Welcome to the second European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Newsletter that has been produced by Coventry & Warwickshire's ERDF Technical Assistance Team.
The ERDF Technical Assistance team is available to provide support on further developing any ERDF project ideas you have on the four themes below within Coventry & Warwickshire:
- Supporting Research & Development (R&D) and innovation within businesses;
- Enhancing access to and the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for local businesses;
- Improving the competitiveness of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs);
- Supporting the development of the low carbon economy.
In this second edition, we detail the new innovation support services that have been launched for local SMEs.
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Innovation Support Launch Event
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Innovative Coventry & Warwickshire Programme Launch.
January 2017 saw the formal launch of a new service focused on supporting the development of highly innovative products in Coventry and Warwickshire. The Innovative Coventry & Warwickshire Programme provides support and funding for SMEs to develop and test new innovative products and services using emerging technologies.
The programme, delivered by Coventry City Council, Warwickshire County Council and Coventry University, was officially launched at Coventry Transport Museum on 31 January.
Innovative Coventry & Warwickshire offers specialist sector support and encourages colloborations between SMEs and the knowledge base and multiple SMEs to develop new products, processes and services.
The programme will operate until 31 December 2018.
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If you are interested in the programme or the support available, please contact Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub on 0300 603 747 or contact@cwgrowthhub.co.uk.
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Innovation Support From Local Universities
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Alongside the Innovative Coventry & Warwickshire Programme, four other major innovation support services have been launched.
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Product Innovation Accelerator
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The WMG SME Group is a dynamic team based at the University of Warwick, pioneering support for innovation in small and medium sized businesses. The Product Innovation Accelerator project has been created to help manufacturing SMEs in Coventry & Warwickshire and the Black Country develop new products, processes and access new technology through collaboration with WMG.
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For further details, please contact the WMG SME Group on 024 7657 4299 or email wmgsme@warwick.ac.uk.
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The project aims to help determine and shape the commercial potential and routes to market of innovative new ideas through proof of concept activity. The project provides support through grants to SMEs and university staff to enable structured proof of concept activity. The grants cover external costs relating to Intellectual Property due diligence and protection; market research, analysis and assessment; and business plan and prototype development related to an innovative new product or process.
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The project will cover SMEs based in the Coventry & Warwickshire LEP area as well as projects based within Coventry University and the University of Warwick.
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The project will raise innovation levels amongst West Midlands SMEs through grant support to groups of companies that are collaborating on the development of innovative new products, processes or services. This project is targeted at small companies who may not have applied for public funding before as the application is simple, there is a high level of support during the application process and there is a quick funding decision.
Grants can cover external development costs including parts, materials, prototype development, testing, IPR, marketing, machinery tooling etc. It can also be used to purchase skills that the network lacks.
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Innovate to Succeed
innovate 2 succeed (i2s) provides tailored support to SMEs to help them enhance their innovation management capability, resulting in increased effectiveness in generating and commercially exploiting their ideas. Beneficiaries undergo an in-depth diagnostic assessment of their business and a bespoke package of coaching/consultancy support is then designed and delivered to embed innovation management capability within the company. This improved capability will provide long-term benefit to the SME and the economy.
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For further details on Proof of Concept, Innovation Networks and Innovate to Succeed, please contact Martin Lucy on 07557 425 498 or email MLucy@cad.coventry.ac.uk.
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For more information or to provide feedback on this newsletter, please contact the Technical Assistance Team
To provide feedback, or to find out more about ERDF in Coventry & Warwickshire or how the team could help you develop your project ideas, please contact:
David Hope – david.hope@coventry.gov.uk
Telephone: 07572 180 017
Craig Perry – craig.perry@coventry.ac.uk
Telephone: 07557 425 397
Siobhan Clarke – siobhanclarke@warwickshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 07775 745 559
For further updates on the ERDF Programme in Coventry & Warwickshire, please visit http://www.cwlep.com/funding/european-structural-and-investment-funds
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Need more information about the Eurpean Regional Development Fund and the Operational Programme for England?
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