Member Article

Euro fund boost for North East SME sector

A campaign to encourage more North East businesses to ‘work smarter’ has received a £1.79m boost from the European Regional Development Fund. The money has been awarded to Knowledge House, an organisation that works with all five North East universities - Durham, Teesside, Sunderland, Northumbria and Newcastle - to set up collaborative projects between business people and academics.

Through the Knowledge House Consultancy Assistance Scheme, the fund will subsidise specialist consultancy provided by university experts to SMEs across the region.

Mark Jackson, business development director at Knowledge House, said: “Initially, business people didn’t really understand how universities could help grow their companies. Today, it is much better understood that by tapping into the phenomenal expertise and facilities to be found in North East universities, companies can learn how to work smarter, more effectively, more efficiently and with greater initiative.

“The new funding will ensure that this continues and will be a significant factor in the development of the regional economy over the next two years.”

For eligible companies, the scheme provides 50% of the costs of consultancy projects.

With its headquarters in Sunderland and managers based at each of the region’s universities, Knowledge House has been operating for 11 years. It has dealt with more than 5,000 enquiries, leading to over 1,600 contracts with a value of £14.5 million.

Many of the projects related to the development of new products and processes by client companies, alongside business mentoring and growth, which would not have proceeded without Knowledge House intervention.

For further information about the scheme contact Dawn Lycett, Marketing Manager, at d.lycett@knowledgehouse.ac.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .