Services to support innovation
Enabling Innovation is a three year collaborative programme involving Nottingham Trent University, the University of Derby and the University of Nottingham, which will provide support to over 2,000 local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) over three years. Focusing on ‘enabling technologies’, it aims to stimulate an innovation ecosystem designed to commercialise cutting edge R&D, support product and process innovation within SMEs and drive innovation through supply chains.
Where the expertise sits
The programme draws on three universities in the East Midlands. Nottingham Trent University, the University of Derby and the University of Nottingham each bring research groups, facilities and teaching staff who work with industry.
Businesses can explore the expertise and facilities available across the partners before deciding which area to focus on.
D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership
Enabling Innovation is one of some 50 projects which D2N2 has supported with European funding. Further details of these projects and much more, can be found on the D2N2 Growth Hub site, please click here.
You can learn more about the wider network on the D2N2 Ecosystem page, which shows how Enabling Innovation connects with other support for businesses in the region.
What is on offer?
- In-depth support for businesses in sectors such as manufacturing, materials engineering, computing and data, aerospace, food and drink, chemistry and satellite navigation – offering unprecedented access to university expertise and graduate talent.
- Workshop programmes designed to help businesses to innovate, explore new ideas and unlock their growth potential.
- Leadership and management development, including mentoring.
- Support for businesses to take on graduates via placement opportunities, allowing them to explore the benefits of employing graduates.
Each of these strands draws on the research and teaching strengths of the three partner universities, so a business can combine several forms of support in one plan.
State Aid
As the European Union is partly funding this programme of business engagement there may be State Aid implications for your business. For an overview of State Aid and the associated costs through Enabling Innovation please click here.
State Aid rules limit the public support a business can receive, so it is worth reviewing the overview with your own advisers before you agree to a service. The programme team can explain how the rules apply to the support you are considering.
The programme in brief
- A three year collaborative programme
- Support for over 2,000 local small and medium enterprises
- Delivered by Nottingham Trent University, the University of Derby and the University of Nottingham
- Open to businesses in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire
- Focused on ‘enabling technologies’
- Most services free of charge to qualifying businesses
These points summarise the core facts of the programme. Each one is explained in more detail in the sections above and below.
Who is it for?
Enabling Innovation is for small and medium-sized businesses in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire who want to benefit from university expertise in research and innovation to develop and grow their business.
If your business is looking to improve a product, refine a process or find new routes to market, the programme is designed to meet you where you are. Read more about the services to support innovation and see which ones fit your current priorities.
What will it cost?
We have secured European Union funding which means that most services provided as part of the Enabling Innovation programme are free of charge to qualifying businesses. (Knowledge Exchange for Innovation, Talent4Innovation and Talent for Innovation are part-funded by the EU and require a contribution from the participating business.)
Before you commit to any service, check whether it falls under the free strand or the part-funded strand so that you understand what is expected from your business.
This funding is secured and the programme will be unaffected by recent referendum results
Is it right for you?
Browse through the list of services on offer from an extensive range of expertise resident in the three midlands based universities.
If you are unsure where to start, contact us with a short description of your business and the challenge you are facing, and the team can point you to the most relevant expertise.
Sectors and subjects covered
The tags above group the subjects that businesses most often ask about. Each one links to support that relates to a particular sector, skill or type of project.
Because the programme covers a wide range of sectors, from food and drink to computing and data, businesses from different backgrounds can find relevant expertise within the same partnership.
Products, processes and supply chains
The programme aims to support product and process innovation within SMEs and to drive innovation through supply chains. Improving how a product is made can be as valuable as creating a new one.
Businesses working with suppliers or customers can use the programme to look at shared challenges, which helps the whole chain move forward together.
How support is arranged
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Step 1
Make first contact
Tell the team about your business, your sector and the innovation challenge you want to address. This can be done through the contact page.
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Step 2
Review the services
Look through the services to support innovation and shortlist the support that matches your goals.
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Step 3
Match with university expertise
The team connects you with academics and specialists from the partner universities who work in your area.
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Step 4
Agree and follow up
Confirm the support you will receive and what, if anything, your business contributes. Review progress as the work moves forward.
Each step is designed to keep the process clear, so that a business knows what happens next and why. The order can be adjusted to suit the size of your business and the stage your project has reached.
Support for graduates and growth
Businesses can take on graduates through placement opportunities, which gives them a way to test the benefits of employing graduate talent while the project moves forward.
Mentoring and leadership development sit alongside these placements, so that founders and managers can build the skills needed to lead innovation over time. See the pages on graduate placements and innovation management for more detail.