Innovation Archives - North East Local Enterprise Partnership

Dr Sam Whitehouse is a LEP board member, Executive Chairman of High Force Research Ltd and CEO of LightOx Ltd. He recently opened the BioFocus 2023 conference, which brought together the North East health and life sciences sector.

The North East has many strengths and is a great place to grow a life science business. The sector has a growing influence on the economy, with 260 health and life science businesses operating in the North East LEP area in 2022 – a 21% increase from 2015.

The total contribution of pharma manufacturing to North East region GVA in 2021 was £1.5 billion – a figure which has more than doubled since 2015.

This is something the LEP is very proud of as it continues to support the goal of creating 24,000 jobs in the sector by 2030.

I was delighted to open BioNow’s BioFocus 2023 conference at Newcastle Helix. BioFocus is a fantastic event that presents a great opportunity to promote our vision to position the North East as a leader in the development, testing, manufacturing and adoption of people-centred treatments, therapeutics and medicines.

As a community of companies, we present a very good opportunity for investment. We’re an incredibly innovative bunch of people with a lot of ambition, and a lot of talent and we like to work together.

However, there is not always the capital to realise our ambitions. Quite simply, there is still much to be done. We lag behind other areas like Manchester and of course the South East when it comes to securing private investment. We are beginning to get the momentum right in this area but it is still not quite as coherent as it could be.

We have an incubator, the Biosphere, in Newcastle full of life sciences companies, with every one of them looking for large amounts of funding. We need to really highlight what we can do and show investors that the North East is a ripe opportunity for significant investment.

Events like BioFocus 2023 are important because they bring together industry, academia, and experts within the field of life sciences and really signal to investors what we can do as a region.

It is important that we use key events like this to celebrate our innovations and achievements.

By securing more private sector investment and being prepared for future government funding opportunities, we can ensure the businesses in our sector are able to realise their full ambitions.

Health and life sciences is an area which presents huge potential for the North East. Now is the time to continue to work together, build momentum and maximise investment opportunities.

Visit the North East Evidence Hub for more statistics on health and life sciences.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP) is looking for an organisation to evaluate its latest open innovation programme. Emily Carlson, Innovation Programme Manager, explains why she wants to move beyond traditional evaluation models.

At the North East LEP, data and evaluation drive everything we do; they help us learn and improve.

We’re now looking for an organisation to work with us on evaluating our recent Challenge North Tyne programme which we ran with Innovation SuperNetwork with funding from the North of Tyne Combined Authority. The programme helps businesses in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland launch new products and services that have real potential to be successful.

But, as this is an innovation-focused programme, we want to go beyond traditional evaluation methods and uncover the full impact of the programme. We are looking for more than a cost-benefit analysis, and want this evaluation to create a blueprint for evaluating other challenge-led programmes in the future.

Challenge North Tyne launched in 2022 and tasked businesses with coming up with new ways of solving some of the issues we’re facing in society. Now, 48 businesses have been awarded a £5,000 grant and are part of an accelerator programme to develop their ideas, and we would like to work with an evaluator who can examine not just the economic impact of the programme in terms of investment and jobs but who can also help us to unearth some of the less obvious results.

These might be changes in mind-set, or the birth of new collaborations – things that could go on to change the way businesses in our region innovate in the future.

Challenge North Tyne focused on two areas in particular: healthy ageing, and decarbonisation. Businesses put forward ideas which they believe could help decarbonise our homes, or help older people live happier, better connected, more active lives. In July, we’ll see how the accelerator programme has helped the businesses develop their ideas at a showcase event and we’d like our evaluators to be on board by then.

The full impact of increasing innovation in our region won’t be felt immediately. Programmes like Challenge North Tyne are a long term investment in the North East and we want to make sure we capture its impact and learn how to run even more successful challenge-led programmes in the future.

This evaluation will guide the way we support businesses to bring new ideas to market, so we want to get it right. If you could help, we’d love to hear from you.

The opportunity to apply for the evaluation of the Challenge North Tyne programme closes on 3 April 2023. Find out more and apply here.

Challenge North Tyne is an £800,000 open innovation project delivered by the North East LEP and Innovation SuperNetwork. The project, funded by the North of Tyne Combined Authority, is designed to bring our region’s most innovative minds together to tackle pressing problems and emerging opportunities, for the benefit of all involved.

Rhona Knox is R&D Vice President, Global Fabric Care Sustainability, Dry Laundry, and head of the Newcastle Innovation Centre at Procter & Gamble (P&G). Originally from Dunbar, Scotland, Rhona came to the North East in 1993 on an internship with P&G and has worked at the company for more than 28 years.

What is it about the culture at P&G that’s led you to stay at the company for such a long time?

At P&G, our culture is rooted in the idea that we can make people’s everyday lives a little bit better through our products and brands. Playing my part in delivering on that mission is one reason I’ve stayed for such a long time. After all, if I asked you what you did this morning, you may tell me that you’ve brushed your teeth, washed your hair, put clean clothes on or cleaned your house. So already, the work I am doing at P&G has touched your life in many different ways. Having that tangible impact on wider society is really important to me.

Working at P&G has also enabled me to live and work all over the world – all whilst doing some really interesting assignments, despite working for the same company. For many of my friends, getting that variety has meant having to change jobs multiple times, so I count myself really lucky.

What does innovation mean to you?

Innovation is at the heart of everything we do – our products, our services, our capabilities – because it enables us to continue to evolve and improve in ways which we believe will make a different to people. It helps us to solve real problems through experimentation. That’s something I’m fortunate enough to be involved in each and every day. If I don’t get it right first time, that’s okay – I learn from it, safe in the knowledge that I’ll be closer to getting it right next time. As a company, we place a huge emphasis on adopting a growth mindset – embedding a culture of learning as opposed to always getting the right answer first time around – and that is crucial to innovation.

A great example of how we’re continuing to embed this philosophy is through our ‘failure panels’, which were introduced by someone in my team. They’ve done an amazing job – providing an opportunity for everyone to share their experiences related to things that haven’t gone right first time. They’re so important because they remind people that failure should be accepted and embraced, whilst providing all-important learnings to carry forward in the future.

Where do you think you’ve innovated most in your career?

I’m really pleased that I’m still able to do some hands-on work and, whilst that might not be in a laboratory, it’s still focused on creating new ideas and developing solutions.

If I think about a situation where I’ve been at my most innovative, I’d say that it’s probably been in scenarios where my team ave been seen as the underdog, i.e. the challenge is high but the chances of success are acknowledged to be relatively low. It’s made me my most innovative because it gives you a lot of freedom to really experiment and try new things, knowing from the outset that nobody really expects you to succeed.

I’ve also found that I’m particularly innovative in cases where I haven’t had a huge budget for my work, because it requires you to put more thought into where and how you use the little resources that you do have. I believe that necessity is the mother of invention, so it isn’t always great to have lots of money at your disposal. On the other hand, there are times where it can make a big difference, particularly in the scaling phase.

You’ve worked all over the world. Is there a similar approach to innovation or does it change in different places?

I think there are nuances. In China, for example, there’s a huge appetite to experiment, whereas generally in the West a lot more planning is applied. And I think there’s probably a sweet spot between the two – both have their merits. Ultimately, there isn’t a perfect model for innovation – so my advice would always be to pick what you think works best, based on your experiences, and to try to bring those things together.

How important are people in innovation?

Innovation is absolutely a team sport; people are such an important part of my job. Yes, everyone can name the great inventors who are all individuals, but I find it hard to believe they truly did it all by themselves. And it’s not a model for today. Productive, meaningful innovation is reliant on bringing together bright, diverse teams to solve complex challenges, because it means you’re able to incorporate all manner of knowledge and experiences to reach a solution. That’s why, as a company, we’re particularly passionate about increasing gender diversity in STEM fields.

What were your impressions of the North East after moving back to the region?

I was working in Singapore before I came back to Newcastle. The P&G site in Singapore is based on a purpose-built Bio Innovation Hub which has some very high-tech buildings. There’s been a huge amount of investment there.

Before I came back to Newcastle, I thought that major innovations would take place at a specific site, as opposed to happening all across the region. Once I’d returned, I found that the old Newcastle brewery site had gone, and that there was a huge amount of work underway to create what is now Newcastle Helix – one of the biggest innovation hubs in Europe. It’s great to see that the whole region is continuing to reinvent itself from the days of heavy industry, with the skills of people across the North East being used to create new science and new innovation. It’s really transformed to become a modern, high-tech hub, which is great to see.

What are your ambitions for the future of the North East?

I’d love to see more big organisations, like P&G, come to the North East, helping to continue to scale up our innovation and manufacturing capabilities. I think the region’s desire to create is very strong, and we no longer need to focus our energies on coal or heavy industry. Today, we can look to biotech or harnessing the power of technology more broadly – creating a clean, manufacturing epicentre for the future.

In addition to attracting existing corporates to the region, we should also ensure that we’re growing the smaller companies that are already in the region, so that they’re able to become the big corporates of tomorrow.

Learn more about the health and life sciences sector in the North East.

Professor Matt Boyle OBE is Professor of Practice in Engineering at Newcastle University and Executive Chair of Driving the Electric Revolution Innovation Centre. Originally from the West of Scotland, Matt worked all over the world before coming to the North East in 1996 to head up electrification technology company, Sevcon.

Matt was Managing Director of Turntide Transport and oversaw the parent company’s acquisitions of Avid Technology, BorgWarner Gateshead and Hyperdrive Innovation. Today, he is Managing Director of Collingwood Solutions.

Matt, what does innovation mean to you?

Failure. Innovation is trial and error; innovation is learning from failure. Yes, there’s success at the end of it, but innovation and failure go hand in glove in my book.

Tell us more about your move to the region in 1996 to head up electrification technology company, Sevcon.

Sevcon was an interesting business; it was actually a US public company when I joined so it was a global organisation. Whilst still being micro-sized, it had operations in France, Japan, Korea, and North America. We manufactured everything here in the UK, which was an unusual thing for a business of our size to be doing at the time. It became increasingly obvious that in order to build the business we needed to either invest, which would be difficult to do because it required skills we didn’t have, or subcontract it, and that’s what eventually we did.

Was innovation a big part of your role at Sevcon?

One of the great things about being part of the team at Sevcon was that we always innovated, it was really the heart of the business. It was already instilled in the team when I joined the business but I allowed it to flourish. And that’s because people love to be successful. And we were successful.

How do you unlock innovation in people?

I come back to my original statement; you have to create an environment where people feel it’s okay to fail. But you also have to point out that continual failure along the same path is not something you want to have. I’m a great believer in bringing talented people into a business and then taking the shackles off, and we did that very successfully at Sevcon.

How easy is it to secure investment here in the North East?

It’s very important that investment follows idea and not the other way around. And what I mean by that is there is a business case that has to be developed to bid for any investment. And that requires an idea at the start. So once you get the idea and flesh it out, you then take two paths – do it yourself, or get somebody else to fund it.

Doing it yourself in this country is easier than it was. There is quite a rocky road and it does require a lot of tenacity. Going out to find money from government, for example, is extraordinary difficult and all the things that surround it are extremely time consuming. But if you can articulate your idea, and it has a market, then I would encourage anybody to go to the west coast of America because there is a different culture there. The culture is ‘what is possible’, not ‘what you’re doing today’.

Where do you think the North East could be in five to ten years time?

We could have billion pound businesses in the North East in five to 10 years time. They will be manufacturing businesses and they will be manufacturing the technologies of the future. The realism is that requires an enormous number of skilled people that we currently don’t have.

We do have a head start and that’s where opportunity exists. We create a lot of product IP in the North East, and we’ve already attracted the Britishvolts of the world, as well as the investments by Envision AESC and Nissan. And that’s a good start, but there have been several estimates about how many skilled people we need in the North East in the next five years and it’s around 13,500. And I don’t know where those 13,500 people are going to come from, but that’s not going to stop me trying to find them.

The opportunity is here, but where’s the investment. That’s what I’m trying to do now.

What can we do as a region to make that vision a reality?

Let’s start telling people what we’ve got here. I still hear ‘coals from Newcastle’, irrespective of the fact some of the drugs treating cancer today were developed here in Newcastle.

We need to reach out and explain to people what an opportunity there is here. We need to tell that story.

If you weren’t working in the manufacturing sector, what other areas of industry would you want to work in?

There are several. I love pharma. I was actually approached once to run a big pharmaceutical facility in Cramlington.

Gaming is another area where the North East has a really strong reputation, particularly in new immersive technologies.

Aerospace and space is a growing sector here. Somebody asked me the other day, ‘what do we do in space here in the North East?’ There’s a whole host of activity around communications and satellite technologies.

We’ve got the capability and now we need a little bit more investment.

You currently sit on government’s Build Back Better Business Council. What’s that experience been like and what are the types of things you’re discussing?

One of the missions of the Business Council is to improve the UK economy so there are a multitude of businesses around the table, all addressing different sectors, and some of them with different challenges. We’re essentially telling the Prime Minister what we think he should do.

I’ve been talking about skills, and the need for a combination approach to building skills in electrification field. And that comes down to upskilling and reskilling, as well as creating frameworks for kids coming out of school.

As you might imagine, I get invited every now and again to go into schools talk to them about what I’ve done in my career. There are two things I tell students; one, engineering is a career for life. You can do different disciplines your entire life and have a really fulfilling career. And the second thing is, which I really loved to hear, is that investment banks are struggling to appoint engineers because the salary differential for investment bankers and engineers is so tight. For too long talent has gone into the financial services sector but that’s changing.

Learn more about the advanced manufacturing sector in the North East.

Businesses across Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside have been asked to rise to the Challenge and help the region tackle some of the biggest problems facing our economy and community.

A new £800,000 open innovation project has been launched at the region’s longest running Innovation Conference, VentureFest North East. The project is funded through the North of Tyne Combined Authority’s Investment Fund and delivered by the North East LEP in partnership with Innovation SuperNetwork.

Aimed at providing a gateway for the region’s small and medium-sized businesses to solve the problems facing bigger companies and society as a whole, Challenge North Tyne seeks to generate innovative responses to problems in three key areas. It builds on the North East LEP’s work with Challenge North East, which helped bring about solutions in the face of Covid-19.

Alan Welby, Innovation Director at the North East LEP, said: “People often think innovation is something only big businesses can do, but that’s simply not the case. Our region’s SME community is constantly creating new ways of doing things, of problem solving and we want to harness that creativity to tackle some of the greatest challenges facing the growth of our economy.

“We’re seeking new and innovative ways to address the climate change emergency, and reduce the carbon footprint of our buildings and workplaces. We also want to work with SMEs to explore how we can embed 5G within all areas of our economy and harness the opportunities it provides for increased productivity and connectivity. And we also want to look at how we can help the older population across North of Tyne live longer, happier and healthier lives.

“Innovation has a huge role to play in solving societal issues and our businesses have the entrepreneurial nature and collaborative spirit to respond to the challenge – something which was clearly demonstrated during the first phase of our Challenge North East project.”

Challenge North Tyne was launched as part of VentureFest North East’s online programme on Thursday 31 March, bringing together a successful collaboration to demonstrate the benefits of small and large enterprises coming together to innovate.

Dr Jackie Gray took part in the discussion after she stepped up to the challenge with The Carents Room in response to a call from Northern Gas Networks (NGN). As a support platform for individuals caring for elderly relatives, The Carents Room and NGN were able to explore innovative new solutions to help NGN better respond to the needs of vulnerable customers, as part of Challenge North East last year.

Speaking of the experience, Jackie said: “Collaborating with NGN on their work through Challenge North East has been a real catalyst for The Carents Room. It has enabled us to scale-up by helping us focus on the market for our innovation and develop key relationships, not just with NGN but also their national energy network partners, including Cadent Gas. I’d encourage other entrepreneurs, innovators and businesses who could have the skills, experience or ideas to help solve these problems, to get involved. You won’t regret it and could gain a lot in return!”

Sarah Cox, Innovation Challenge Programme Director at Innovation SuperNetwork, said: “Globally, nationally and regionally, we’re faced with increasingly complex problems. Mission-led innovation helps us to focus on the challenges we face as a society, and where we have the potential to have the biggest positive impact. Our aim is to bring the right people together to help drive change.

“This programme is designed to build on what we achieved through Challenge North East to scope three more challenges where solutions could have real impact regionally. We’re urging any businesses who feel they could help shape these problems, or would like to get involved with developing solutions, to register their interest.”

The project is exploring three themes in the Challenge development stage, these are:

Building a Sustainable Future – How might we reduce the carbon footprint of buildings in North of Tyne?
Supporting our Ageing Population – How might we better enable healthy, happy living for our elder citizens?
5G Connectivity – How might we deliver 5G enabled solutions for North East Industry?

In phase one, the programme will be shaping the challenges in collaboration with business, with grants made available for solution development in phase two.

Businesses can register their interest by emailing [email protected]

Over £325,000 of funding from the government’s UK Community Renewal Fund has been awarded to an innovative new initiative that will support North East organisations to understand, access and capitalise on market opportunities.

The Future Markets Acceleration Programme has been awarded £327,030 for projects across Gateshead and Sunderland and will focus on areas where the region has significant capabilities, including cyber security, electric vehicle battery materials and space technologies. The programme is structured around the establishment of new partnerships that bring innovation partners, businesses and other organisations together to identify new market opportunities and address bottlenecks that constrain market growth.

Alan Welby, Innovation Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which will lead the programme, said: “The Future Markets Acceleration Programme is a novel approach which creates self-governing partnerships of businesses and organisations to make sure that, as a region, we are in the best possible position to grasp emerging opportunities and use our existing skills and expertise to bring more and better jobs to the North East.

“This funding is a commitment from both government and the region to the critical role that innovation plays in competitive and productive economies. We’re excited to be able to work with regional partners and businesses to help fast-track ideas, partnerships and support required to infiltrate new markets.”

Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “Sunderland has a track record of innovation, be that through its digital and software businesses that so often blaze a trail in their fields, or the ground-breaking work of Sunderland’s companies in electrification and advanced manufacturing. Funding that further advances their work in these sectors and others is very much welcome and we look forward to ensuring that every pound invested delivers the greatest possible return for UK Plc, by supporting our ambitious businesses to flourish, creating jobs and prosperity in the process.”

Councillor Malcolm Brain, Cabinet Member for the Economy at Gateshead Council, said: “This is vital funding to drive forward the Future Markets Acceleration Programme which is helping to create the future of our economy here in Gateshead.

“We want to support the growth of innovative businesses which will drive the creation of high-quality jobs.”

The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for 2021/22. This aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fundprospectus

Alan Welby, Innovation Director discusses today’s announcement of the Chancellor’s plans for UK to be the world’s first net zero aligned financial centre.

Put simply, net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. We reach net zero when the amount we add is no more than the amount taken away.

Net zero means a radical change across the entire economy, replacing fossil fuels and other sources of emissions wherever possible.

This is why the announcement at COP26 that the global finance system will be rewired for net zero and that the UK will become the first net zero finance centre in the world is so important. This step is of huge significance to the North East LEP area.

The North East holds considerable potential for investors interested in market growth that assists our net zero ambitions, particularly in ‘green’ industries but also in the technologies that will enable all sectors to reduce their carbon debt.

Our businesses already contribute to net zero markets, from renewable energy generation and energy storage to electric vehicles and battery manufacture but we also have capabilities in emergent and nascent markets that will also be looking to their net zero commitments. We have significant regional specialisms and capabilities, and operate internationally in autonomous vehicles, robotics, space and satellites whilst our presence, along with our capabilities, in other markets including biopharmaceuticals, fintech and cybersecurity is growing.

We need to ensure that businesses in these markets are reaching their full potential to achieve net zero carbon emissions and commitment to investment in these markets is critical. Through a gearing up of finance for sustainable growth, we can give a big boost to business innovation and investment that powers this transition.

One example of what we are doing to accelerate investment in innovation and boost net zero innovation activity is the 12-month ‘Finance for Sustainable Growth’ or ‘F4SG’ pilot with the City of London Corporation that is showcasing the North East’s initiatives in green innovation and associated enterprises to a wider investor base. Its aim, through intensifying the region’s connections to London and its global network, is to boost the flow of green investment to the region and to reinforce the North East’s ecosystem for nurturing sustainable businesses. The initiative is a collaboration of the Corporation with the North East LEP, Northern Accelerator and North Star Ventures.

We’re excited to see where this pilot takes us and to show London-based and international investors some of the ground-breaking innovation happening in our region.

Find out more about the innovation support and finance available in our region via the Innovation Toolkit on the North East Growth Hub.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has welcomed the National Innovation Strategy, published today 22 July 2021.

The UK Government has developed the Strategy to drive innovation across the UK.

Alan Welby, North East LEP Innovation Director, said: “The vision to make the UK a global hub for innovation by 2035 is ambitious and timely. I am immensely confident that the North East can play a key role in making that vision a reality.

“We’ve always known that innovative economies are more productive and therefore make a stronger contribution to GVA. That’s why in the North East, innovation has always been central to our Strategic Economic Plan that aims to create100,000 more and better jobs in the North East economy by 2024.

“We welcome this strategy and the importance placed on levelling up. We are keen to see the strategy translated into new projects and programmes to deliver on the ambition for innovation, coupled with greater investment to match. The North East is ready to work with government to drive a step change in innovation activity across our region. We already have key programmes in place and a pipeline of strategic innovation projects that are investment ready.

“The strategy correctly places a focus on increasing private sector investment in R&D and innovation. Encouraging more businesses to innovate, beyond frontier firms, will be key to achieving the 2.4% R&D target and improving the UK’s productivity. We are ready to support our businesses to do this.”

“I’m encouraged by the emphasis on more places in the UK hosting world-leading and globally connected innovation clusters. We have assets, capability, talent and potential to realise that ambition and we look forward to working with government to deliver a place-based approach to unlock that potential.”

Find out more about innovation in the North East.

Esther Gillespie, Director of data science consultancy Jumping Rivers, explains how taking part in the Energy Innovation Challenge has opened up opportunities and funding for the business.

“I would totally recommend getting in contact with the North East Energy Catalyst, and certainly the Innovation Challenge has really been an exciting development for our company,” says Esther.

Find out about the Energy Innovation Challenge programme here.

Tag: Innovation

BioNow conference shines light on North East health and life sciences ambitions

Beyond traditional evaluation: North East LEP seeks evaluator to uncover hidden impact of innovation programme

In conversation with Rhona Knox from Procter & Gamble (P&G) about innovation in the North East

In conversation with Professor Matt Boyle OBE about innovation in the North East

Call for North Tyne businesses to tackle region’s key problems through innovation challenge

Funding awarded to strengthen the region’s presence in new markets

Investing in Innovation for a greener UK

North East LEP supports National Innovation Strategy

Energy Innovation Challenge: Jumping Rivers