Co-creation is central to Growth Hub success

In conversation with Dinah Jackson, Business Support lead at the North East LEP

We were delighted to announce the appointment of Escher Group, working with North East-based Cobweb Information and The Roundhouse to deliver the North East Growth Hub.

As a key part of our Economic Plan, the Growth Hub will be the go-to resource for North East companies looking for business support and advice.

The online platform will list the local, national, public and private sector support available to businesses in the North East.

Primarily aimed at people looking to grow small and medium-sized businesses in the North East, the Growth Hub will also be a valuable resource for business start-ups, private sector business intermediaries and those working to provide SMEs with business support and advice.

We are excited that Escher Group have been appointed to build and deliver the Hub. They understand and support our aims and objectives around the project. They come with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in highly developed software services and are demonstrating a real passion for our business support vision in the North East.

Escher Group will be working with local companies, Cobweb Information who are developing content for the Growth Hub and design and digital consultancy The Roundhouse, who are designing the look and feel of the platform, forming a strong partnership of international and local skills, experience and expertise to create an exceptional user interface and user experience.

Feedback and involvement in developing the Hub from the business community is central to making the Hub a success. So in the next few weeks we will be launching a Beta version of the Hub for businesses to try, test and contribute to the Hub content and feature development. At this stage not all the functionality will be developed so its a great early opportunity for businesses to get involved and help shape how the Hub will work.

We’ve already been working with a range of partners on the project and that will only grow as the hub is developed over the coming year. And, whilst we are leading on its delivery, we urge the business community to enrol in the platform and drive it forward, helping us to co-create something of exceptional value to business in the North East.

This is a very exciting moment for everyone involved in the North East Growth Hub. It also marks another positive step towards delivering more and better jobs for the North East.