Innovation Archives - Page 15 of 19 - North East Local Enterprise Partnership

DEFRA’s Forestry Innovation Fund is a nationwide £1 million fund to support schemes that will promote the growth of the forest industry in their region. The Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) is financed by this fund.

Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG)

Applications for the WCPG are now open. Please note WCPG is not part of Countryside Stewardship which provides other funding opportunities for creating and managing woodland.

What is the Forestry Innovation Fund?

WCPG contributes towards the costs of gathering and analysing the information land managers need to consider to ensure their proposals for productive multi-purpose woodland take account of any impacts on: biodiversity, landscape, water, the historic environment and local stakeholders.

WCPG ultimately requires production of a UK Forestry Standard compliant plan for creating the woodland that shows how any constraints and opportunities have been taken in to account.

What is eligible?

Proposals need to meet some basic criteria, being at least 30 hectares in area and showing potential to benefit the forestry sector in the long-term through the provision of timber or other wood products. We will accept applications that span multiple land holdings, though the grant is only available on land in England.

Existing native, semi-natural habitats are likely to have a high value for biodiversity, and for landscape and visual interest. This will need to be compared with the value of new woodland. Moreover there is a specific presumption against the conversion of priority habitats, such as deep peat or active raised bogs. Where the proposed planting is on semi-natural habitat the presumption is that the planting will be restricted to native broadleaved species or it will be retained as open ground adding to the forest mosaic.

Find out more.

The engineering expertise of a North East innovation centre has secured a healthcare firm major contracts in new industries.

Quality Hospital Solutions (QHS) is celebrating its contract win with an international gaming firm after teaming up with Newcastle-based Reece Innovation and its team of technical engineers.

Drawing upon diverse sector experience and technical capability, the team specialises in designing and developing innovative engineering solutions to meet the challenges and needs of small businesses through to large international companies.

For Andrew Turner of QHS that challenge came in the form of needing to redesign the beverage trolley he’d invented for a new audience. Successfully in use in hospital wards across the region, design modifications would allow him to bring the beverage trolley to new markets.

Mr Turner, whose firm is based at NETPark in Sedgefield, County Durham, said: “We needed to take a product that was serving 35-bed wards and enhance it to cater for the needs of a new market, in this case customer service and call handling.

“Capacity needed to be greater and efficiency was key. With their design and development team of engineers, plus the ability to manufacture the product, Reece Innovation were our first choice.

“The client had extremely high standards and Reece Innovation offered that quality. The redesigns were incredibly innovative producing a twin boiler trolley. We were able to reduce the cost by 50% against the market leader due to the design.

“As a small business in the North East, working with the team at Reece Innovation has given me the scope to take my product to new markets. Each step of the production process was well-managed and it was manufactured within budget. With Reece Innovation able to manage a wide range of projects we hope to work with them again.”

As the development hub of North East family firm Reece Group, managing director James Martin and his team have been supporting businesses with a range of engineering services, offering an ‘end to end’ product or equipment design, development and manufacturing resource.

Reece Innovation

With its state-of-the art facility on Scotswood Road in Newcastle, Reece Innovation is well placed to develop bespoke engineering systems, or to support clients with small-scale batch production through to volume manufacture if required.

Chris Davison, the firm’s head of business development, said: “It’s been fantastic to support a North East firm to extend their reach and working with youthful or entrepreneurial businesses in support of their growth is something we are pleased to undertake.

“We have the factory space and design capabilities to nurture young firms and serious start-ups, supporting them with engineering design and manufacturing to really grow the potential of their products.”

To find out more about the services Reece Innovation can provide visit www.reeceinnovation.com

For more information about the product visit www.beveragetrolley.com

ENDS

I am writing this blog at 35,000 feet en route from one of my favourite places in the world – Gibraltar. Why is that relevant you may ask?

My network there was established during my role as Director of the Northumbrian Lyonnaise Technology & Research Centre (NLTRC) – a key cog in the Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux international water company that once owned the Northumbrian Water Group.

NLTRC and fellow Northumbrian Water Group company, Fastflow Pipeline Services helped the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar renew the vast majority of its potable water and saline (for street cleaning and toilet flushing) network infrastructure through technology transfer and innovation. This was achieved principally from the gas sector (plastic pipes and trenchless excavation, so essential given the tight streets and density of housing).

Today, the core Gibraltar community of 32,000 and its visiting tourists enjoy the benefits of a good quality water supply and excellent water pressure; something they’ll continue to enjoy for many years to come. I am very proud of the North East’s role in Gibraltar’s sustainability and water resource management. Gibraltar loves the North East for its involvement; we are innovation partners.

To resolve the challenges posed by the project in Gibraltar required ‘early adopters’; persons willing to take a calculated risk in order to reap the benefits of new technology and working practices that would alleviate ever-increasing problems. Specifically, the UK Dependency required swift action to eradicate its mounting issues around water pressure and increasing seasonal demand.

Gibraltar is a destination that thrives on innovation – seeking to solve problems quickly and cost effectively. The key ingredients of leadership, vision and internal entrepreneurship (intrapreneurship) were to be found in abundance in the then Lyonnaise des Eaux Gibraltar senior management team (now renamed AquaGib, and still within the Northumbrian Water Group).

Manuel Perez, the then MD, and Derek Cano, the then Operations Director (and current outgoing MD), were the ‘innovation nodes’ who – in the eyes of the board – legitimised the embracement and adoption of the ‘new’ technology and working practices from the gas industry.

This allowed the company to become a prominent voice and a heralded, international ‘case study’ within the Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux global group. The ‘Gibraltar Water Company’ punched well above its weight, and rightly so!

‘dot joiners’

In an innovation context, Manuel, Derek and their teams of advocates were the essential ‘dot joiners’ linking ‘what’s possible with what’s required’; to coin a phrase by Professor Roy Sandbach, former Chair of the North East LEP Innovation Board.

The dots were further joined in Gibraltar when I spotted an opportunity to help AquaGib in the summer of 2015.

With the MOD passing more and more pipeline infrastructure to the utility, the company needed to understand the impact on the operation of its water supply system.

Step forward Chris Elliot, Geography undergraduate at Durham University and long-standing personal contact, for a 10-week summer internship to extend the computer-based water network models to simulate the flows and pressures in the system with the arrival of the new pipelines. This proved to be hugely valuable to the company and illustrates the importance of personal contacts in the innovation – ‘matching what’s possible with what’s required’ – process.

Having spent a fantastic three days in Gibralter with Derek, I am heartened by the country’s economic growth, the establishment of the University of Gibraltar and the rise of a start-up culture based on its burgeoning gaming, fintech and analytics sectors. There is a real desire to drive forward post-Brexit, something we can all take inspiration from.

Finally, on a personal note, I am particularly proud of the role North East England has played in creating the key infrastructure in Gibraltar. It has allowed the pressure to build, be well managed, and gives today’s opportunities to ability to flow. Water is very much the source of life.

By Alan Lowdon, Chair, North East LEP Innovation Board

VRTGO 2016, Europe’s leading virtual reality conference, has announced that NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) will be speaking at this year’s event.

Carri Cunliffe, VRTGO Director, said: “We are eager to hear more about how JPL is using VR, AR and MR. They are renowned for using technology in innovative ways and pushing the boundaries of what it can achieve.”

VRTGO will take place on 9 November 2016 at Baltic, Centre for Contemporary Art. Delegates will hear from leading VR experts and VR buyers on the future of VR and experience cutting edge technology used for serious applications such as automotive, modelling, training and marketing, as well as in the ever popular gaming world.

Doug Ellison, a producer in JPL’s Opslab will be speaking about some of the lab’s recent work using mixed reality. ProtoSpace and OnSight are two key projects that have enabled engineers and scientists to engage with their content in innovative yet intuitive ways. A public spin-off from OnSight, called Destination Mars, will open at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, this autumn.

In Destination Mars, visitors will explore several sites on Mars, reconstructed using real imagery from NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover, which has been exploring the Red Planet since August 2012. Buzz Aldrin, an Apollo 11 astronaut, and Erisa Hines, a Mars Rover Driver serve as “holographic tour guides” on the journey.

“Destination Mars will be the first large roll out of an MR project in a visitor attraction setting, we can’t wait to see how the public respond to using cutting edge exploration tools to walk on the red planet. I’m looking forward to sharing the lessons we learn with the VR community,” said Doug Ellison.

“The language of UX and UI in the VR world is still emerging and evolving. Meeting other creators in the space is a vital part of defining that language so that our users become familiar and comfortable with these amazing new technologies.”

If you are interested in hearing more from JPL and other world class VR speakers sign up for VRTGO 2016 www.vrtgo.co.uk

VRTGO is a leading European Conference based in the UK and produced by Secret Sauce.

The Innovation SuperNetwork, a new network supporting innovation in business across the North East is being launched by Venturefest North East with full support from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The SuperNetwork will enable organisations in all sectors to connect, supporting business-to-business collaboration and creating links between business and research bodies, catapults and innovation hubs.

It will allow people to access support, events and information which will unlock the potential for increased innovation. The SuperNetwork will incorporate a programme of events including conferences, seminars and workshops will facilitate access to innovation support and finance and will become the recognised access route to the network of research and innovation institutions, hubs, and information present within the region.

Alan Lowdon, chair of the North East LEP innovation board explained: “Innovation is a key part of the North East LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan, which ultimately aims to create more and better jobs here in the North East.

“Innovation is vital if we’re to realise the full potential of the North East economy and the new SuperNetwork will help to ensure innovation can flourish in business and enterprise across all sectors.”

Businesses, entrepreneurs and organisations in all sectors will be able to access the SuperNetwork which is being developed in consultation with partner organisations and the business community. It will provide support and information for existing business networks and their members as well as organisations and innovators seeking opportunities to build links with others.

Simon Green, Director of the SuperNetwork said: “Through this new network we will be helping organisations to access the tools they need to become more innovative in their work, whether that is funding opportunities, training or links with global, national and regional innovation partners.

“There are already some fantastic examples of innovation taking place, particularly in our smart specialisation areas of passenger vehicle manufacturing; subsea and offshore technology; life sciences and healthcare; and creative, digital, software and technology based services. The North East has the potential to be a global leader in innovation and the SuperNetwork is the next step in making this happen.”

Find out more about the SuperNetwork at supernetwork.org.uk

As Regional Manager – North East and Yorkshire & Humber, what does your new role entail?

Primarily my role is about stakeholder engagement and building our regional presence. It’s about developing relationships with local leaders driving the innovation agenda. I will also be working to make Innovate UK more accessible from a regional level and working with partners to align regional and national strategy so it works for the collective good. Where are the intersections where this alignment can maximise the return to the UK economy?

I am therefore delighted to be working with the North East LEP as there is so much great work taking place and I am keen to raise awareness of this.

How would you characterise Innovation and the sector as a whole in the North East?

From an area rich in industrial heritage, it’s fascinating to see how the region is transforming these traditional industries so they’re fit for purpose in the 21st century, or what some are calling the ‘4th Industrial Revolution’.

For example, it’s no surprise that digital technology is a thriving sector for the North East and the region is a key player when it comes to initiatives like big data and cloud computing. The adoption of these technologies across the local economy is also transforming the other sectors that they touch upon.

I have also been really impressed by the joined up approach to innovation in the North East. The development of Science Central in Newcastle is a great example of strong partnership working between the local council, Universities, LEP and business community.

How can Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), work with Innovate UK and support its work?

Going back to the question above, it’s vital that we develop a joined up approach and a joint vision; something everyone is collectively working towards.

We need to look at where the regional and national innovation strategies dovetail and focus on investment and funding to support those initiatives. We need to collectively nurture successful clusters and shine a spotlight on particular business areas and geographies where this is happening. Communication is also important and we will be looking at more opportunities for joined up working whether it’s sharing intelligence or promoting support for businesses.

How will Innovate UK’s new delivery plan support and grow innovation businesses?

For the past nine years, Innovate UK has been focused on driving innovation across the UK. The new delivery plan builds on the momentum we’ve already made by focusing our work on clearer sector groups and supporting companies with a real appetite to grow.

I have already touched upon the connectivity between regional and national innovation – this is one of our five strategic priorities. We will also be looking at how we work more closely with the wider research community and maximising the work and connectivity of our National Catapult centres, which offer a real opportunity for Local Enterprise Partnerships.

We have evolved our funding models too. In the next couple of years Innovate UK will be offering loans and other forms of finance in addition to our standard grants. This is to make sure businesses get the right kind of funding at the right time and opens up the range of projects that they can apply for, allowing us to help businesses scale to their needs.

Most importantly, we have simplified what we offer making it more accessible and open. It will be clearer who businesses need to engage with and how they can make the most of our support.

What have been some of Innovate UK’s key successes to date?

To date, we’ve supported 7,600 organisations, injecting £13.1bn into the national economy – that’s a 7.3% return on investment for every pound spent. We’ve also helped create 55,000 new jobs; seven per organisation we’ve invested in.

Will Brexit impact Innovate UK’s role going forward?

It’s business as usual for us right now, and we will continue to work with colleagues across Government to assess next steps. However, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that a third of the £1bn support for research that the UK receives from Europe through programmes such as Horizon 2020, comes to UK SME businesses and technology organisations. It’s important that we continue to find ways to nurture this cornerstone of the economy.

So looking ahead, innovation must play a significant role in stimulating future economic growth as we look to access new markets abroad. It’s never been more important for us to remain focused on our delivery plan.

What can you tell us about Government’s National Innovation Plan?

All I can say for now is watch this space. We’re not sure when the plan will be launched but what I can say is Innovate UK will be publishing its sector strategies in the coming months.

For anyone that would like to know more about our sector strategies they’ll form a key part of this year’s Innovate 2016 conference (2-3 November), which takes place in Manchester. It would be great to see involvement from the North East’s innovation community, representing the strength of all the things happening here.

How will the new sector focus improve the work of Innovate UK?

It’s a chance for us to align industry needs within sector groups that have clear synergies. It will make it easier for businesses to see what we offer and how we can help them.

The four sector groups have been identified as:

Emerging and Enabling Technologies
Health and Life Sciences
Infrastructure Systems
Manufacturing and Materials

What sectors in the North East do you see as providing real economic growth moving forward? What are our USPs?

It’s probably too early into my new role to give a definitive answer but there are certainly initiatives that are attracting my attention.

There is a lot of momentum gathering at NETPark in County Durham with a cluster of businesses doing cutting edge work around advanced material development and connecting into our Catapult network. Newcastle Science Central will be home to a new National Centre for Ageing Science and Innovation, one of three new National centres announced for the site. In fact the broader offer here is truly exciting as a test bed for future cities.

Energy is another sector where the North East is excelling. From offshore wind, wave and tidal energy to advances in battery technology for the automotive industry, there is a lot happening here. This becomes even more compelling when you start looking at these supply chains across LEP boundaries and think about how to unlock synergies from Northumberland down to the Humber coast – a true Northern Powerhouse approach.

I’m really looking forward to working with colleagues in the North East, as well as in Yorkshire and Humber, to marry what’s happening regionally with innovation strategies nationally.

If I were to ask a group of undergraduates what career they’d like to go into, chances are they’d start by choosing a job involving the things they’re good at. It’s a very sensible approach; playing to one’s strengths.

In a way we’ve adopted a similar approach here at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership. Our Smart Specialisation strategy for the region is focused on sectors we believe we’re the best at. By focusing on our strengths we will not only provide strong economic growth, but also deliver more and better jobs for the North East – our primary goal.

In December 2013 the North East LEP published its Smart Specialisation report, which identified the four key areas of industry that would make up our smart specialisation areas. They are:

− Passenger Vehicle Manufacturing
− Subsea and Offshore Technology
− Life Sciences and Healthcare
− Creative, Digital, Software and Technology Based Services

Why these particular industries? Because we believe they provide the greatest potential for economic growth in the North East, both now and in the future.

One of the greatest advantages to identifying smart spec areas is the ability to focus investment. Without a strategic vision, funding can be spread too thinly across a range of industries, which ultimately waters down its impact. As we bid for more European and national funding it’s important we can ensure it has a real, measurable impact. Focusing investment into our growth areas is one of the ways we can ensure that.

Another benefit is increased inward investment. If we want to see more businesses locate here and invest in our region its important we showcase the things we’re good at. Our defined smart spec areas make it clear to potential investors that we have a strategic economic plan for the North East, one that will see our economy grow.

We’re currently in the process of segmenting our smart spec areas even more. These subsectors really shine a light on the specific areas we excel at. For example, life sciences cover a whole gamut of specialties. By breaking these down into subsectors we can really focus our efforts on key strength areas.

Ultimately what we want to achieve is more and better jobs for the North East. Here at the North East LEP we believe our Smart Specialisation strategy can help us do that. It has the support of the business community; it gives our region a clear proposition and its building confidence in our economy.

By Hans Möller, Innovation Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership

Businesses in the North East LEP area now have access to specialist hands on support to access the most appropriate types of finance required to fuel their growth.

Local businesses who are seeking to invest in their growth can access free specialist support through the North East Growth Hub to identify, compare and apply for all types of business finance. The service is impartial and objective and helps businesses to quickly, simply and transparently review over 300 business finance providers who collectively offer thousands of products covering every type of business lending from asset finance to growth finance as well as every type of secured and unsecured business financing.

Through this service, the North East Growth Hub, working alongside access to finance specialists Rangewell will help local businesses of all types and sizes to access every type of business lender in the UK including high street banks, challenger banks, specialist and boutique lenders, as well as online and alternative finance providers.

Luke Kovic, Head of Access to Finance for the North East region at Rangewell said: “Rangewell work with all types and sizes of business and we know only too well how often businesses struggle to access finance even though there are many specialist lenders out there who would be willing to provide them with appropriate and sensibly priced finance. Rangewell pride ourselves on offering an independent, in depth and in-person service to help North East businesses access finance in a simple and transparent manner allowing them to focus on doing what they do best – growing their business and supporting the local community”.

Colin Bell, Business Growth Director, North East LEP added: “Accessing finance is essential for many growing businesses, yet with so many options it is difficult for businesses to identify the right solutions for them. The North East Growth Hub now provides impartial and objective support to access over 23,000 financial products which makes it easier for businesses to identify the most competitive products and the Rangewell platform and one-to-one support provided should have a significant impact on the number of businesses successfully accessing finance’’.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is seeking reassurance that European (EU) funded projects already signed off by Government will continue to be delivered.

To date, the North East LEP area has £89.5million of its £437million EU structural funding committed to projects for the 2014-2020 period.

A further £104.5million worth of projects were put forward to Government for approval in advance of the Referendum.

Collectively these projects will support over 7,400 businesses across the North East LEP area, which covers Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, driving growth and job creation.

The funding will also support almost 30,000 local people into employment and provide those in employment with the skills they need to progress in work.

Chair of the North East LEP Andrew Hodgson said: “We are hopeful that these projects will be honoured by Government and deliver important support to businesses and local people before Brexit happens.

“It is important to realise we will not be immediately losing the opportunities that EU funding has historically brought to the North East.

“Millions of pounds of projects are still likely to go ahead, bringing new jobs and closing the skills gap in the North East. The truth is that we just don’t know yet if or when we will see changes.

“EU funding has hugely benefitted the North East over the last few decades and we are lobbying Government for clarity and seeking assurances that any potential future funding gap will be filled. We urge the Government to provide this guidance quickly to ensure opportunities to create jobs and growth are not lost.”

There is no formal Government guidance available currently following the EU Referendum result on the amount of European funding that will be available in the future for North East businesses and organisations beyond the projects already approved.

Category: Innovation

Forestry Innovation Fund

Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG)

What is the Forestry Innovation Fund?

What is eligible?

Collaboration with region’s innovation centre brings new contract win for North East healthcare firm

Reece Innovation

In conversation with Alan Lowdon, Chair of the North East LEP Innovation Board

‘dot joiners’

NASA Speaking at VRTGO 2016

New innovation SuperNetwork launched

In conversation with Dean Cook, Innovate UK Regional Manager – North East and Yorkshire & Humber

Why a Smart Specialisation strategy is delivering more and better jobs for the North East

The North East Growth Hub provides support and access to over 300 business finance providers

North East LEP seeking Government assurances on EU structural funding