BIC has several good big ideas on the go

Nov 16 2007 By The Journal

GREATER emphasis has recently been placed on helping to establish new creative businesses and increase entrepreneurial activity in Sunderland.

Existing city-wide facilities have been continually developed and new centres have helped to further encourage the growth of high technology companies, offering a wide range of support services for businesses, as well quality accommodation.

However, one organisation, which is continuing to thrive in this changing environment, has been at the heart of entrepreneurship in the area for over a decade.

Established in 1994, the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) has helped to create more than 6,000 jobs and is home to more than 160 businesses.

The complex itself covers a 14-acre site and the accommodation includes incubator units and executive offices, as well as bio-science labs and large industrial facilities. Supporting regionwide initiatives, in addition to accommodating hundreds of businesses of wildly varied nature and sizes, the BIC provides a prestigious business location for aspirational SMEs of any size.

But perhaps more important is its dedicated and committed Business Support team which provides subjective, logical and practical advice that ensures would-be-entrepreneurs make the most of their ideas.

The BIC has also created several distinct divisions which run alongside accommodation and business support. Among these is Big Ideas, a facility set up in 2003 specifically to help stimulate innovation and enterprise.

Developed with support from One NorthEast, the Tyne & Wear Partnership, the Learning & Skills Council and Tyne & Wear Education Business Link Organisation (TWEBLO), the experts from Big Ideas work with businesses and schools regionwide, as well delivering the Big Ideas ICT Youth Challenge – a unique ICT competition for young people in the North east.

The BIC has also played an essential role in the development of Design Right Solutions. Established in 2004, and based on site at the BIC, DRS specialise in new product development, delivering a complete service from initial concept work, through pre-production prototypes, to a full project management service and product development process.

Recently, the BIC’s IT department has relaunched as CAT42. With over 20 years experience and a policy of continuous staff development, the organisation continues to provide IT support to BIC tenants, as well as a host of external customers throughout the region.

In addition, the BIC’s marketing support department is about to relaunch commercially, after five hugely successful years of providing services for business start up clients. Pulse Creative Marketing will deliver services including design and print, market research, public relations, and strategic marketing.

An independent not-for-profit organisation, the BIC works in partnership with private and public sector organisations in order to achieve its mission which “an innovative culture in the
North-East.”

David Howell, director of operations at the BIC, said: “Sunderland’s regeneration has come around as a result of years of relentless commitment, passion and team-work between different organisations. At the BIC, continuing to build on the city’s advances, as well as the wider region’s burgeoning business culture is paramount in our objectives.”

• For more information on any of the support services available from the North East BIC, contact David Howell on (0191) 516-6020.