I am indebted to my good friends at The National B2B Centre in Warwick who tell me that Advantage West Midlands has unveiled its plans to encourage region wide involvement in business opportunities and collaborative projects in Europe http://www.wmictcluster.org/europe/ . AWM is also aiming to help SMEs in the region to benefit from European funding and will provide clear guidance on support services available. The core sections of the European section of the ICT Cluster website are updated frequently and consist of European Programme calls, tender opportunities, events and news. Additional features scheduled for the next few weeks will include regional support services; national contact points for the various programmes; and a “jargon buster” to assist those new to working in the arena of European project opportunities. It's aimed at any organisation involved in providing technology services and products, including regional businesses involved in ICT, education, science parks, researchers and Chambers of Commerce.
Source: National B2B Centre http://www.nb2b.co.uk
http://www.mgba.co.uk http://ww.ukba.co.uk
martin.parry@mgba.co.uk
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Monday, 27 July 2009
New Grants even in the holiday season
Although we are deep in the holiday period, organizations are still announcing grants and support for businesses throughout the country. In bringing this week’s list to you I am grateful to J4B for providing the information
Contest Offers Springboard To Green Ideas
A competition that rewards businesses for coming up with innovative ideas to tackle climate change has reopened to entries.
The Shell Springboard Awards 2009-10 offer cash prizes ranging between £20,000 and £40,000 for UK-based companies to come up with commercially viable products, services or ideas that will lead to a reduction in greenhouse gases.
Low Carbon Plans High OnThe Agenda
Millions of pounds worth of new funding has been announced to help businesses make the most of the shift to a low carbon economy.
The Government has revealed their much anticipated Low Carbon Transition Plan, which outlines how the UK will aim to meet tough targets on cutting carbon emissions by 2020.
£10,000 Prize Not To Be Sniffed At!
BT Business has started its annual hunt to find the UK’s best business brains.
The telecoms giant is inviting applications to their Essence of the Entrepreneur 2009 competition and is offering a £10,000 cash prize to the small business that can demonstrate the best use of technology to drive forward their success.
Rate Relief For Scottish Firms
Scottish small firms are reminded to take advantage of a rate relief initiative.
Through the Small Business Bonus Scheme, companies owning properties with a rateable value of less than £15,000 can apply for an exemption of up to 100%, leading to average savings of around £1,400.
Recession Recovery Package For Birmingham Businesses
Businesses in Birmingham are set for a £17 million recession busting economic support package.
The city’s council is set to stump up £10.9 million as part of the overall Working Neighbourhood Fund investment, which will be used to run a series of tailored support schemes for local firms.
Revamp For Knowledge Transfer Scheme
A long-running support programme that encourages collaboration between industry and academia has undergone a radical revamp.
From the beginning of July, the Government-funded Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) scheme has introduced a more flexible funding system.
This information is provided by martin.parry@mgba.co.uk , www.mgba.co.uk & www.ukba.co.uk For more information about our grant support service please email me at the address above.
Contest Offers Springboard To Green Ideas
A competition that rewards businesses for coming up with innovative ideas to tackle climate change has reopened to entries.
The Shell Springboard Awards 2009-10 offer cash prizes ranging between £20,000 and £40,000 for UK-based companies to come up with commercially viable products, services or ideas that will lead to a reduction in greenhouse gases.
Low Carbon Plans High OnThe Agenda
Millions of pounds worth of new funding has been announced to help businesses make the most of the shift to a low carbon economy.
The Government has revealed their much anticipated Low Carbon Transition Plan, which outlines how the UK will aim to meet tough targets on cutting carbon emissions by 2020.
£10,000 Prize Not To Be Sniffed At!
BT Business has started its annual hunt to find the UK’s best business brains.
The telecoms giant is inviting applications to their Essence of the Entrepreneur 2009 competition and is offering a £10,000 cash prize to the small business that can demonstrate the best use of technology to drive forward their success.
Rate Relief For Scottish Firms
Scottish small firms are reminded to take advantage of a rate relief initiative.
Through the Small Business Bonus Scheme, companies owning properties with a rateable value of less than £15,000 can apply for an exemption of up to 100%, leading to average savings of around £1,400.
Recession Recovery Package For Birmingham Businesses
Businesses in Birmingham are set for a £17 million recession busting economic support package.
The city’s council is set to stump up £10.9 million as part of the overall Working Neighbourhood Fund investment, which will be used to run a series of tailored support schemes for local firms.
Revamp For Knowledge Transfer Scheme
A long-running support programme that encourages collaboration between industry and academia has undergone a radical revamp.
From the beginning of July, the Government-funded Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) scheme has introduced a more flexible funding system.
This information is provided by martin.parry@mgba.co.uk , www.mgba.co.uk & www.ukba.co.uk For more information about our grant support service please email me at the address above.
Monday, 13 July 2009
the Diversification Grant returns
Good news if you are an SME in The West Midlands. Business Link West Midlands has announced the return of their Diversification Grant for SMEs throughout the region.The fund has it's roots in the BMW / Rover debacle when many suppliers to Rover Group were left with considerable investment in plant and people but no customer. The Diversification Fund was launched to help such businesses find new markets for their products and services.
Now the programme has spread to all west Midlands SMEs who aree looking to grow their businesses and diversify. The fund is very adaptable and can be used for a number of projects within a business. The ipmortant thing is to have a good business idea that could flourish with a bit of support. Funding is available on a 50/50 match fund basis so if you want to know more please drop me an email Posted by Martin Parry http://www.mgba.co.u
Now the programme has spread to all west Midlands SMEs who aree looking to grow their businesses and diversify. The fund is very adaptable and can be used for a number of projects within a business. The ipmortant thing is to have a good business idea that could flourish with a bit of support. Funding is available on a 50/50 match fund basis so if you want to know more please drop me an email Posted by Martin Parry http://www.mgba.co.u
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
New Grants Available for UK Businesses
Double Delight For Glasgow Businesses
Glasgow City Council has stumped up a £200,000 budget for two new funds, Supporting Sustainable New Business scheme and the Glasgow4Business Fund.
Through Supporting Sustainable New Business, grants worth up to £1,500 are available to help local SMEs that have been trading for less than 12 months to grow and create new jobs. The Glasgow4Business Fund provides match funding worth a maximum of £5,000 to promote sustainable growth for existing firms that have been trading for a minimum of a year. Investment can cover up to 50% of the total project costs and can be spent on marketing, upgrading ICT equipment, purchasing essential capital items, or product development.
Source: Glasgow City Council, 22/06/2009
Launch Of £25 Million Electric Car Trial
The government is offering eight new projects across the UK will share the cash to offer members of the public and businesses the opportunity to pilot the next generation of high performance low carbon vehicles. Over the next 18 months up to 340 electric and hybrid cars and models will be made available in areas including London, Oxford, Coventry, Birmingham, and Glasgow. It is hoped the demonstration projects will showcase the technological advances that the car industry has made in producing low carbon vehicles that are as appealing in terms of price and performance as petrol or diesel-powered alternatives. Amongst the car manufacturers involved are Toyota, who are making 20 plug-in hybrid cars available for testing; Mini, who will pilot 40 all electric “smart-cars” and Ford, who have contributed a fleet of zero emission Ford Focus BEVs.
Source: Technology Strategy Board, 23/06/2009
Revving Up Support For Low Carbon Vehicles
As part of the government-funded Technology Strategy Board’s Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform, a second Integrated Delivery Programme Competition has been launched to test out the technologies that are needed to deliver more environmentally-friendly cars.
Support is available for two kinds of project:
§ Innovation Focus Area 1 - £5 million of the overall competition budget has been set aside to fund 12 month proof of concept studies investigating the development of a number of short-term research priorities.
§ Innovation Focus Area 2 – the remaining £10 million will support up to 12 collaborative R&D projects, over a maximum of three years, which will look to achieve medium and long-term research priorities with a view to supporting mass market readiness by 2016.
Both kinds of project will aim to develop technologies in the following areas: propulsion; energy storage; vehicle efficiency; system control; and process and tool development.
Successful projects will need to demonstrate:
§ Clear potential for mass market adoption.
§ Quantified CO2 savings when compared to the current "best in class" technologies and a clear contribution towards getting the public to embrace low carbon vehicle technology.
§ Durability, integrity and safety (in line with industry expectations).
§ A clear route to a viable market and that the innovations are economically advantageous to current technologies.
Applications for Innovation Focus Area 1 funding are made through a single, fast-track process. Bids must be submitted by 6 August.
Innovation Focus Area 2 proposals are made via a two-stage process. Interested consortia should initially submit an expression of interest by 6 August. Shortlisted bidders will then be invited to complete a full application by 16 October.
For further information about the funding competition, visit the Technology Strategy Board website
Source: Technology Strategy Board, 22/06/2009
WRAP Reveals Fantastic Plastic Recycling Opportunity
Government-funded waste watchdog WRAP is making grants worth up to £2 million available to increase mixed plastic recycling capacity in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. At the moment, more than 180,000 tonnes worth of plastic bottles are collected for recycling across the UK each year.
But WRAP research has revealed that more than a million tonnes of other household plastic waste - such as margarine tubs, fruit trays and yoghurt pots – is currently being sent to landfill every year due to lack of suitable reprocessing facilities. They are now looking to fund private, public or community sector recycling organisations to increase recycling capacity for this “mixed plastic” waste.
Grants can cover up to 30% of the capital costs involved with either expanding existing facilities or building new recycling plants.
Applications for funding have to be made by 10 September, with shortlisted bidders invited to present their ideas in greater depth to a panel of industry experts.
The successful proposals will be announced by 16 October and the projects will be up and running by 31 March 2011 at the very latest.
For further information about the Mixed Plastics Capital Grant Competition, visit the WRAP website
Source: WRAP, 18/06/2009
If you think your businesses could qualify for one of these opportunities please check out our website www.mgba.co.uk or email me
Glasgow City Council has stumped up a £200,000 budget for two new funds, Supporting Sustainable New Business scheme and the Glasgow4Business Fund.
Through Supporting Sustainable New Business, grants worth up to £1,500 are available to help local SMEs that have been trading for less than 12 months to grow and create new jobs. The Glasgow4Business Fund provides match funding worth a maximum of £5,000 to promote sustainable growth for existing firms that have been trading for a minimum of a year. Investment can cover up to 50% of the total project costs and can be spent on marketing, upgrading ICT equipment, purchasing essential capital items, or product development.
Source: Glasgow City Council, 22/06/2009
Launch Of £25 Million Electric Car Trial
The government is offering eight new projects across the UK will share the cash to offer members of the public and businesses the opportunity to pilot the next generation of high performance low carbon vehicles. Over the next 18 months up to 340 electric and hybrid cars and models will be made available in areas including London, Oxford, Coventry, Birmingham, and Glasgow. It is hoped the demonstration projects will showcase the technological advances that the car industry has made in producing low carbon vehicles that are as appealing in terms of price and performance as petrol or diesel-powered alternatives. Amongst the car manufacturers involved are Toyota, who are making 20 plug-in hybrid cars available for testing; Mini, who will pilot 40 all electric “smart-cars” and Ford, who have contributed a fleet of zero emission Ford Focus BEVs.
Source: Technology Strategy Board, 23/06/2009
Revving Up Support For Low Carbon Vehicles
As part of the government-funded Technology Strategy Board’s Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform, a second Integrated Delivery Programme Competition has been launched to test out the technologies that are needed to deliver more environmentally-friendly cars.
Support is available for two kinds of project:
§ Innovation Focus Area 1 - £5 million of the overall competition budget has been set aside to fund 12 month proof of concept studies investigating the development of a number of short-term research priorities.
§ Innovation Focus Area 2 – the remaining £10 million will support up to 12 collaborative R&D projects, over a maximum of three years, which will look to achieve medium and long-term research priorities with a view to supporting mass market readiness by 2016.
Both kinds of project will aim to develop technologies in the following areas: propulsion; energy storage; vehicle efficiency; system control; and process and tool development.
Successful projects will need to demonstrate:
§ Clear potential for mass market adoption.
§ Quantified CO2 savings when compared to the current "best in class" technologies and a clear contribution towards getting the public to embrace low carbon vehicle technology.
§ Durability, integrity and safety (in line with industry expectations).
§ A clear route to a viable market and that the innovations are economically advantageous to current technologies.
Applications for Innovation Focus Area 1 funding are made through a single, fast-track process. Bids must be submitted by 6 August.
Innovation Focus Area 2 proposals are made via a two-stage process. Interested consortia should initially submit an expression of interest by 6 August. Shortlisted bidders will then be invited to complete a full application by 16 October.
For further information about the funding competition, visit the Technology Strategy Board website
Source: Technology Strategy Board, 22/06/2009
WRAP Reveals Fantastic Plastic Recycling Opportunity
Government-funded waste watchdog WRAP is making grants worth up to £2 million available to increase mixed plastic recycling capacity in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. At the moment, more than 180,000 tonnes worth of plastic bottles are collected for recycling across the UK each year.
But WRAP research has revealed that more than a million tonnes of other household plastic waste - such as margarine tubs, fruit trays and yoghurt pots – is currently being sent to landfill every year due to lack of suitable reprocessing facilities. They are now looking to fund private, public or community sector recycling organisations to increase recycling capacity for this “mixed plastic” waste.
Grants can cover up to 30% of the capital costs involved with either expanding existing facilities or building new recycling plants.
Applications for funding have to be made by 10 September, with shortlisted bidders invited to present their ideas in greater depth to a panel of industry experts.
The successful proposals will be announced by 16 October and the projects will be up and running by 31 March 2011 at the very latest.
For further information about the Mixed Plastics Capital Grant Competition, visit the WRAP website
Source: WRAP, 18/06/2009
If you think your businesses could qualify for one of these opportunities please check out our website www.mgba.co.uk or email me
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