PILOT BUSINESS INNOVATION PROGRAMME

Mid South West (MSW) is a collaboration between Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, Fermanagh & Omagh District Council and Mid Ulster District Council, responsible for delivering a Regional Economic Strategy for the area.

The pilot Business Innovation Programme will support participating businesses on their innovation journey.  It will seek to grow business innovation and productivity across the region’s already strong private sector businesses.

What’s on offer?

Businesses will have the opportunity to participate in:

Productivity and Innovation Awareness Training – business training designed to:

• improve business understanding of productivity;
• focus on business innovation and emerging technologies as improvement enablers for business productivity, and achievement of Net Zero;
• encourage collaboration with FE colleges, Universities, and supply chain partners to improve knowledge transfer; and
• signpost available business support packages and encourage increased applications from MSW businesses.

 

Business Innovation Strategy Development Scheme* – to assist companies to develop a tailored, high impact, realisable innovation action plan defined to meet individual business needs, addressing key themes including:

• operational productivity;
• digitisation;
• decarbonisation;
• resource and skills; and
• finance and support.

 

Business Leadership and Technical Advisory Vouchers* – support businesses with access to industry experts to provide exceptional leadership and technical support to complex innovation projects.

Interested?

If you are a Micro or Small Medium Enterprise (SME) operating in the industrial sectors that dominate in the region (detailed below) and would like to find out more about the pilot Business Innovation Programme please complete the contact form at the bottom of this page or alternatively contact avril@brilliantred.co.uk or telephone 028 3082 1100.

 

• Manufacturing
• Engineering
• Aerospace
• Construction
• Agri-food processing
• Mining and quarrying
• Logistics and warehousing (including road haulage and distribution)
• Information and communication technology
• Pharmaceutical

We are currently inviting interest in the Productivity & Innovation Awareness Training.  *Recruitment for the other two elements of the Programme (i.e. Business Innovation Strategy Development Scheme and Business Leadership and Technical Advisory Vouchers) will be drawn from those businesses who successfully undertake the Productivity and Innovation Awareness Training and who satisfy the requisite eligibility criteria.

Benefits of the Productivity and Awareness Training include:

• free participation however time commitment required;
• knowledge transfer;
• assessment of your business’s baseline productivity position;
• assistance with the development of a decarbonisation plan;
• opportunity for improved collaboration with FE colleges;
• opportunity to participate in the Business Innovation Strategy Development Scheme;
• opportunity to potentially access a Business Leadership and Technical Advisory Voucher with a value of £3,000; and
• being positioned to access a proposed c£15m Industrial Investment Challenge Fund (2024-2026).

 

Any business expressing an interest does so on the understanding that their contact details/information will be shared with Brilliant Red Ltd (Delivery Agent) and that this does not guarantee their eligibility to participate in the pilot Programme. 

 

Download Innovation Supports for NI Businesses document >>