Member Article

Innovators draw up blueprint for North East

Commercial innovation in the North East is on the agenda for a new task force set up by a regional business group.

Representatives of companies including Sage and BT, alongside SMEs with a reputation for innovation, are working with the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) to detail the work that needs to be done to encourage businesses in the region to embrace opportunities to innovate.

NECC’s Innovation group met for the first time this week and will convene a further three times between now and April to review information gathered during NECC’s Innovation campaign that was launched in June 2008.

The campaign has gathered case studies on companies across a range of sectors that are implementing cutting-edge techniques to stay ahead of their competition.

Chris Millman, chairman of the NECC Innovation group and BT North East regional board member, said: “Innovation ought to be the lifeblood of every company and of the North East economy in general. The work being undertaken by this group will graphically illustrate what needs to be done to help firms of all sizes to put innovation at the heart of their activities.

“The NECC Innovation campaign has already demonstrated that there are a number of companies doing extremely exciting things to keep their operations at the vanguard of development but there is much more that can be done.

“This report will be a proactive step to push the North East economy forward and to ensure that we capitalise upon the upturn when it comes.”

For further information on the NECC Innovation campaign, visit www.northeastinnovation.co.uk.

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