on a mobile phone? What did you do in your free time if there were no online games or social media such as SnapChat or Instagram?

It’s not only new technologies and products that are being developed, but also services locally and globally. Who could imagine that the world’s largest holiday lettings company, Airbnb, does not own a single property? Or that the world’s largest taxi company does not own a single car? Or that transferring money between individuals could easily be done between two continents with one touch?

All of this also creates enormous opportunities to solve difficult challenges with the help of innovation. This could be, for example, in the areas of community development, climate change, social isolation or security.

To drive forward innovation and make it as efficient as possible, businesses must realise that we can’t continue to rely on tackling issues or developing new ideas solely within our own organisations, but we have to open up and invite in people with experience and knowledge to help us develop new ideas.

That’s why I see Northumbria Water’s Innovation Week as a brilliant example of how modern businesses must act in the future. The importance of innovation is raised internally within the company, but also externally and both parties are encouraged to collaborate openly. I am absolutely convinced that this initiative will create lots of new ideas for solutions that address difficult challenges for Northumbria Water, but also for all of us. And we are also going to have a lot of fun doing it!

You can find out more about the Innovation Festival here.

Next week will see Northumbrian Water Group host its first Innovation Festival – five days of sprint activity taking leading design thinking techniques, developed by global tech leaders, and applying them to making a real difference to people’s lives.

Nigel Watson, Director of Information Services at Northumbrian Water Group answers some questions about the festival…

What’s the innovation festival all about?

Northumbrian Water Group’s Innovation Festival is all about bringing together the brightest minds, with the right experience and expertise, to find solutions to some of our most important environmental and social challenges. We want to do this in an environment that allows creativity to flourish, with wellbeing sessions in the morning and entertainment to help people relax on an evening. The whole thing will be set in the marquee village at Newcastle Racecourse.
We’re going to be tackling issues such as flooding, water leakage, living and working in 2030, mobile workforce challenges and more.
Additionally, by running all of this activity in one place I believe we will find that ideas and inspiration will cross pollinate between the different sprint tents. Sometimes the best ideas come from somewhere totally unexpected and it’s really exciting to see this happen. We’ll even have Busy Bees, actively moving between the tents, taking ideas with them and helping this to happen.

There are six problems that you’re hoping to find solutions to by bringing big businesses together with SMEs, academia and your teams – this will be open innovation in action. Why do you think this type of collaborative working is important? Do you think we need to see more of it?

We definitely need to see more of this type of collaboration. No one person or company holds all the answers and if you ignore the experience of customers, suppliers, other businesses and academics, you close your mind to all sorts of possibilities.
The involvement of customers is particularly important for any business, because if your innovation does not meet the needs of the people who receive your service or use your product then what real use is it? You have to listen to customers to understand those needs and having them in the sprints when you’re coming up with ideas is equally valuable.
The NWG Innovation Festival is supported by IBM, Microsoft, CGI Group, BT, Reece Innovation and Ordnance Survey, with another more than 20 other organisations, from the business and academic worlds, also backing things. That shows a massive will from around the world to make this type of innovation happen and that’s incredibly encouraging.

This will be a pretty intense week – was that deliberate – do you find it helps to maintain focus?

We normally run one sprint a month, so this actually represents six months of our normal innovation schedule in one week. Sure, it’s going to be intense at times, but that’s why we’ve built everything into a festival atmosphere. It will be a week that mixes that intensity with relaxation and enjoyment.

The methodology of sprints is deliberately designed in this way, cramming the right minds into a space for a set period of time with the intention of cracking the problem. I’m sure most people have been in the situation where the process of innovation has involved a long, drawn-out series of meetings and the time from the realisation that there is a problem to the delivery of a solution has been measured in years.

With a sprint, the idea is that you walk into a room with a problem and walk back out with an idea that can be taken forward. The potential of that happening in six sprints at the NWG Innovation Festival is incredibly exciting.

You can find out more about Northumbrian Water Group’s Innovation Festival here.

Laura White, Communications Manager at the Innovation SuperNetwork, asks this question to John Hildreth, Business Growth and Investment Manager at Arch, Northumberland’s development company and member of the network.

Q. From market towns and industrial estates to far-flung farming communities and seaside spots, you work with businesses in a wide range of settings in Northumberland. Does location affect innovation?

Innovation knows no bounds. Not least the difference between the urban and rural economies. Government figures back up my personal experience as someone who works with rural businesses in Northumberland on a daily basis – these days location have little effect on levels of innovation.

There has also been a blurring of the lines between the types of industries investing in innovation in rural areas. A glance at the leading companies shaping Northumberland reveals names and sectors some might find surprising in a rural area.

Healthcare & life sciences, advanced engineering, renewable energy and even subsea & offshore are among the sectors thriving in the area, with Northumberland today being called home by businesses that have located from countries around the world.

Q. Does this mean a move away from traditional rural industries such as tourism and agriculture? Are our rural areas are becoming less distinct from our urban counterparts?

Not in Northumberland. Agricultural activities and tourism, particularly in areas such as Kielder, coastal locations and North Northumberland, still form the building blocks of the economy. But these emerging new sectors are helping the area to diversify.

Q. So why here? Why are countless innovative companies such as Piramal, Aesica, The Specials Labs and MSD, choosing to put down roots in Northumberland?

The answer is simple – it’s easier to innovate here than ever before. Of course improvements can always still be made, but many of the challenges associated with doing business in rural areas can now be overcome and opportunities can be properly harnessed:

• Connectivity. Poor internet connection used to pose a major challenge to businesses in Northumberland but services have radically changed. In fact the iNorthumberland scheme aims to bring superfast broadband to 95% of the county by the end of 2017
• Skills acquisition. Today there is a much better spread of skills across the county. Diversification in business sectors has brought new skills and expertise to the area
• Flexible working practices. Improved connectivity means employees can work remotely while remaining connected to their global customer base
• Business support. Specific support is targeted at rural businesses, for example the North East Rural Growth Network, delivered by Arch, is designed to support small rural businesses with capital investment projects. In 2015, the Rural Growth Network secured £6 million capital investment from the North East LEP.
• Quality of life. Northumberland’s lifestyle offer has always been a big draw and when you couple its coast, castles and rolling hills with the offer of a good job and connectivity, companies here can attract – and retain – world-leading talent.

Q. Given all of that, it is no surprise then to see innovative companies investing to increase their innovation capacity. Can you give us a few success stories from across the area?

We’ve lots to choose from but here are three examples of businesses we’ve supported recently to achieve their growth plans.

1. Arcinova is a leading global provider of research and development services to the pharmaceutical industry. The company has recently worked with the Arch Business team to secure rural growth funding in order to increase its capabilities by developing its Alnwick facility. The £60,000 grant will help to develop an additional revenue stream to complement their existing capabilities. The project includes the construction of a 20L API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) manufacturing plant, a suite of new drug development services and the creation of at least 30 high-quality jobs over the next few years.

The funding has helped the company to accelerate its strategy for growth as it seeks to provide world-beating technology services in contract research, development and small scale manufacturing from one site. This move will help its UK and international customers progress their projects through the drug development process efficiently and with minimum risk, which is a key consideration when innovating in the pharmaceutical sector.

2. Northumberland’s track-record in innovating in the rural economy also extends to other rural areas including Berwick-upon-Tweed where Maden Eco Ltd, a specialist in a range of renewable technologies and their different applications; is innovating in areas such as solar panel and biomass boiler installation, production of eco-friendly wood fuel, and the construction of eco-friendly homes.

3. Alongside this, Innovision Global, based near Ashington, develops products for pedestrian accessibility and safety. The product range encompasses tactile surfaces for the partially sighted, anti-slip step nosings and wayfinding systems. These products are based on a unique polymer which, when combined with a catalyst, forms an amazingly strong molecular bond with all existing floor surfaces.

Q. Can you tell us a little more about how Arch is helping to encourage innovation in rural areas?

Recognising the importance of innovation in the rural economy, Business Northumberland has embedded the theme as a key pillar across its programme of activity. Our aim is to level the playing field to ensure Northumberland based companies have the opportunities and the capability to achieve whatever they want, wherever they want to do it.
Click here to explore grant incentives in a rural location and to keep up to date with the latest funding calls.

About the author

John and the Arch team have a county-wide remit to attract investment, deliver development and implement regeneration. The Arch Business service includes tailored packages of support for businesses locating in Northumberland as well as a dedicated service to help local businesses realise their growth potential. These services include Business Northumberland a fully funded business support programme, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), aimed at helping businesses understand their growth aspirations and achieve them

About the Innovation SuperNetwork

Category: Innovation

The North East LEP is recruiting an Innovation Director

In Conversation: An innovative legacy: Hans Möller reflects on his time at the North East LEP

North East bid to be national testbed for 5G trial

In Conversation: Networking and joining the dots….Professor Alan Lowdon discusses the fundamentals of innovation and entrepreneurship

How to benefit from the revolution in innovation funding

In conversation: Professor Alan Lowdon on showcasing the North East

In conversation: Hans Moller, Innovation Director, looks at the future of innovation in practice

In conversation: Northumbrian Water Group hosts its first Innovation Festival

City Limits – Does location affect innovation?