Honouring the best we have to offer
Jan 31 2009 by Peter McCusker, The Journal
THE region's brightest and most creative innovators will be honoured at an awards ceremony next week.
As ONE North East and The Journal team up to highlight the advice and support available to local companies as part of the Real Help for Businesses Now campaign, Thursday’s awards demonstrate how public cash can help boost regional enterprise.
Launched in 2007, the Grant for Research and Development Awards celebrate the technological, environmental, innovational and commercial contributions regional firms make to the North East economy.
Administered by ONE North East, the Government's Grant for Research and Development is a grant support scheme designed to help small to medium sized enterprises carry out commercially driven research and development into new products and processes.
Since taking control of the scheme in 2005, ONE has supported 128 projects with grants totaling over £10m, securing over £14m worth of private sector finance for research and development activity.
Will Adams, head of ONE's research and development grant team, said: “After the overwhelming success of the launch awards, this year's event will be an even bigger celebration of innovation talent.
“The evening will be a celebration of the North East's best, and in these economically difficult times, it will remind everyone that we have genuine talent and world class businesses.
“The Grant for Research and Development is a highly successful scheme and an important contributor in supporting small and medium businesses to develop and grow their ideas into reality.
“In 2008 alone, the Agency awarded 43 grants, which was recognised by the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills as a particular achievement as the North East was the region with the greatest number of awards relative to its size.”
One of the 2007 winners included Visitech International from Sunderland who won the Commercial Achievement Award in recognition of the success the imaging microscopy firm achieved in translating research and development results from grant supported projects into high growth and sales over a sustained number of years.
Mr Adams added: “Visitech is indicative of the sort of high tech business we are able to support as one of the strong knowledge based businesses able to compete in the global marketplace .”
Thursday’s award ceremony will be hosted by ONE at the Newcastle’s Discovery Museum
