Innovate UK’s Innovate Local Buckinghamshire comes to High Wycombe
Innovate UK sees “Place” as one of its top three core strategies alongside its portfolio of support programmes and Domain leadership.
One of the key programmes that has come under its Place commitments are Innovate Locals; regional events to relay the full Innovate UK System of support in partnership with a regional business growth operation.
On the 17 September, Innovate UK collaborated with the key partners Buckinghamshire Business First and Buckinghamshire Council to deliver Innovate Local: South East at Buckinghamshire New University.
Designing a program that covers the full range of Innovate UK’s business growth products and services is a considerable undertaking. To manage this, the program was divided into three core sections: the key messages from Innovate UK and the partners, an overview of the service offer from Innovate UK and local business growth ecosystem, and supporting case-study presentations from businesses that have harnessed and capitalised on this support.
Finally, the day concluded with a series of in-depth parallel sessions, including No Limits, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, Funding on offer beyond Grant Funding, best practice on the grant application process, sector insights, and future opportunities for the Buckinghamshire region as seen from the perspective of some of the Innovate UK Sector Leads.
The event programme
The day started off with a welcome from the host university where Professor Nick Braisby, Vice Chancellor, outlined their strategy working in harmony with local business in the emerging regional cluster strengths, including Manufacturing, Built Environment and the Digital Creative Industries, to provide the quality of skill sets required to galvanise this regional opportunity. This was echoed by Ian Barham, Head of Business Partners, Buckinghamshire Council, who took the opportunity to walk through where substantial council led investments had now prepared South Buckinghamshire as a place for business growth opportunity and an attractive area for new businesses to relocate to.
David Legg, Innovate UK’s Regional Manager for the South East, presented the broader Innovate UK business support system and explained how it applies to businesses in the region, highlighting where support is available for those looking to explore it. Philippa Batting, CEO of Buckinghamshire Business First, rounded off these initial key messages as a Lead Partner to provide the overview how this active Growth Hub has set out the tailored support for business in the county, reinforcing the networking opportunities and paving the way forward to evolve the sector support that creates the thriving market place where these businesses can operate.
Keynote presentation links:
- Welcome & Introductions
- Local & National Business Support
- My Business & Innovation Journey
- Financing your Innovation Journey
- Good Grant Writing
The day continued with the “Innovation Journeys”, brought to life by local companies that have found the support they needed. Setting the scene were brief summaries of what that support looks like from Bruce McLelland (Innovate UK Business Connect), Graeme Beever (Innovate UK Business Growth), Jane Dell (Buckinghamshire Business First), and Nicola Price (Digital Catapult). The companies who showcased how they leveraged this support and how they are progressing can be found below: download their case study presentations here.
- Evan Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Complete Cyber Ltd
- Dani Haddad, Sales and Marketing Director, Agrigum International
- Angela Spang, Founder and Owner, JUNE Medical
- James Hakesley, CEO, Cube Studio
- Kym Jarvis, Director, Viridian Consultants
- Erica Yang, Founder, Chilton Computing
- Tom Hodgson, Analytic leader, Credit Nature
- Sushma Shankar, Founder, Deep Planet
Specific programmes covered on the day – find out more about Innovate UK’s products & services
Innovate UK Immersive Technology Network
Innovate UK Business Growth – for innovation-driven businesses from all sectors who want to grow at pace. Email: contact@innovateukedge.ukri.org
Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
Innovate UK Innovation Hub – all public funding and support for innovation in one place, summarised and easy to find, to save you time and effort
About Innovate Local
The Innovate Local programme is now in its sixth year and provides an unprecedented opportunity for businesses to find out more about the products and services offered through Innovate UK and our partners, that can really help guide and transform businesses.
Find out about upcoming Innovate Local events.
About Innovate UK
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the UK’s innovation agency. It works to create a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations. Its mission is to help companies to grow through their development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive and easy to navigate.