New Anglia Innovation Board
Tuesday 3 December, 14:00-16:00,
University of Suffolk, Waterfront Building, Neptune Quay, Ipswich, IP4 1QJ
Agenda
1.
Welcome from the Chair: Introductions, apologies and minutes
14:00 - 14:10
Chair
a) Introducing University of Suffolk
14:10 - 14:20
Mohammed Dastbaz
2.
Discussion Item: Innovation Prospectus
14:20 - 14:50
Julian, All
3.
Innovation Board Activity Plan:
14:50 - 15:20
Chair, Maddie, Julian
a) Innovative Projects Fund
b) Innovation Sprint
c) Innovate UK Conference
d) Links to national bodies: ORE Catapult
4.
Industry Councils - links to the Innovation Board
15:20 - 15:35
Maddie
6.
Future Board Items
15:35 - 15:40
All
7.
Innovation Board:
15:40 - 16:00
All
-
Member update
-
Innovate UK
-
AOB
Invited:
David Carlin
Science Director
CEFAS
Madeleine Coupe
Innovation and Sector Manager
New Anglia LEP
Prof. Mohammad Dastbaz
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
University of Suffolk
Prof. Fiona Lettice
Pro-Vice Chancellor
UEA
Helen Lewis
Director of Research and Enterprise Division
UEA
Julian Munson
Head of Enterprise Zones and Innovation
New Anglia LEP
Vince Muspratt
Assistant Director, Growth & Development,
Norfolk County Council
David Parfrey
Executive Chair of Anglia Innovation Partnership
NRP LLP
Howard Partridge
Regional Manager
Innovate UK
Lisa Perkins
Managing Director, Research and Innovation
BT
Johnathan Reynolds (Chair)
Board Member
New Anglia LEP
Sarah Steed
Director of Innovation and Engagement
Norwich University of the Arts
David Tait
Chairman
Hethel Engineering Centre
Guests:
Vimmi Hayes
Economic Development Manager
Rep. Orbis Energy
Apologies:
Lisa Roberts
Head of Strategy
New Anglia LEP
Next Meeting: Wednesday 5th February 2020. Venue TBC
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Board Forward Plan
Date
Venue
Forward looking
Governance and
delivery
5 February
TBC
Innovate UK
Innovation Board
conference
Delivery Plan
Innovation Forum
Innovative Projects
Fund
Innovation Prospectus
May TBC
TBC
All Energy Industry
Council
Strength in Places
Fund
September TBC
TBC
Agri-Food Industry
Council
December TBC
TBC
Digital Tech Industry
Council
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New Anglia Innovation Board
Tuesday 24 September, 14:00-16:00
Board Room, Norwich University of the Arts
Minutes
Attended
David Carlin
Science Director
CEFAS
Maddie Coupe
Innovation & Sector Manager
New Anglia LEP
Prof. Mohammed Dastbaz
Dep. Vice Chancellor
University of Suffolk
Prof. Fiona Lettice
Pro-Vice Chancellor
University of East Anglia
Helen Lewis
Director of Research & Innovation Division
University of East Anglia
Julian Munson
Head Enterprise Zones & Innovation
New Anglia LEP
Vince Muspratt
Assistant Director, Growth & Development
Rep. Local Authorities
David Parfrey
Executive Chair
AIP LLP
Howard Partridge
Regional Manager
Innovate UK
Lisa Perkins
Adastral Park & Research Realisation Director
BT
Johnathan Reynolds (Chair)
Board Member
New Anglia LEP
Sarah Steed
Director of Innovation & Engagement
Norwich University of the Arts
David Tait
Chairman
Hethel Innovation
Jack Weaver
Enterprise Zone Coordinator
New Anglia LEP
Guests
Vimmi Hayes
Economic Development Manager
Rep. Orbis Energy
Prof. Andrew Lovett
Professor of Geography
University of East Anglia
Apologies
Lisa Robert
Head of Strategy
New Anglia LEP
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Welcome from the Chair - Introductions, apologies & minutes
Johnathan Reynolds (Chair) welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked NUA for hosting. The
meeting noted thanks to David Richardson for his contribution as the previous Chair of the group.
Minutes from the last meeting were confirmed as an accurate record- all actions picked up. Some
amendments to job titles and organisation names were requested.
Apologies were noted as above.
Prior to the commencement of the meeting, the group agreed to bring forward agenda item 4 to follow
on from item 2 as the two topics naturally interact. Hence accompanying papers numbered ‘3a, 3b’ etc
became ‘4a, 4b’ etc.
a) Introducing Norwich University of the Arts - Sarah Steed
Sarah welcome the board to NUA and gave a presentation on the universities work:
NUA work to combine innovation with the creative industries and make a significant contribution to creative
development in the area which in turn has a major impact on the economy of the region.
Sarah described how the university is different to ‘conventional’ universities in that they are a community of
creatives. Courses are about learning through real-life briefs. There are very few exams per se, and research at
NUA doesn’t look like traditional research at other universities. NUA are widely seen as being very innovative in
their approach to higher education. In one example of this they are pioneering the use of extended reality (XR)
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in course delivery and are even partnered with not-for-profit AIXR, the government-backed body for immersive
industries.
In an exciting development, NUA have been nominated for the prestigious Guardian University Award in the
“Buildings that Inspire” category for their campus. In addition, a new teaching facility on Duke St, Norwich is
soon to begin construction. This is an exciting £10.5m development focusing on performing arts and digital
games industry. This is particularly interesting for this board as it connects well with the tech corridor.
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Discussion Item: Climate Change
Professor Andrew Lovett from UEA gave a presentation on current and expected trends in climate change in the
East of England, and possible mitigation actions the board could explore. His presentation is complementary to a
broader climate change report published for New Anglia LEP in July 2019.
The full report can be viewed here.
Slide deck - Climate
change presentation -
Observed changes in climate from UKCP18 report coupled with new methodology allow us to look at climate
change in 30-year time periods, both in the past and currently, to examine climate variations down to 1km
spaces. It also enables new projections on the future.
In summary the most likely scenario is a 2.4 degree increase up to year 2100. Meanwhile greenhouse gas
emissions in Norfolk and Suffolk (as a contributor to national average) have actually gone up. In Norfolk this
equates to 5.4 tonnes per person and 5.6tonnes in Suffolk. To put this into context, the agreement reached at
the Paris Climate Change Conference and subsequent agreement is for no more than 1.7 tonnes per person.
In addition, 23% of greenhouse emissions in the region come from just 37 point-sources. These include expected
sources such as power generation, shipping, waste management etc. This shows the need for a truly
collaborative effort to reduce emissions.
A number of priority changes are recommended:
Adapting building stock - i.e. how we build new houses and how we make existing houses energy
efficient.
A Large percentage of homes in the region are not on the gas network, so alternative heating options
that utilise this existing network will need some serious thought. For example, hydrogen fuel delivered
in high-pressure gas mains won’t (with current infrastructure) be an option for home needed that use oil
heating.
Transport - There is need to think seriously about the use of electric vehicles in public transport
Whilst the push for electrification of transport is positive, there is still an unaddressed problem with
charging infrastructure. This is particularly acute in this region and links to another change (below)
around high voltage capacity on the energy network.
Energy sector - The region has a very diverse offer in terms of energy resources and production
Despite a varied energy sector from wind, solar, nuclear etc, distribution of the energy produced is a
problem. In Norfolk for instance; outside areas in the very south of the county and those bordering
Cambridgeshire, the electricity network does not have a single high voltage connection.
Agricultural sector
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Here we need to see better water management and enhanced carbon sequestration from existing
practices. In addition there is still huge scope for anaerobic digestion and bio-fuels.
Food processing
Despite improvements, fundamentally food production is still not very energy efficient.
In summary; all these priority changes interact with each other so any solutions need to address them in a
coordinated and collaborative way.
Discussion then followed on how the board could use this work:
On anaerobic digestion it was discussed that more progress could be made on a small farm scale although it was
noted that some large estates have made significant investments in this technology. Wider adoption depends on
incentivisation and support for farmers to invest, plus enabling a market. It was noted that both the affordability
of the capital outlay for the technology is important as well as the affordability for the consumer.
It was also noted that two of the big growth sectors in the LIS are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.
Therefore, there is a question for the group about how we match the desired growth and climate change issues
into a cohesive plan.
Action
Send link to report and slides out with minutes - JW
Action:
1
Embed link to climate change report in the minutes and include presentation
Jack Weaver/Madeleine
slides when distributing minutes.
Coupe
3
LIS - Update
Madeleine Coupe gave an overview of the LIS with all partners aware of the document in its draft form.
The LIS delivers on the place element of the national strategy. The latest draft has been circulated to partners
and it is now for government to review it. Publication of the New Anglia LIS is due end of October 2019.
Discussion:
The Board discussed future funding with a question on how the LEP will prioritise investment to deliver the LIS.
The LEP clarified that there is uncertainty around future capital funding for LEPs. New Anglia LEP has generated
revenue funding from its Enterprise Zones which it uses for programmes such as the Innovative Projects Fund.
s this is locally generated it doesn’t rely on Government.
Whatever the future landscape, it is a positive step to develop and agree an ambitious strategy which is
underpinned by set of investable projects. Once funding becomes available the region will have a ready set of
projects to bid for investment.
Conversation then moved to the issue of climate change specifically in the context of the LIS.
Whilst the LIS starts to identify options for new power generation in the region, we need to recognise where we
have less sway and need to mobilise others in other sector groups (building growth for instance) to look at
different models for development for example - energy efficient construction etc.
An example of the need for this mobilisation can be found in a current energy saving project. This multi-year
project saved 35,000tonnes of CO2. Whilst this is commendable and hugely important, the 37 point-sources in
the presentation account for 2,000,000 tonnes. There is a clear need for change en masse.
5
The group agreed that:
There is a need for the innovation board to not focus just on what is new, flashy and viewed as
innovative. Fixing existing problems to make a dent in the big numbers is more effective.
The other side of the energy challenge is the growing need for energy. Electric vehicles feature in the LIS
but infrastructure is lacking. Questions remain about how we reduce the demand from food, clothing,
vehicles, construction etc in a 24-hour consumerist society.
Cross-sector collaboration is crucial and the Innovation Board needs to be used effectively to bridge
sector gaps.
Actions
Madeleine to share UEA sustainability event details
Action:
2
Share details of UEA sustainability event with the group.
Madeleine Coupe
4
Innovation Board Activity Plan:
a) Governance Arrangements
No further comments/questions received from the group
b) Strategic Projects - Strength in Places Fund (Confidential)
The fund is a large UKRI opportunity on the translation of research into commercial opportunities. Wave 2 is
ongoing and UEA is leading a regional bid focused on regional energy coast. This is a circa £31m project with an
ask from UKRI of circa £20m.
No further comments/questions received from the group
c) Investment Paper: update paper
Paper is an update on activities since the last board meeting with some progress made on proposed projects. LIS
has also been drafted since last meeting which picks up on some of the initiatives.
Lots of work has been done to identify companies who have accessed Innovate UK funding since 2004 This has
provided lots of intelligence on innovation-active companies are doing in the region. The future plan will be to
engage more with these companies so they can be advocates for the LEP.
R&D Task and Finish Group
The LEP put forward a proposal to develop at an innovation research and development task and finish group
which links to the Business Growth Programme Partnership Board.
Broad agreement in the proposal to form the group.
New Grant Scheme
This new scheme is designed to fill a gap in Innovate UK grants which start at £25k. Typically a space where SMEs
may otherwise struggle to find funding. The decision-making process will be within the remit of a grants panel.
Discussion followed around any work to map all the grant scheme awards. Businesses may not know where to
look for all the various funding available.
David Parfrey offered to sit on the grants panel. It was also suggested that the UEA funding team could be
involved.
6
Innovation mentoring programme
A proposal to develop a mentoring support programme through which businesses can access support in writing
innovation funding bids. Innovation Board agreed in principle for a bid to the innovative projects fund. The
group agreed that each would nominate a point of contact in their respective organisations to support and
advertise the programme,
Broad support for this programme from the group
Small business research initiative event
SBRI is about leveraging public sector resources to spend on research services from business to identify
problems and take solutions through to being viable.
Recently Innovate UK went to Norfolk County Council to a meeting with people with procurement budget
responsibility. The idea was to raise awareness of the initiative and it was generally positive. SBRI works very
well regionally so there is potential to look at how this can complement other funding/support schemes from
the LEP.
d) Innovation Forum - feedback and update paper
First innovation forum was held in June 2019. Feedback from this event has been distributed.
Future forums upcoming will be announced once the new Innovation & Sectors Coordinator is in place. In
addition to this there is potential for an event at the Innovate UK conference in March.
e) Innovation prospectus
The Innovation prospectus was an output of a previous innovation board meeting. This has been paused until
such time as the LIS and place brand are completed. Hence, the process of producing this can now be
progressed.
LEP are looking to engage with all partners to develop this prospectus with a launch in March 2020. It was
confirmed that the Innovation Board will be developing this prospectus and have sign off
All agreed to endorse
Actions:
3
Send LEP declaration of interest forms out to innovation board members
Madeleine Coupe
4
Raise new grants scheme with business contact
Innovation Board members
5
Send details of any organisations keen to be involved with the new task &
Innovation Board members
finish group to Madeleine Coupe
6
Distribute draft TORs of the new task & finish group to assist organisation
Madeleine Coupe
identification for action no.5
7
Circulate work done so far to map grant scheme awards
Madeleine Coupe
8
Nominate a contact within each organisation to support new mentorship
Innovation Board members
programme
9
Nominate a contact within each organisation to support innovation prospectus
Innovation Board members
work
5
Innovation Board: Member update
Updates were provided as follows:
UOS
BT project to develop Adastral park campus has begun with an event planned for January time. Meanwhile the
first international conference on sustainability has been held in Ipswich. Interesting case studies came out of this
with a publication due in January.
7
UEA
Keen to speak to partners about the development of the Institute of Productivity. Planning to open in late 2020.
AIP
New strategy and vision for NRP has been launched and now into delivery.
CEFAS
Construction on new building is ongoing and on track. Hopefully moving in will begin in 6-weeks with a proper
opening ceremony in September 2020.
CEFAS is administering a Seafood Innovation Fund, a 3-year programme to support innovation in the seafood
sector.
Since the board meeting, CEFAS have provided the following update:
The current web link is https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-seafood-innovation-fund , but we are currently building
a new site dedicated to the fund that will be a great platform for interested parties to access all the fund info in
one place. The new site is expected in November in advance of second call for the fund at the end of Jan 2020.
Innovate UK
Greenhouse gas removal demonstrator competition is opening on 30th September, details of which can be found
online.
AOB
None
Actions
CEFAS to distribute info of seafood innovation fund
Actions:
10
Distribute further information on the UK Seafood innovation Fund
David Carlin
8
New Anglia Innovation Board
Tuesday 3 December, 14:00-16:00,
University of Suffolk, Waterfront Building, Neptune Quay, Ipswich, IP4 1QJ
Agenda Item 3a
Innovative Projects Fund
Authors: Madeleine Coupe
Summary
This paper provides some background to the 2019/20 call of the Innovative Projects Fund, a
revenue fund offered by the LEP for projects that support the delivery the Economic Strategy
and Local Industrial Strategy.
Background
Innovative Projects Fund was announced in 2018 with a first call of £0.5m for revenue
projects. Successful bids included projects in the visitor economy, offshore energy and
creative industries sectors. Further information on these projects can be found here.
Following the outcome of the first call of the Innovative Projects Fund, local authority
partners provided matched contribution through their respective pooled business rates.
A further call was announced in October 2019, with an overall pot of £1.5m.
The 2019/2020 Call
In October 2019, the LEP announced a call for innovative projects which support growth
across Norfolk and Suffolk, helping to deliver the ambitions of the Economic Strategy and
Local Industrial Strategy including the themes of inclusion and skills, our offer to the world,
driving business growth and productivity, collaborating to grow and competitive clusters
close to global centres.
This Innovative Projects Fund call brings together £500,000 from income from the business
rates generated by New Anglia LEP’s Enterprise Zones, £500,000 of pooled business rates
from Norfolk local authorities and £500,000 of pooled business rates from Suffolk local
authorities.
Projects must:
Represent new innovative activity;
Be able to demonstrate their contribution to the delivery of both the Economic
Strategy and where applicable the Local Industrial Strategy through direct and
indirect outputs;
Wholly benefit Norfolk or Suffolk residents or businesses;
Be State Aid compliant;
Be able to demonstrate the need for funding and the additionality achieved by the
funding;
9
Plug a funding gap that cannot be met by other grant programmes;
Be for revenue funding only, although purchase of small plant, equipment etc could
be admissible;
Match funding up to 50% would be an advantage, this can be match funding in kind
(e.g., staff time) but must be for new activity (existing staff positions working on the
new project must be backfilled);
Support inclusive growth.
Read the full guidance for applicants here
It is agreed that the new Innovative Projects Fund call for 2019/20 should encourage
projects that support our competitive strengths and the high growth sectors (clean energy,
agri-food and ICT/digital) thereby supporting the Local Industrial Strategy.
A 2019/20 call would again look favourably on cross-sector collaborations, where specialist
skills in one sector can drive innovation and growth in another. Furthermore, proposals for
revenue funding to accelerate the impact of LEP or council led capital schemes will also be
considered.
The assessment process will rank proposals against the following criteria.
1 Demonstration of clear fit with the Economic and Local Industrial Strategy.
2 Additionality. How is this more than business as usual. The fund should not replace
core funding.
3 Value for money. Can the project demonstrate this is good use of public money?
4 Leverage. What additional funding, public or private or in-kind support does the
project generate.
5 Impact. What will the project deliver and how innovative is the proposal?
6 Sustainability. What will happen when the funding ends?
There is already considerable interest in the fund with proposals coming from many partners
including sector groups and educational partners. The LEP Executive is engaging with
prospective applicants and happy to support the development of proposals.
Timeline:
20 December 2019 - deadline for applicants
January-February 2020 - independent project appraisals undertaken
Spring 2020 - funding decisions and announcement of successful projects
Recommendation
The Board is asked to:
Note the contents of the paper
Help promote the fund to networks
10
New Anglia Innovation Board
Tuesday 3 December, 14:00-16:00,
University of Suffolk, Waterfront Building, Neptune Quay, Ipswich, IP4 1QJ
Agenda Item 3b
Innovation Sprint: support for the ‘long-tail’ of non-innovative businesses
Authors: Madeleine Coupe
Summary
This paper gives an update following a ‘sprint’ session which looked at ideas for supporting
the ‘long-tail’ of non-innovative businesses, one of the interventions listed in the Ideas
Foundation of the Local Industrial strategy.
Background
The Ideas Foundation of the Local Industrial Strategy makes the commitment to ‘widen the
cross section of businesses innovating and investing by providing the right support and
access to finance needed to increase productivity through innovation’.
Evidence shows that although the amount of business spend on R&D is higher in Norfolk
and Suffolk than comparator areas, this is concentrated in a small number of firms. Norfolk
and Suffolk has many businesses which with the right support could become more
innovative, raising productivity.
Organised by the LEP’s Strategy Team and bringing together a small number of individuals,
the sprint session looked at identifying what support SMEs need to accelerate innovation.
The session was facilitated by Aviva as part of several sprints looking at developing and
piloting interventions outlined in the Local Industrial Strategy.
Innovation Sprint
For the purposes of the sprint, businesses were categorised in three ways:
-
Highly innovative businesses with the potential to scale and grow
-
Less innovative businesses with the ambition but not necessarily the skills or
knowledge.
-
Non-innovative businesses with no desire to innovate
Participants agreed that for the purposes of this session to focus on the needs of businesses
who have an appetite for innovation but require extra support and guidance.
Steps in supporting this category of business were identified as:
1. Help businesses understand the value in innovation (leadership, culture) and
increase the appetite
11
2. Change culture within business so they can approach innovation
3. Help upskill them to use the tools and processes to embed in business
4. Provide support for access to funding, investment and R&D
It was acknowledged that many organisations in the region are working with businesses to
provide different aspects of support outlined above. However, a form of innovation ‘brokering
or ‘marketplace’ would allow ideas, culture and technology to be shared between
companies. This would be beneficial as:
(a) Technology/ ideas in one company could be licenced and commercialised in another
(b) Problem in one company could be solved by another
(c) A company might want to diversify but might not know how.
Pilot session
It was agreed that a pilot would be trialled before the end of Q1 2020/21.
Further thinking and planning will be carried out to plan and execute the pilot, but initial steps
were defined as:
Identify problems and map potential solution providers
Engage test/pilot group (15 business problem holders, 10 solution providers)
Identify location to carryout out pilot/test (with established innovation culture and
existing business cluster)
Potential two pilots (areas with different challenges, but where solution would work)
Hosted at the HEI or innovation centre - social purpose; linked with business;
safety/trust
Potential outcomes/ benefits might be:
Attracting new businesses to conversation (i.e. attracting businesses who do not see
themselves as innovative)
A collaboration between new partners
Success stories
Linking businesses with students/colleges
Recommendations
Note the contents of the paper
12
New Anglia Innovation Board
Tuesday 3 December, 14:00-16:00,
University of Suffolk, Waterfront Building, Neptune Quay, Ipswich, IP4 1QJ
Agenda Item 3c
Innovate UK Conference
Authors: Madeleine Coupe
Summary
This paper outlines the plans to date on the Innovate UK conference in the East of England
which will be taking place on 4 March 2020 at Norwich Research Park.
Background
Innovate UK hosts an annual conference in the East of England at a different location each
year. This year, the conference was held at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.
The 2020 conference will be held at John Innes Conference Centre, Norwich Research Park
(NRP) on 4 March with an anticipated 300 attendees. Innovate UK have been working with
local partners including the LEP, Anglia Innovation Partnership LLP (AIP) and University of
East Anglia (UEA) to explore further opportunities around the conference.
Aims of the conference
The event provides an opportunity to celebrate and encourage business innovation. It will
explain the way in which Innovate UK and its wider ‘family’ of organisations support and fund
innovation as well as how businesses can go “beyond grant funding” to finance their
innovation.
The East of England’s businesses and knowledge base have an outstanding breadth of
capabilities in almost every sector, so the event won’t focus on any one sector or discipline.
Rather, it will focus on innovation as a topic and use examples from a wide range of
business sectors to illustrate that.
Programme
The programme is currently being developed by Innovate UK with support from partners.
Starting with an opening address by Prof. David Richardson, Vice Chancellor of UEA, the
morning will include information on current competitions, the Innovate UK family (EEN, KTN,
Catapults etc.) and examples of success stories. There will be presentations on finance for
innovation, including R&D Tax Credits as well securing private investment.
Afternoon sessions will focus on developing collaborations with university partners and the
benefits of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.
13
There is also the opportunity to run a series of workshops around themes such as
intellectual property, value proposition and competitive advantage.
Extended opportunities
Innovate UK has identified and offered additional ‘wrap around’ opportunities for local
partners to maximise the benefits of the event.
Innovation Stakeholders Dinner, Tuesday 3 March
A number of executives from Innovate UK will be attending the conference and will be
staying overnight the evening before. UEA have agreed to host a dinner at Wood Hall for
Innovate UK and key representatives.
Innovation Breakfast Sessions, Wednesday 4 March
The main conference programme will start at 10am, giving the opportunity to host some
informal breakfast networking sessions. New Anglia LEP and AIP will host a breakfast
session to speak about the LEP’s vision for innovation and the work of AIP at Norwich
Research Park. There is the potential to ‘launch’ an initiative at this event, with ideas
including launching the new Innovation Prospectus or the LEP’s R&D Grants Scheme.
Exhibition, Wednesday 4 March
The exhibition space at the JIC Conference Centre will be offered to exhibitors providing
services to businesses including EEN, Growth Hub, Norfolk Business Library, Hethel
Innovation etc.
Recommendations
Note the contents of the paper
Suggest any business success stories which could be included in the programme
Suggest any potential exhibitors
Help to promote the event through networks
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New Anglia Innovation Board
Tuesday 3 December, 14:00-16:00,
University of Suffolk, Waterfront Building, Neptune Quay, Ipswich, IP4 1QJ
Agenda Item 3d
Links to National Organisations: ORE Catapult
Authors: Madeleine Coupe
Summary
This paper outlines the Innovation Board’s role in fostering links with national innovation
organisations, including the recent collaboration with Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE)
Catapult.
Background
The Innovation Board’s Terms of Reference outlines the Board’s role in ‘connecting to and
collaborating with regional and national stakeholders that play a role in delivering innovation’.
It was recently announced that the ORE Catapult will be employing a new regional
innovation manager in Norfolk and Suffolk. The new post will support Norfolk and Suffolk to
achieve the ambitions set out in the Local Industrial Strategy of being the UK’s Clean Growth
Region. New Anglia LEP has been involved in the recruitment selection process.
ORE Catapult
ORE Catapult is the UK’s leading technology innovation and research centre for offshore
renewable energy. Leveraging its facilities and expertise, ORE works in close partnership
with the offshore renewables industry - the OEMs and other large industrials, the developers
and owner/operators and supply chain SMEs to improve next generation renewable energy
technology in the UK.
The new post is co-funded by New Anglia LEP through the Innovative Projects Fund and will
be based at the Orbis Energy Centre. It will sit within ORE’s Research & Disruptive
Innovation directorate nationally and has the following objectives:
Support the delivery of the LIS and Economic Strategy by:
o Promoting Norfolk and Suffolk as the place where high growth businesses
with aspirations choose to be.
o Exploiting ORE’s connections in the international emerging markets to shine
the spotlight on the supply chain capability in the region.
o Tailor F4OR and SME accelerator business models to help market readiness,
develop new skills and increase industrial performance
o Providing an ongoing narrative on the developing Sector Deal to help shape
the regional offer to both in country and international offshore project
developers.
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o Connecting the region with larger national projects and initiatives through
alignment with the UK Industrial Strategy, the Clean Energy Strategy and
European Blue Growth agendas.
Build and maintain senior level strategic relationships with key stakeholders and
clients in the region;
Develop a direct communication channel to the Offshore Wind Innovation Hub to help
shape and understand technology challenges; to other Catapults (particularly High
Value Manufacturing, Digital, Satellite Applications and Energy Systems):
Support the development of innovative commercial products, processes and services
for the offshore renewables sector;
Develop key evidence and analysis to prioritise and shape new projects and
programmes;
Work with technology developers and academia to help create projects which will
commercialise their technologies and secure investment; and
Help enhance and grow the existing regional industry and academic and research
networks, both within the sector and across other sectors (aerospace, automotive,
defence, oil & gas).
ORE Catapult has been engaged in the region for some time and has most recently
supported the development of the recent bid to Strength in Places Fund, the Sustainable All
Energy Coast. This role represents a significant opportunity for Norfolk and Suffolk to further
leverage the connections, skills and programmes of a national innovation body, focussing on
one of the region’s key strategic sectors.
Each organisation represented on the Innovation Board naturally has its own relationships
with regional and national stakeholders. Thought should be given on how - collaboratively -
we can leverage these key relationships to support greater levels of funding and innovation
in the region. The ORE model could potentially be looked at as a way of engaging with other
relevant national stakeholders.
Recommendations
The Board are invited to:
Note the contents of the paper
Discuss potential linkages with other organisations
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