Inspirational projects showcased at Innovate Local
Innovate UK partnered with Connected Innovation to host an East of England Innovate Local event at the John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park on Thursday.
The session explored the importance of innovation and how it can:
- Drive business growth: Learn how innovation can lead to increased profitability, market share, and customer loyalty.
- Boost competitiveness: Discover how staying ahead of industry trends, engaging with academic institutions, understanding the support/funding landscape and embracing innovation can give your business a competitive edge.
- Foster resilience: In today’s ever-changing business landscape, innovation is a key driver of adaptability and long-term success.
- Foster cross-sector collaboration: Exploring the opportunities that exist to collaborate and deploy solutions across multiple sectors using existing and emerging technologies.
The Connected Innovation Programme and Innovation Grant Mentoring Project were showcased at the event. James Allen, our Innovation and Sectors Manager, introduced the session, which also included Innovate Business Growth and ORE Catapult programmes. Panel sessions included testimonials and experience from a few of the businesses supported.
There was a lot of interest from the delegates in our Innovation Grant Mentoring Project. For £50,000 each invested by Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, over £2.7m in Innovate UK funding has been leveraged to support Norfolk and Suffolk SMEs.
Innovate Local is a suite of regional engagement events that run throughout the year and across the UK. The event enables partners to deliver an agenda that helps people learn more about business innovation and what it means to them and others. The aim is to inspire people to innovate by showcasing the support and finance that is available to help them progress along the innovation journey. The event was a huge success, with over 200 attendees from across the region.
