New Anglia Innovation Board
Wednesday 22 May, 10:30-12:30
Keplar Room, Adastral Park, Martlesham Heath
Minutes
Attended:
David Carlin
Science Director
CEFAS
Madeleine Coupe
Innovation and Sector Manager
New Anglia LEP
Prof. Mohammed Dastbaz
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
University of Suffolk
Julian Munson
Head of Enterprise Zones and Innovation
New Anglia LEP
Howard Partridge
Regional Manager
Innovate UK
Lisa Perkins
Managing Director, Research and Innovation, BT
BT
Johnathan Reynolds
Board Member
New Anglia LEP
Prof. David Richardson (Chair)
Vice-Chancellor
UEA
Bradley Rowley
Innovation and Sector Development Coordinator
New Anglia LEP
Sarah Steed
Director of Innovation and Engagement
Norwich University of the Arts
Guests:
Vimmi Hayes
Economic Development Manager
Rep. Orbis Energy
Saffron Myhill-Hunt
Innovation Funding Manager
Invest East
Apologies:
Fiona Lettice
Pro-Vice Chancellor
UEA
Helen Lewis
Director of Research and Enterprise Division
UEA
David Parfrey
Executive Chair of Anglia Innovation Partnership
NRP LLP
David Taitt
Chairman, Hethel Innovation
Rep. Hethel Innovation
1.
Welcome from the Chair: Introductions, apologies and minutes
• David Richardson (Chair) welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked BT for their hospitality.
• Apologies were noted. The background of the Innovation Board was provided for the benefit of the newest
members Norwich University of the Arts, University of Suffolk and CEFAS.
• Sarah Steed and Mohammed Dastbaz took a few moments to provide backgrounds on their respective
organisations. Each were invited to provide a more detailed outline during forthcoming Innovation Board
meetings;
Sarah Steed, Norwich University of the Arts (NUA);
NUA are renowned for their collaborations with businesses. They have recently developed a pilot that
facilitates a team of students and staff to assist business who have a specific issue that could benefit from a
new way of thinking.
The team at NUA also recently won the Employability and Entrepreneurship category at the prestigious
Guardian University Awards for their card and board game, called Profile. The game challenges students to
match real-world workplace issues to the skills and character attributes they need to resolve them.
On a personal note, Sarah also has other innovation experience gained from previous roles in the private
sector.
Mohammed Dastbaz, University of Suffolk;
University of Suffolk will be three years old in August. Over the three years, the university has seen rapid
growth; with an estimated 7000 students studying there by the end of 2019.
The university has introduced 20 new courses; mainly in STEM subjects. They work with a network of
colleges including East Coast College. They will shortly have a presence at Adastral Park through a
collaboration with BT (supported by New Anglia LEP)
Personally, Mohammed has an interest in sustainable development. He was previously a Professor of
Computer Science and conducted his PHD on the design of multimedia systems (before these were
developed and commonly used).
1a. CEFAS (New
Anglia LEP Innovatio
• David Carlin gave the attached presentation as a formal introduction to CEFAS.
• After three years as Chair of the Innovation Board, David Richardson took this opportunity to inform board
members of his intention to step down from the role. The current meeting would be his last. The Chair of the
Innovation Board will need to be an existing New Anglia LEP Board member and will be announced
following a decision at the New Anglia LEP Board meeting in June.
• The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed and accepted.
2.
Invest East
• Saffron Myhill-Hunt provided an outline of Invest East for those unfamiliar with the initiative;
Invest East is a free "investor led" programme to support Norfolk and Suffolk businesses to understand and
prepare to raise equity and other forms of finance.
They aim to provide a wide range of potentially high growth businesses with knowledge and the benefit of
others' experience to enable them to access the most appropriate type of funding for their needs. By
identifying strengths and weaknesses and optimising the investment proposal, they help those businesses to
put forward a compelling proposition to potential funders. Further information can be found at;
https://investeast.co.uk/
The first cohort of businesses have already been through a series of Investment Readiness workshops that
will culminate with a final event on 12 June when companies will have the opportunity to conduct their
pitches to the investment community.
The next cohort will commence in August, and the Invest East team will be looking to recruit companies
throughout June and July. There will be a greater emphasis to recruit companies from Ipswich and more
widely Suffolk as these were underrepresented in the previous cohort.
Action:
1.
Contact Saffron-Myhill-Hunt ([email protected]) if they are aware of any
All
companies who could benefit from the next Invest East cohort.
3.
Innovation Board workplan:
a) Innovation Board: Terms of reference
3a 2019-22-05
3a. Terms of
DRAFT Innovation B
Reference (Slides).pd
An overview of the attached paper and slide deck was provided.
During the previous Innovation Board meeting, it was outlined that the Terms of Reference would be
revisited to ensure these are robust enough to deliver the ongoing aims and future needs of the Innovation
Board.
There was a wide-ranging discussion surrounding the Terms of Reference and supporting slide deck.
Discussions points included;
-
In relation to Skills for Innovation; there was a consensus that delivery around this activity should not
replicate or overshadow the work being undertaken by the various skills boards.
-
The board should focus on innovation, and not science and innovation.
-
There was a suggestion that Cluster Development and Community Building could have a collaboration
focus and include reaching out to other LEP areas and could possibly include EU and international
entities.
-
A funding stream for innovation would be welcomed as high-risk activities often not supported
elsewhere.
-
A New Anglia LEP Innovation Strategy was recommended, where the LEP and Innovation Board was
responsible for driving innovation, and not just supporting it.
b) Activity Plan: Board Champions
3b 2019-19-02-
Board Champions.p
An overview of the attached paper was provided.
Innovation board members were asked to volunteer to champion one of the Activity Plan workstreams. As
there are more board members than workstreams, it was agreed that two board members could collaborate.
Champions would assist to drive the delivery of these activity streams within the Innovation Board and help
the LEP innovation team to shape future planning around these activities.
During the discussion, it was agreed that Cluster Development would be the next workstream to be
investigated at the next Innovation Board meeting in September. The following were agreed as champions;
Skills for Innovation - Mohammed Dastbaz and David Carlin
c) Investment in innovation
3c 2019-19-02-
3c. Investment in
Investment in Innov
Innovation (slides).p
An overview of the attached paper and slide deck was provided.
Following on from the conversation at the Innovation Board meeting in February, it was agreed that
Investment in Innovation would be the first workplan activity to be investigated.
As outlined during this session, actual innovation spend in Norfolk and Suffolk is difficult to evidence. This
stimulated further discussion around the table. The paper outlines some initiatives that could be progressed
to improve investment in innovation and facilitate collaborations. Both have been commonly identified as
required to stimulate additional innovation.
d) Innovation Forum & Ideas Foundation (LIS)
3d 2019-19-02-
Innovation Forum a
An overview of the attached paper was provided.
At the previous meeting, the Innovation Board endorsed the formation of the Innovation Forum. The
inaugural workshop is planned for Monday 17 June at John Innes Conference Centre and will be hosted by
Johnathan Reynolds. The theme of the first session will be Opportunities in Innovation, and links to the Local
Industrial Strategy (LIS) engagement activities. Invitations to around 120 individuals have been sent out,
with the expectation of around 40 individuals from various sectors, academia, and innovation focussed
organisations in attendance.
The workshop themes will provide feedback to shape the Ideas pillar of the LIS that directly relates to
innovation.
Action:
1.
Endorse revised Innovation Board Terms of Reference or recommend
Innovation Board members
amendments.
2.
Provide additional feedback of the workstream activity individuals wish to
Innovation Board members
volunteer to champion for future Innovation Board activity.
3.
Feedback additional comments and endorsement of investment propositions
Innovation Board members
outlined in the Investment in Innovation paper for LEP Executive to progress.
4.
Provide Innovation Board organisational representation at the Innovation Forum
Innovation Board members
(board member or additional representative)
5.
Provide feedback on Innovation Forum; Opportunities in Innovation workshop.
Bradley Rowley & Madeleine
Coupe
6.
Feedback future Innovation Forum workshop themes to be considered.
Innovation Board members
4.
New place branding: Update
• An update was provided on the new place branding for Norfolk and Suffolk. This remains confidential until it
launches on Friday 26 July, Adastral Park. The branding introductory video was played for those unfamiliar
with it. The branding has been designed in conjunction with Jacob Bailey.
A recent tender has been awarded to Quickfire Digital (Norfolk) and Land Communication (Suffolk) to
produce a new website and marketing collateral to promote Norfolk and Suffolk and facilitate investment into
the area. Land Communication have previous experience working with economic development agencies.
A brochure style website will be launched at the same time as the place branding, with additional website
functionality and campaigns implemented over the forthcoming months.
5.
Sector Industry Councils: New structures being implemented
Item 5. Industry
Council Structure.pd
An overview of the attached paper was provided.
Over the forthcoming months, New Anglia LEP will be implementing new industry councils for key sectors in
Norfolk and Suffolk; Agri-food, Digital/ ICT, and Energy. Each industry council will have a uniform structure.
This includes an innovation thematic/ task and finish group. Membership of these groups can come from the
main council, or external representatives (including companies). This would depend on the activity being
delivered. The innovation groups could lead to cross sector activity. They could also be utilised as an
additional link to the Innovation Board in the same way as the Innovation Forum.
All three industry councils should be implemented by the Autumn, with the Agri-food Industry Council being
the last to convene on Wednesday 17 September.
6.
Innovative Projects Fund & Growth Fund: Updates
6 2019-19-02
Innovative Projects a
An overview of the attached paper was provided.
There has been a significant focus on funding projects relating to digital innovation and skills.
In addition to the projects outlined, others have received conditional offers but have not been confirmed to
progress further at this stage.
A second wave of the Innovative Projects Fund is expected to be advertised in the next couple of months.
This initiative is funded through pooled business rates from Enterprise Zones. There are plans to include two
additional funding partners, and this is the reason for the delay in advertising the next wave. Should this
come to fruition, the funding available to projects would increase from £500,000 to £1.5 Million.
Action:
1.
Consideration to be given of potential projects that could apply for the
Innovation Board members
Innovative Project Fund. Madeleine Coupe and Bradley Rowley are available
to assist with the scoping of any project.
7.
Innovation Board: Member update
Hethel Innovation & Orbis Energy vacancies & Innovation Board representation;
Innovation Board members were informed that Simon Coward had stepped down from his role at Hethel
Innovation and will no longer attend board meetings. Norfolk County Council will recruit against the vacancy
in due course. In the interim, David Taitt will attend Innovation Board meetings.
Innovate UK
Howard Partridge confirmed that the next Innovate UK in the East of England event will take place on
Wednesday 4 March, Norwich Research Park
There are 15 competitions currently open, this includes the Innovate UK Smart Grant programme for April
(closes Wednesday 24 July).
Applications for the next round of Strength in Places funding will open on Monday 3 June, and close on
Wednesday 9 October. There will be £26 million allocated to deliver both round 1 and 2 projects. A series of
Strength in Places workshops are currently taking place, with a session confirmed for Peterborough on 23
May. Bradley Rowley confirmed that he will be attending this workshop.
New Anglia LEP have been invited to contribute to a round 1 Strength in Places Agri-tech project being
developed by Essex University. This is one of 23 projects that have received seed funding to develop their
project ahead of a final assessment. Bradley Rowley will attend a two-day workshop in Colchester on 30-31
May to assist with shaping the project further. In addition to New Anglia LEP, representation is expected
from business, sector organisations and academia from Essex, Cambridge, Hertfordshire, and Lincolnshire.
Personal statement from the Chair
Earlier in the meeting, David Richardson announced his intention to step down from chairing the Innovation
Board. The UEA will continue to be represented by Fiona Lettuce and Helen Lewis. David Richardson will
progress the UEA Office for Students; promoting internships and employability in the region, and the
Institute of Productivity.
AOB
There was no additional business raised by Innovation Board Members.
Next Meeting: Tuesday 24 September, 14:00-16:00, The Ideas Factory, Norwich University
of the Arts, Cavendish House, 28-32 St Andrews Street, Norwich, NR2 4AE