£2m boost for North firms

Apr 1 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

MORE than £2m has been made available to help North East firms boost their competitiveness by working closely with the region’s colleges, universities and other academic organisations.

The £2.4m Innovation Vouchers project will encourage collaboration between SMEs and academic and engineering institutions, allowing businesses to use the vouchers to purchase support services and improve their competitiveness and efficiency.

The vouchers are being made available from today via Business Link as part of the Government’s overall Solutions for Business framework – a streamlined portfolio of business support products that are easy to identify and simple to access.

For the first time all government help for business will share an easily identifiable Solutions for Business banner and can be accessed mainly via Business Link. The aim also is to rationalise the vast array of support on offer with over 3,000 separate schemes targeted to be reduced to 30 by March 2010. Alongside Innovation Vouchers, eight other products will join the portfolio over the next few months, in an effort to improve and speed help.

Innovation Vouchers which aim to encourage small and medium-sized companies to engage with higher education institutions such as universities, Innovation Connector projects, Centres of Excellence and other Knowledge Base providers. Businesses most likely to attract support will be in the process of developing or testing a technology, product or service.

The project is being part-funded by the European Union’s ERDF Competitiveness Programme 2007-13, securing £1.2m ERDF investment which has been matched by regional development agency One North East.

The total value of any one voucher will be at least £3,000, through to a ceiling limit of £7,000, depending on the project.

One North East director of business and Industry Ian Williams said: “The North East has a lower number of businesses per head of population than the average for England.

“With a clear need to increase the region’s business stock levels, Innovation Vouchers will provide much needed support and growth for businesses in deprived areas of County Durham, Northumberland, Tees Valley and Tyne and Wear.”

Alastair MacColl, chief executive of Business & Enterprise North East, which delivers the Business Link service in the region, said: “Solutions for Business has been designed to make key business support products easier to access.”

For more information about the scheme call Business Link on 0845 600 9 006 or visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/northeast