NW OBJECTIVE 2 PROGRAMME

Transcription

1 NW OBJECTIVE 2 PROGRAMME NW Knowledge Based Action Plan Version 9 NW Objective 2 Area Partnership Priority One: Business & Ideas Priority Three: Strategic Regional Investment NW Objective 2 & Transitional Areas Developed by: Endorsed by: August 2001

2 Section CONTENTS Page Introduction 3 Purpose 3 Priorities & Measures 4 Target Area & population 4 Base-line Data 6 Partnership Arrangements 10 Linkages to other Action Plans 10 Roles and Responsibilities 13 Systems & Mgt arrangements 14 Structure 14 Action Plan Management 16 Project Appraisal & Approval 17 Monitoring 19 Financial claims 19 Action Plan Levy 20 Technical Assistance 20 Strategic Objectives & Aims 21 Justification of HE joint-intervention & Research findings 26 Risk & Realism assessment 28 Related Measures - Priority One 31 - Priority Three 31 Project based themes 32 Key Projects 33 Match funding 34 Cross cutting themes 36 Publicity 40 State Aids 42 Linkages to Objective 3 ESF 43 Priority One - Business & Ideas 45 Priority Three - Strategic Regional Investment 56 P3 Section One - Introduction 57 P3 Section Two - Strategic Contribution 59 P3 Section Three - SPD Compliance 63 P3 Section Four - P3 Project portfolio 65 P3 Section Five - Contribution & value for money 67 P3 Section Six - Deliverability 84 Annex 1 - Partnership commitment 87 Annex 2 - Community Publicity Requirements 89 Annex 3 - Procurement 90 Annex 4 - Conflict of Interest Policy 93 Annex 5 - Management Structure diagram 94 2

3 INTRODUCTION This Action Plan has been developed and prepared by the Six North West Objective 2 area Universities; University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Salford, UMIST, University of Lancaster, University of Central Lancashire & Bolton Institute and the NWDA, through the CONTACT Partnership and in consultation & collaboration with relevant & appropriate regional agencies such as the Small Business Service (S.B.S.). The Action Plan is submitted by the Manchester Metropolitan University, on behalf of the HEI Partnership, as the accountable body for the Action Plan; the central administration of the Action Plan will be undertaken by the CONTACT Partnership office. Partner organisations have each signed an introductory statement of commitment to the Action Plan and to implement it subsequently. (See annex 1) PURPOSE The purpose of this HEI Thematic Action Plan is to set out the objectives and the proposed operations of a public/ private partnership focused on ways of improving the regional yield from knowledge, innovation & technological exploitation. This Action Plan also serves as a vehicle for interaction & integration of the Higher Education Institutions with the regional agencies, business and other public agency's inline with Central Government expectations and challenges. It is intended to stimulate collaboration on a regional basis and maximise the potential between the Higher Education Institutions and between them and other agencies in the NW Region in economic regeneration and sustainability. The DTi's UK Competitiveness Indicators (2 nd edition) published in February 2001 recognises that "Universities are at the heart of the knowledge economy not only are they important creators of knowledge and trainers of minds, they can also be major agents of economic growth, responding to the influences of globalisation & new technologies, and the need to interact with business". This Action plan contributes towards the Regional objective of developing a 'knowledge based economy', which is now recognised as the key element of competitiveness needed to secure sustainable economic growth, by harnessing 3

4 the distinct intellectual & technological assets within HE Institutions & research centres and the large business base existing within the Objective 2 area. Priorities & Measures This Action Plan aims to develop upon the successful framework & provision established under the CONTACT Thematic Action Plan and incorporates project proposals which will be formulated to address Priority One "Businesses & Ideas", through Measures 1.1, 1.4 & 1.5 and Priority 3 "Strategic Regional Investment" through measures 3.1 of the S.P.D. In this way complementarity, co-ordination and interaction can be achieved, facilitated and developed. For the purpose of centralisation and coordination, partner organisations have contributed indicative proposals against Priority One Measure Three activity under the NWDA's "NW Innovation & Specialist business support" Action Plan. Target Area & Population - a summary of the economic assessment of the area. The Action Plan aims to operationally cover the whole of the fully eligible & transitional Objective 2 areas for reasons of economic scale & co-ordination. The impact is expected relatively evenly distributed across eligible areas in approximate proportion to the total Objective 2 population residing within each County (see table 1.1), centralising on the distribution of the business community. Activities will reach out on a regional dimension to support the regional economic framework. This is also due to the location of the Universities, Bolton Institute, Partners and campuses across the eligible programme area. OBJECTIVE 2 AREA POPULATION BY COUNTY County Eligible Population Transitional Population Total Obj 2 Population County Population Obj 2 Pop as % of County Cumbria 251,018 82, , , Lancashire 390, , ,861 1,425, Gtr Manchester 1,377, ,238 2,137,981 2,563, Cheshire 143,058 76, , , NORTH WEST 2,162,271 1,305,206 3,467,477 5,462, Source: Census of Population, GRO Estimates Population split within O2 programme area (taken from SPD/ Prog. Compliment) Sub-region Eligible areas Transitional areas Total population Cumbria 251,018 12% 82,998 6% 334,016 10% Lancashire 390,452 18% 385,409 30% 775,861 22% GM 1,377,743 64% 760,238 58% 2,137,981 62% Cheshire 143,058 7% 76,561 6% 219,619 6% Total 2,162, % 1,305, % 62% 38% 3,467, % 4

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6 Base-line data: The NW Knowledge-based Action Plan, being regional in focus and delivery, will be utilising statistics & base-line data covering the whole NW Objective 2 programme area as opposed to local area data applicable for local Partnership proposals. For ease of use summary points have been included below of key data / features relevant to this Action Plan & proposed activities, however, a more detailed appraisal can be obviously seen in the SPD and programme complement documents which cover the same geographical area. Summary base-line data has been included relating to the three cross-cutting themes in the individual sections below. New Firm Formation Between 1994 and 1997 at UK level, the rate of registrations as a proportion of the existing stock has been increasing for all businesses. At broad sectoral level, however, growth has been confined to services and "other" businesses, while the position with regard to manufacturing has remained broadly the same. TABLE 2.8: VAT REGISTRATIONS (as a percentage of stock of businesses) All sectors Manufacturing Services Other North West UK Source: Small and Medium Enterprise Policy directorate (SMEP), DTI The North West has participated in this trend for all businesses, however, at the broad sectoral level there are some important distinctions in the experience of the North West and the national picture. The rate of VAT registrations for service sector businesses in the North West has come from behind in 1994 to equal the national average in For "other" industries, the rate of registrations has increased, but not as quickly as the national average. In manufacturing, however, the disparity is even more stark. Whereas at national level between 1994 and 1997 the trend in manufacturing registrations was towards a small increase (1 or 2 %), in the North West, the rate of manufacturing registrations actually fell by 13%, in spite of the generally favourable economic conditions at that time. The result is that in 1997, the North West had the lowest rate of new VAT registrations as a percentage of manufacturing business stock of all 13 UK planning regions. One of the main measures for success in generating and sustaining new enterprise is the percentage of new businesses surviving beyond given periods of time. Over the period for which data is available, it may be seen that the North West participated in this trend although the survival rates were some three percentage points below the national average throughout. This gap has only closed slightly in the period of analysis. Nevertheless, the North West has moved from having the lowest survival rate for businesses registered in 1991 to third lowest for businesses registered in SURVIVAL RATES OF BUSINESSES (% surviving three years) N West UK Source: Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), compiled by DTI 6

7 Key Points 1. The North West Objective 2 Programme is situated within a Four County region with an aggregate economy which is tracking the national average in terms of many key indicators. Relative to the North West region, however, the Programme Area has performed poorly. 2. Whilst total employment grew between 1993 and 1997, proportionately more of the new jobs in the Programme Area were part time 3. The North West region has a rate of unemployment that is below most UK regions. However, serious disparities remain within the Programme Area, and the discouraged worker effect has seen the migration of long term unemployed into economic inactivity. 4. New business formation remains below the national average, and the attrition of the VAT business stock is also at a higher than average level in the Programme Area. 5. Between 1987 and 1996, GDP per capita in the North West fell from near parity with the national average to 95%. In some parts of the Programme Area, GDP per capita is below the qualifying level for Objective 1 status. Structure of the business base Manufacturing accounts for a greater proportion of all businesses in the Objective 2 area than nationally 11.2% compared with 9.9%. Outwith manufacturing, comparative differences between the Objective 2 area and the UK reflect the predominantly urban nature of the Objective 2 area, e.g. higher share of businesses in wholesale/retail. The wholesale/retail sector is by far the largest in the Objective 2 area, accounting for 3 in 10 of businesses - only a small proportion of this sector, however, are likely to be eligible for support from the Objective 2 programme. TABLE 2.11: SECTORAL COMPOSITION OF VAT-REGISTERED BUSINESSES, 1998 NW Objective 2 area % UK % Agriculture, forestry, fishing Mining, quarrying, utilities Manufacturing Construction Wholesale, retail Hotels and catering Transport, communications Banking, financial services Real estate, other business act Public admin., other services Education, health Source: DTI, Customs & Excise, ONS The contrasts between the urban and rural components of the Objective 2 area are emphasised by the sectoral breakdown of businesses by County. In Cumbria, the primary sector accounts for 1 in 3 of VAT-registered businesses (a much greater proportion of all businesses, if those below the VAT threshold are considered, many of whom will be in the primary sector). Cumbria also possesses a much higher proportion of businesses in hotels and catering, reflecting the importance of tourism in the Lake District part of the area. Conversely, manufacturing is a much less important sector in Cumbria, with such businesses concentrated around Barrow in Furness. TABLE 2.12 SECTORAL COMPOSITION OF VAT-REGISTERED BUSINESSES, 1998 Cumbria% Cheshire % Lancs % Grt Manch % Agriculture, forestry, fishing Mining, quarrying, utilities Manufacturing Construction Wholesale, retail Hotels and catering

8 Transport, communications Banking, financial services Real estate, other bus. Act Public admin., other services Education, health Total 100% 100% 100% 100% Source: DTI, Customs & Excise, ONS Using VAT data from 1998 and population estimates from 1997, the number of VAT registered businesses per 10,000 in the Objective 2 area is estimated as 242, compared to 274 as a whole. On this basis, there are 13% fewer businesses in the Objective 2 area than the national average. The Objective 2 area is characterised by a substantial enterprise gap with the UK. If business density in the Objective 2 area was equal to the UK average, then the Programme Area would possess approximately 106,000 VAT-registered businesses, equivalent to an additional 12,200. If it were assumed that each of these additional businesses employed only 2 persons, then an extra 25,000 jobs would exist in the Objective 2 area. Employment Sizeband The IDBR identifies a total of 91,295 VAT based businesses in the Programme Area, of which 78,910 employ fewer than 10 persons. Whilst this is 86.4% of the total number of businesses, this is below the UK average, where 87.3% of businesses are in this sizeband. The majority of businesses are, unsurprisingly, given the composition of the Programme Area, in Greater Manchester, which accounts for 53% of the total number of businesses. For micro-businesses, i.e. those under 10 employees, there are differences within the Programme Area, where there are a higher proportion of micro-businesses within rural areas, principally due to the influence of small agricultural businesses. In Cumbria, 90% of all registered businesses employ fewer than 10 persons, compared to 86% in Greater Manchester and 82% in Cheshire. TABLE 2.14: BUSINESSES BY EMPLOYMENT SIZEBAND, 1999 Obj 2 Area* Total All Man. All Man. All Man. All Man All Man.. Cumbria 11, , , Cheshire 2, , Lancashire 23,405 2,080 3, ,065 3,105 Gtr Manch. 41,660 3,805 5,655 1, ,540 5,860 North West 78,910 6,635 10,305 2,480 1, ,295 10,045 UK ( 000 s) 1, , Source: IDBR; *best fit based on LAD Of the 91,295 businesses in the Programme Area, 10,045 are manufacturing businesses, 11% of the total, compared to 10% in the UK, which reinforces the DTI Customs and Excise data. Again, the profile of the manufacturing businesses across the Programme differs between the urban and rural areas, where a greater proportion of businesses are micro-businesses in rural areas. 7.6% of the manufacturing businesses employ fewer than 10 persons in Cumbria, compared to 6.5% in Greater Manchester and 5.7% in Cheshire. 8

9 Key Points 1. The IDBR data records 91,925 VAT based businesses across the Districts in the Programme, of which 86.4% employ fewer than 10 persons 2. Despite the high numbers of small businesses, this is lower than the UK average 3. Small businesses dominate the rural areas, in particular due to high numbers of agricultural businesses, but larger employers are a feature in many of the more urban areas 4. The IDBR data reinforces the high numbers of manufacturing businesses in the region, including a number of large employers Industry dynamics Key Points 1. The Objective 2 area had 4,500 fewer businesses in 1998 than in 1994, a poor performance compared to the UK average 2. A 22% increase in the number of firms in the business services sector was more than offset by significant reductions in manufacturing, wholesale/retail, construction, and hotels and catering 3. In some sectors, notably manufacturing, reductions in the number of businesses were accompanied by increases in employment, suggesting a degree of consolidation Analysis at the level of the Objective 2 Programme Area suggests that the lower than average number of businesses is partly due to lower rates of business start-ups. In 1997, there were more than 10,000 VAT registrations, 10.8% of the total stock compared to a proportion of 11.3% in the UK. Registration rates varied considerably within the Objective 2 area. In Lancashire, the annual number of registrations was unchanged compared to a growth rate of 10% in Greater Manchester. As well as lower rates of new business start-up, the Objective 2 areas also exhibit higher failure rates, based on the data on VAT de-registrations. In 1997, VAT de-registrations comprised 11.1% of the total number of businesses compared to 10.3% nationally. Although the annual number of businesses failing fell during the 1990s as the economy continued to expand, the failure rate in the Objective 2 area was always above the national average. High technology Key Points 1. The Programme Area has a large volume of employment in process manufacturing, most sectors of which are in decline. 2. Manufacturing sectors that are growing at national level, including many higher value-adding sectors, are in some cases poorly represented in the Programme Area or are growing less quickly. Some important sectors growing at national level are actually in decline within the Programme Area. 3. Growth of the private service sector is generally behind the GB average, and although business services have kept pace, higher value-adding sectors such as financial services and recreational services are in decline or are stagnating. 4. Although the Transitional Area has enjoyed a faster rate of employment growth in aggregate than the Programme Area as a whole, the statistics suggest that it is still subject to many of the same structural weaknesses. 9

10 Timescale This "NW Knowledge-based" Action Plan is initially for a six-year operational period, submitted to operate from the 1 st January 2000 (to allow for some limited retrospection) to the 31 st December 2005, but within an overall strategic framework that will operate until the end of the Programme in Financial commitment under this first phase of the programme will be complete by 31 st December 2003 as required by the SPD. The Partnership's intention is that a second Action Plan will be submitted following the mid-programme review to run concurrently on to 31 st December PARTNERSHIP This Regional Thematic Action Plan is supported by the six Universities within the eligible NW Objective 2 programme area (Lancaster, Central Lancashire, Manchester, MMU, Salford and UMIST) and Bolton institute. Its purpose is to stimulate collaboration and maximise the potential between the Higher Education Institutions and between them and other relevant agencies in the NW Region such as the NWDA, SBS, in economic regeneration and sustainability. This Action Plan has been formulated in conjunction with & endorsed by the NW Regional Assembly, The NW Development Agency, Local Authorities, The Cumbria Partnership and in consultation with NW Tourist Board and other local Partnerships The establishment of an this knowledge based Action Plan will be a facilitating mechanism for greater integration by HEIs with key regional development agencies i.e. NWDA & SBS and to be a powerful vehicle where these agencies can collaborate specifically for the regeneration of the Objective 2 area. Linkages to other Action Plan's & Partnerships. The Partnership recognises that this HEI Action Plan as a whole will not work without structured operational links to other Action Plans whether regional or local orientated, for example the Manchester South/ North, West Lancashire & Cumbria and agencies such as the Small Business Service, NWDA etc. The CONTACT Partnership office & partners have sought to engage with representatives from other Action Plans, Partnerships and public agencies to discuss intentions, ways of collaboration, to ensure unnecessary duplication is reduced or eliminated wherever possible; promoting collaboration and additionality to the SBS activities, ensuring projects are submitted through the most appropriate funding route to facilitate optimised delivery & coordination. The non-he sector Agencies and Partnerships who have been contacted & had discussions with/ consulted include: 10

11 The Small Business Service, North West Development Agency, City Pride Partnership, Cumbria Partnership, West Lancashire Partnership, North West Regional Assembly, Government Office North West, Manchester City Council, East Lancashire Partnership and North West Tourist Board. Representatives from the CONTACT Partnership member institutions have played an active role in supporting and contributing to the development of other Action Plans, including the Manchester South Action plan submitted by Manchester Enterprises Plc. The Director of the CONTACT Partnership is also a member of the City Pride Working Group and Cumbria Action Plan Working Group. Discussions with partner and regional organisations have been purposely held already and will continue over the forthcoming months to see how the HEI sector can proactively & equally participate & contribute to the Objective 2 programme in collaboration with the intentions of other agencies & Institutions and in the development of appropriate liaison structures to facilitate this. It has been identified that other existing partnerships and identified Action Plan bidders are either too geographically restricted or focus on a definitive theme therefore they are overall not appropriate or economically viable for the activities & projects anticipated under this Action Plan or to the HEI sector. Discussions have further shown the clear need for a separate approach to the higher innovation and regional knowledge economy along with the delivery support services for which the HEI sector proactively contributes. The specialist nature of the proposed activities by the HEI sector should mean minimal duplication at local Action Plan level however strong referral linkages will continue to operate at project level with Business Links/ SBS franchises. The CONTACT Partnership consortium has been in operation since 1986 and typifies the close collaboration that has taken place amongst the four Greater Manchester HE Institutions and Bolton Institute. These member institutions have built a successful working partnership and level of joint interaction, which has produced significant local and regional benefits such as Manchester Science Park, The Incubation Partnership, Sports and business resource facilities. The existence of the Manchester Science Enterprise Centre, based at UMIST, is also a distinct example that will create a more entrepreneurial environment and also create more invention disclosures. During the last Objective programme the CONTACT Partnership office has developed substantial experience in managing & co-ordinating, through the Action Plan model, European Co-funded projects delivered by from numerous partner organisations. The Sector has recognised that whilst it is still vitally important to maintain active local links, the regional perspective, particularly regarding the knowledge economy, must not be ignored or belittled but should be pro-actively encouraged, supported and exploited for the benefit of the North West Region. It is therefore appropriate that in the absence of any other existing suitable option, that the Partnership institutions and associated regional partners utilise 11

12 CONTACT Partnership as an operational & interactive mechanism, linking with other agencies and Universities through a distinct Action Plan Partnership to facilitate specialised project-based activities contributing towards the aspirations of the Objective 2 SPD relating to the "Knowledge Economy and the Government's recent Knowledge Economy White Paper. This HEI Action Plan is therefore purposefully designed to complement & augment, as under in the current programme, the activities & service provision of the Small Business Service franchises within the programme operating area, which will predominantly be tasked to provide generic business advice & support within geographically restrained areas as well as other local Action Plans. To ensure compatibility & co-ordination a representative from the Regional SBS Office will be present on the Partnership Board as well as representatives from the NWDA and NWRA. The differentiating focus for this Action Plan compared to others, is to engage SMEs within the Programme area into significant, in depth interaction with the HE institutions, utilising recognised leading departments & faculties, to facilitate highlevel specialist knowledge & technological transfer, Research, long-term collaboration and new product development. Use of ICT will facilitate the inclusion of rural areas, which face different +/or additional challenges to other parts of the region. This level of activity aimed at promoting & sustaining the Knowledge economy is not available through other agencies and is not economically viable if confined to small local areas. This plan will facilitate HEIs and SMEs to engage with each other in collaborative research, product and technological developments, which will increase the commercialisation of the knowledge base and increase the number of high growth start-ups (HGSU). The Action Plan is committed to raise the quality of every aspect of delivery to ensure the most effective & efficient use of Structural Fund & partner resources. To this point the Action Plan will adopt the following guiding principles throughout: Delivery of best value Ensuring sustainable results Promotion of Excellence Developing a learning culture Informed monitoring, review and evaluation of progress Promote & facilitate inter-agency collaboration and co-ordinated delivery. This can be achieved by promoting business networks; exploring new market opportunities; effectively harnessing ICT; along with a commitment to business excellence; and the sharing of best practice. Indicative project proposals have been developed in conjunction with a number of leading sector networks & agencies for prominent sectors such as North West Textiles Network, Northwest Food Alliance, NWTB and North West Aerospace Alliance as well as many others. The establishment of a directory listing University Enterprise liaison teams, project managers/contact as well as key SBS 'delivery' teams, local Authority 12

13 Regeneration Units will assist communication and referrals. This will be augmented by the Knowledge-brokerage service being develop between NWUA, NWDA and the Regional SBS office. Roles & responsibilities (including type of role e.g. financial, nonfinancial, support services ) The lead responsibility for delivering the objectives of this Action Plan rests principally with the six Universities based within the NW Objective 2 programme area; Lancaster, Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan, Salford, UMIST and Central Lancashire, and Bolton Institute. These HE Partners along with the NWDA, Regional SBS office and other representatives, will take an active financial/ management role & provide a large proportion of the support infrastructure. The Management & administration of the Action Plan will be through the CONTACT Partnership; a consortium set-up in September 1986 by the four GM Universities initially for advanced continuing education & training. Other experienced & highly regarded HE sector partners who will have an active delivery role in addition to the six Universities, Bolton institute & NWDA include: UMIST Ventures Ltd Chester College of H.E. St. Martins College of H.E. Lead HE Partners have signed an introductory statement (see annex 1) to show they are committed to the Plan and to implement it subsequently and letters of support have been attached from the wider regional Partners & Agencies. At both a strategic level through the action Plan Partnership Board and operationally, HE partners will work closely with: The North West Regional Assembly. The NWRA is the political hub for the North West and determines the regional priorities & strategies across a range of policy fields and the delivery of such by public agencies. The NWRA will have management role and a representative on the AP Board. North West Development Agency. The NWDA is a key driver for promoting greater interaction between HEIs and business and who also determines regional priorities for business support and ensure that these are being pursued at local level. The NWDA will also have both a financial & management role with a representative on the AP Board due to the NWDA being a source funding for a number of projects and the regional incubator programme. Small Business Service. The involvement of the regional SBS office is to ensure that activities are complementary to those of the SBS franchises and 13

14 facilitate linkages. A representative from the Regional SBS office will also be a member of the AP Board. NW Aerospace Alliance. A member of the current Contact Action Plan Board, NWAA representatives have provided valuable private sector direction & appraisal of activities, which will continue under this Action Plan. Local Government Authorities & Partnerships. The proposed Action Plan will be overseen by a Board of representatives convened from Partner Organisations. A diagram illustrating the management structure (annex 5) is attached. An informally agreed operating arrangement is currently in-place under the Action Plan, with the exception of the conflict of interest policy, and it is proposed that this is continued under this Action Plan proposal however the principles of this code are outlined in the annex 4. Partnership Systems and Management Arrangements A diagram illustrating the proposed management structure for this Action Plan is attached at Annex 5. The CONTACT Partnership Consortium comprising the then just the four GM Universities & Bolton Institute have previous experience of managing action plans, maintaining transparent decision-making procedures and competence in the handling of sizeable European funds as well as other significant funding streams such as for research. Under the new proposed Action Plan Partnership arrangement two more Universities: University of Central Lancashire and University of Lancaster, will join the existing HE partnership bringing a truly Objective 2 HE regional dimension to the group in addition to their considerable skills and resource base. This HE group will be augmented by a number of non-he sector Institution representatives to provide a multi-agency regional Partnership who will be able to reflect the divergent needs across the Objective 2 Eligible area and the region as a whole. Accountable body As previously stated the accountable body, on behalf of the HE Objective 2 Partnership, under the terms of this Action Plan is Manchester Metropolitan University, which is a charity limited by guarantee. A signed statement from the Manchester Metropolitan University accepting to undertake this responsibility is attached (annex 6). Management Structure The Action Plan will be directly overseen by the Action Plan Partnership Board, which will be comprised of key representatives from each of the main Partners. 14

15 Organisation Representative Position/Title Professor James Powell OBE Pro-Vice Chancellor University of Salford Manchester Metropolitan University Dr Marilyn Wedgewood Pro-Vice Chancellor University of Manchester Mr Peter Fell Director of Regional Affairs U.M.I.S.T. Professor Robin Procter ( Chair ) Deputy Principal University of Lancaster Professor Richard Davies Pro-Vice Chancellor University of Central Lancashire Mr Ian Haythornwaite Pro-Vice Chancellor Bolton Institute Mr Mark Allanson Director of Enterprise NW Aerospace Alliance NW Development Agency TBC Mr John Burrows OBE Business Development Director NW Regional Assembly Mr Steve Machin Director NWRA Regional SBS Manchester City Council (TBC) CONTACT Partnership Mr Tom Walker Mr Eddie Smith (TBC) Ms Gillian Cox SBS Director for the NW Director of Regeneration (TBC) Director of the CONTACT Partnership CONTACT Partnership Mr Neil Clatworthy Action Plan Manager The Action Plan Board 's role will be to: Approve the content and strategic direction of the Action Plan Approve any variations to the Action Plan Approve all delegated projects Endorse & recommend bids for approval to Government Office North West over the delegation limit. Receive Action Plan monitoring reports relating to project expenditure, claims, progression and approve any action required as a result of those reports. To oversee the Action Plan Management arrangements To serve as ambassadors for the Action Plan. Ensure that the Action Plan continues to meet the regional strategies for business support. Appeals & Referrals arrangements: The NW Universities Association (NWUA) Management Team comprising the Vice-Chancellor's of all 10 NW Universities will serve to: To oversee the Action Plan Partnership Board and processes. To act as an adjudicator of any disputes or conflicts of interest referred to it by the Action Plan Partnership Board. To receive Action Plan summary monitoring reports relating to expenditure, claims and output achievement. 15

16 To serve as the Universities mechanism to ensure positive collaboration and resources. The CONTACT Partnership The CONTACT Partnership Management Board, who is responsible for the operations of the CONTACT Partnership office & staff that will administrate & manage the Action Plan on a day-to-day basis on behalf of the Accountable Body, is comprised of representatives of the four GM Universities as follows: University of Manchester: Professor Peter Meudell, Pro-Vice Chancellor Mr. Peter Fell, Director of Regional Affairs Manchester Metropolitan University: Dr Marilyn Wedgwood, Pro-Vice Chancellor & Director of External Relations Ms. Sarah O'Donnell, Head of External Relations University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology (UMIST): Professor Robin Procter, Vice Principal (Chair) Professor Stephen Bush, Director of Dept. of Engineering & Polymers. University of Salford: Professor James Powell OBE, Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr Lis Smith, Director of Life-long Learning (Deputy Chair) The CONTACT Partnership: Ms Gillian A. Cox, Director of the CONTACT Partnership The CONTACT Partnership Management Board's role with regard to the Action Plan will be to: To set strategic direction for the CONTACT Partnership office and that the Action Plan operational activities are correctly implemented & resourced in line with the wishes directed by the Action Plan Partnership Board. Action Plan Management Team: The CONTACT Partnership Action Plan team will be comprised of an Action Plan Manager and up to 2 administrators (one for each Priority) who will provide a central programme management, co-ordination and monitoring service supported by the wider CONTACT Partnership office staff. The Action Plan Manager will have responsibility for: Detailed monitoring of the Action Plan and the projects within it timetable, costs and outputs Compliance with Action Plan Guidance, SPD criteria and the Structural Funds Handbook, including the issuing of guidance to partners and project applicants as necessary, seeking clarification from the relevant bodies if appropriate Administering project applications, including issuing application packs and guidance to applicants, convening appraisal panels and appraising projects and making recommendations on project approvals to the Action Plan Board and sub-committees and informing the NWUA & the CONTACT Partnership Management Boards of developments. 16

17 Contracting with applicant organisations Preparation of progress reports to the Action Plan Board & sub-committees, NWUA & the CONTACT Partnership Management Board and Government Office North West Collation and submission of quarterly claims to Government Office North West and payment of monies received to applicant organisations Liaison with individual applicants, partner organisations and Government Office North West as necessary Maintenance of all relevant records for audit/inspection purposes and ensuring that individual partners maintain proper records on projects Action Plan Sub-monitoring committee The Action plan sub-monitoring committee comprising the Chair of the Action Plan Board, the Director of the CONTACT Partnership, the Action Plan Manager and two elected representatives from the main board will have the following role: Reviewing in detail all the monitoring information relating to specific projects Reviewing progress on the Action Plan as a whole Identifying & verifying the need for any variations to individual projects and to the Action Plan and agreeing the recommendations to be made to the Action Plan Board. Ensuring the Audit requirements for both individual projects and the Action Plan are maintained to the required standard. Project Appraisal Applications for all projects submitted to the Action Plan will be completed by individual project applicants within partner organisations using the official standard ERDF application & appraisal forms and in accordance with Action Plan and SPD criteria, which can be downloaded from the website or by the Action Plan Manager if required. The Action Plan Manager will respond to requests for assistance or further explanation of the application process or criteria. Completed application forms will be sent to the Action Plan Management Team who will check that all information has been enclosed including letters of endorsement from the Small Business Service (for Priority One M1.1) and appropriate Trade or Sector Association as well as confirmation of public match funding. Formal appraisal of all projects against the set programme selection criteria will be undertaken by an appraisal panel organised & led by the Action Plan Manager. In line with expectations by the PAG and PMRC, all projects submitted to this Action Plan will be required to adequately demonstrate the regional nature of the project and that the intended delivery area/ provision will deliver across local SBS areas. Project Applicants must declare at application stage whether they have submitted any similar application to another Action Plan and provide details. 17

18 In the event of any technical appraisal being necessary then the CONTACT Partnership Office will arrange such actions, in consultation with GONW, to satisfy programme requirements. The appraisal panel will be drawn from the Action Plan partner organisations and will be expected to have previous experience of such work. Members of the appraisal panel will not be allowed to appraise projects submitted by their own organisation and any interests in a particular project will be required to declare this fact to the Action Plan Manager. The process will be fully documented and transparent. Where projects have declared that similar applications have been made, the Action Plan Manager will confirm with the identified other Action Plan Partnership whether that application has been successful and ascertain whether there is any duplication. The relevant parties will then discuss which AP is the most appropriate for the project in question in order that duplication is avoided. The Action Plan Manager will provide the Action Plan Board with a summary of the outcomes of the appraisal process and the panel's recommendations to the Action Plan Partnership Board on project approval (or endorsement in the case of non-delegated projects) or rejection. PROJECT APPROVAL Projects which have successful been scored against the project selection criteria will be referred to the Action Plan Partnership Board, along with the panels recommendation as follows: Projects below the delegation limit, currently 100,000 ERDF (Revenue) & 250,000 ERDF (Capital), will be submitted for approval or rejection, in accordance with the Appraisal Panels recommendations. Projects over the delegation limit will be submitted in order that the Board can take a decision on whether these should be supported as part of the Action Plan, again in accordance with the Appraisal Panels recommendations. Projects over the delegation limit, which are supported and endorsed by the Board, will be forwarded to Government Office North West European Programmes Secretariat for formal appraisal. Following Board or Government Office North West approval, the Action Plan Manager will issue a formal contract offer letter using the standard DETR template and programme agent agreement (PAA) to successful applicants which details the amount of grant, timetable for delivery and contracted outputs. MONITORING The Action Plan Manager will be responsible for the monitoring of performance against target dates, outputs and expenditure as set out in contracts ( offer letters ) to applicants. This role will be carried out in close liaison with the Action Plan's Partnership Board and Monitoring Sub-group, who will have responsibility for monitoring progress against the whole Action Plan and recommending any remedial action required to improve performance. Each project will be required to 18

19 provide detailed monitoring information on a quarterly basis in line with the claims process. Failure to provide this information may result in the claim being excluded from the aggregate claim to Government Office North West. Projects will also be required to make appropriate presentations to the Action Plan Board in order that the board representatives can keep in abreast with project developments and identify any common opportunities or issues that may effect the Action Plan or future developments. Projects will be required to submit additional information; such as on Equal Opportunities, ICT & Sustainability outputs results, with their quarterly claims +/or as required to meet requests from Government Office or the Action Plan Board. In addition to this, the Action Plan Management Team will organise & undertake sample monitoring of key projects by: Undertaking regular site visits Inspecting project records & systems Regular meetings with project delivery teams As a minimum, all project applicants will be "inspected" in this way at least once during the lifetime of the Action Plan. The Action Plan Manager will have the authority to bring any concerns as a result of these monitoring activities to the attention of the Action Plan Monitoring Sub committee, and Board, who will make recommendations for action. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT The process for making ERDF claims will be as follows: The project manager or relevant officer with the applicant organisation will submit a quarterly grant claim (in arrears) on the standard ERDF claim form, accompanied by a project progress report, to the Action Plan Manager by the deadlines set out in the annual claims timetable. The Action Plan Manager, supported by the CONTACT Partnership staff will check the details of claim, verify that the claim is valid and within budget and ensures that progress on the project is sufficient to warrant draw down of grant. On the basis of all individual claims received, the Action Plan Manager will draw up a quarterly Action Plan claim on the standard AP ERDF claim form and submit this along with an aggregate progress report to Government Office North West for payment and copies filed with the Accountable body. On receipt of payment from Government Office North West, the Action Plan Manager will authorise payments to applicant organisations on the basis of individual grant claims. Regular meetings will be held with the Accountable body (MMU) to review the financial aspects of the Action Plan accounts. 19

20 The Action Plan Manager will maintain full records of all grant claims received, processed and submitted and all grant received. The Accountable body, CONTACT Partnership Office and Action Plan Manager will be responsible for ensuring that proper accounts are kept for annual audit and submission. The Action Plan Manager in liaison with GONW, will collate & issue appropriate guidance notes, as available, to project applicants on the above procedure, along with other aspects of financial propriety, including tendering and State Aid requirements. Action Plan Levy In addition to the 0.75% now compulsory levy on the allocated ERDF grant for each project by the Programme Monitoring Committee, an additional compulsory levy, the specific rate still to be confirmed, will be made against individual projects and which will not qualify to be eligible project expenditure. This Levy, in addition to any technical assistance grant (applied for separately to GONW) will be calculated, based on a detailed analysis agreed by the Partnership Board, to cover the reasonable costs associated with managing the Action Plan over its full life-time and providing central services / resources. It is anticipated, depending on the size of any technical assistance grant award, that the combined GONW/ Partnership levy will not exceed 2%. Each individual approved project will be periodically invoiced for the levy. Technical assistance The CONTACT Partnership, on behalf of the HE Objective 2 Partnership will be applying for Technical Assistance support for the Action Plan following the changes in the regulations by the European Commission. An indicative technical Assistance proposal has been developed and submitted to GONW to await the outcome of the Action Plan bidding process thus the final application will be made separately from this Action Plan submission. ********************* 20

21 Building upon success HE Action Plan Strategic Objectives The CONTACT Consortium successfully developed under the previous Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire Objective 2 Programme , a strategy for business support in innovation & knowledge transfer under Priority Two; measures 6, 7, 8 & 9 of the programme. An Action Plan Board was formed which had the responsibility for overseeing project & activity developments in the area and ensuring that they aligned with the business support strategy. This group comprising both academic & nonacademic, public & private sector partners has been able to provide a significantly improved focus for the use of Objective 2 funds for innovation & knowledge based business support and has improved the co-ordination and collaboration within the partnership and the region. Learning from the past Despite late approval and considerable downsizing from the amount requested to meet the grant finally offered, caused some initial delays in re-evaluating the deliverability of some projects & other teething troubles, the "CONTACT Action Plan", under the Objective 2 programme has now successfully accelerated in performance both financially and in the delivery of tangible outputs. A new senior management team is also now in position within CONTACT with the appointment of a new Director and an Action Plan Manager, bringing substantial experience in Accountancy, European funding, Action Plan management & associated administrative systems which has overcome areas of weakness present in the early parts of the thematic Action Plan. These weaknesses have been addressed and the current Action Plan has progressed substantially both in terms of financial expenditure, which is now forecast to fully meet its allocation by December 2001 and has already exceeded in achieving its output targets. See the CONTACT Partnership web-site for details. Building for the Future & Exit Strategy The Science & Innovation White paper in July 2000 and the Enterprise, Skills & Innovation White Paper in February 2001 recognises the crucial role of HEIs in the economy as powerful drivers of innovation and change. But different institutions have different contributions to make; some as world-class centres of research excellence and players in the global markets; others as collaborators with local businesses and communities, and with regional actors. They must choose the role which best suits their strengths, with public funding encouraging such choice, by providing incentives for institutions to become more entrepreneurial, build closer links with business and community and have proper arrangements for exploiting the results of their work. 21

22 In this present environment the HEIs are still adapting to their new objectives and positions within the overall business support framework for which they too have been tasked to support. In light of this it is difficult to provide a comprehensive forward strategy at this stage but will be a task for the NW Universities Association (NWUA) in conjunction with other key agencies such as the NWDA, NWRA and SBS. This Action Plan is seen as the first step in developing a more closely integrated partnership incorporating HEIs and key regional agencies, to develop a portfolio of specialist & innovative provision, drawing upon the specialisms of key HE institutions & other key agencies and applying them in a cohesive framework across the Objective 2 region. The Action Plan as a whole directly addresses the following strategic objectives identified within the SPD and complements the Northwest Development Agency's (NWDA) Regional Innovation strategy, principally: The Action Plan can however set its future vision: "to support the creation of a 21 st century economy through the development of new & high growth employment sectors as well as supporting the competitiveness of existing businesses, where the key features are enterprise and knowledge" "To create & protect jobs and income by investing in new entrepreneurial businesses, innovation and e-commerce, and by improving the business performance of existing SMEs" It does this by aiming and providing higher level support aimed at improving the competitiveness of new & existing businesses, developing new & higher growth sectors (as identified in the regional strategy & SPD) and encouraging the knowledge economy under the measures contained within Priority One & Priority Three: Significant progress has already commenced to strengthen these high growth clusters and develop industry-led action plans and business networks including a 'Knowledge & Skills Brokerage service by the North West Universities Association in conjunction with NWDA to stimulate links between lead academics and the sectors. Exit Strategy: The Action Plan's exit strategy is three-fold: To develop the proposed partnership framework to be created under this Action Plan into a pro-active body capable of identifying and facilitating closer integration, collaboration and funding between the organisations. To develop a second follow-on Action Plan for the second phase of the programme - reassessing areas of need and targets accordingly. To promote individual projects into developing individual sustainable exit strategies to ensure long-term safeguard of provision and resources created under this Action Plan. 22

23 The Action Plan's Strategic Aims The aim of this plan is to increase the economic capability of the programme through knowledge exploitation in SMEs. The Regional Strategy, produced by NWDA, states that business performance will determine the region's economic success and that innovation and entrepreneurship must be at the very centre of the wealth creating process. The principal measures of success in achieving the strategic objectives, which follow from this aim, are: The number of self-sustaining jobs created and safeguarded The number of new products brought to market The number of new & existing businesses advised / assisted The development of new & high growth sectors The number of businesses involved in research or information technology networks The increase in the levels of professional competence as indicated by graduate employment, work placements & by vocational training participation Increased sales & sales safeguarded ( m) Teaching Company Schemes Graduate Placements Research collaboration Increased numbers of Spin-out ventures & development Incubation - creation and HE support services Pre-incubation The Action Plan puts particular emphasis on sustained exploitation of the knowledge & research base for the benefit of enterprises across the Programme area, especially SMEs. This is an explicit requirement of SPD as a whole and of the RDA' s Regional Strategy Report - "succeeding together" (p16). The Action Plan aims to make existing companies more competitive, as a means of securing employment and raising incomes as well as supporting the creation of more companies to address the enterprise deficit. It will capitalise on both innovations & developments such as e-commerce, graduate retention and the untapped potential of regional assets such as the intellectual capital in the region's Universities. The NW Regional Strategy that has identified fourteen sectoral groups categorised under 'established' and 'emerging' sectors, this Action Plan recognises the importance of different industrial sectors to the development of the region. The HE sector have developed specialist expertise in each of these areas and is therefore a significant asset in supporting the activities of other agencies to adopt and progress Objective 2 SPD programme. 23

24 ESTABLISHED SECTORS Chemicals Textiles Aerospace Mechanical & other engineering Energy Automotive Food & Drink EMERGING SECTORS Computer software & services (ICT) Environmental Technologies Life Sciences (Biotech & Pharmaceuticals) Medical Equipment & Technology Financial & Professional Services Tourism Creative Industries (inc Media) Priority targeting will reflect the higher growth & emerging sectorial groups such as Life science industries, Environmental Technologies and Computer software & services, creative Industries to help them expand and become more competitive in line with the intentions of the SPD. These clusters will be vitally important to the region in terms of employment and value added. The major infrastructure projects cited under Priority Three including the Core Technology Facility (biomanufacturing), Harris Innovation Centre, the nine regional specialist Incubators linked by a advanced ICT network will propel the region's position both in the UK and Internationally. The Action Plan equally recognises however that it is still crucially important to support & develop SMEs, where appropriate, in the region's 'established' sectors which are still significant to the regional economy such as textiles, food & drink, mechanical & other engineering and to assist them to identify new business & opportunities which will continue to enhance their competitiveness, adoption/ implementation of advanced technologies, diversification and niche positioning. With that in mind the portfolio of indicative project proposals submitted to the Partnership for under Priority One & Three reflects the geographic & sector coverage & support to all these highlighted sectors meaning competition for the limited Action Plan resources will be high. Sector Indicative projects/ value Measure bids Sector Indicative projects/ value Measure bids Chemicals 1,000,000 1 ICT 14,275, Textiles 5,330,000 5 Environmental Technologies 1,900,000 3 Aerospace 250,000 1 Life Sciences 24,450,000 3 Mechanical / engineering 9,078, Financial & Professional Services 6,977, Food & Drink 600,000 1 Tourism 3,493,444 6 Multi-sector applicable 48,673, Creative Industries 3,135,000 6 Indicative Project Total Costs (Priority 1&3) 119,230,888 24

25 Some of the key socio-economic issues identified in the NW Objective Programme and relevant to the proposed activities under this Action Plan are summarised in the SWOT analysis below: Strengths Unprecedented engagement of the HE sector Major manufacturing base, world class firms Significant technology base Urban-based cultural industries sector Scale and diversity of the North West Manchester as a national business centre A well-qualified workforce Exceptionally large student base Ethnically and culturally diverse A substantial academic base Designated NW Development Agency Thirst for learning & the knowledge economy Opportunities E-commerce Information and communications technologies Manufacturing growth sectors Growth in learning The Commonwealth Games Commercialisation of research & spin-outs Cultural industries Expansion of the social economy Growth in financial and business services Creative and media industries Further development of Manchester Airport & other regional airports. Substantial number of graduates, postgraduates E-learning Sector & supply chain networking Public-Private Partnerships Support from Central Government for HEIs to reach-out to SMEs Weaknesses Substantial enterprise deficit Overly dependent on sectors in decline Under-represented in service industries Slow uptake of ICT Low proportion of foreign direct investment Substantial core of people with only basic skills Shortage of suitable sites and premises Graduate retention Substantial areas of vacant and derelict land Higher than average unemployment rates High % of workforce in low wage positions Large share of part time jobs Threats Failure to embrace e-commerce Mismatch between demand and supply of labour Increasing globalisation of economic activity Two speed economy Reform of CAP and trade rules Service and population decline in rural areas Catastrophic closure Numbers in excluded groups increase Failure to introduce family friendly policies All four themes of the RS are crucial to the future prosperity of the Objective 2 area and the strategy of the Programme is wholly complementary to the RES. The eight principles identified that informed the Regional Strategy equally apply to the Objective 2 programme: Competitiveness Sustainable communities and social exclusion Environmental investment Linking opportunity with areas of need Information and communications technology Creating a lifelong learning culture Subsidiarity and partnership Better use of resources 25

26 The justification of HE joint-intervention - Technology & Research infrastructure The HEI sector has a multi-priority agenda & roles at an international, national, regional, sub-regional and local level. The He sector has always had a regional role and with the establishment of RDAs, more emphasis is now being placed on ecomic regeneration and skills development aspects of this role. In recent years HEIs have made significant progress in addressing the regional agenda, supported by specific new initiatives by Central Government & HEFCE. Regions and sub-regions are diverse and make different demands of their HE sector. There is therefore a range of roles that HEIs can appropriately play within the region and each Institution needs to determine which role best suits its own mission, circumstances and contribution potential. Alongside their more traditional roles of teaching & research, HEIs have increasingly been adopting a further role as stimulators and facilitators of knowledge transfer to business & society. In order to harness & maximise the impact of the resources & contribution available by the Institutions, the HE sector within the North West have come together in the forms of for example; NW University Association and the NW HE Association in order to provide focus and promote areas of interaction and joint collaboration along with key regional agencies. It therefore is logical to extend this level of collaboration to a new level in terms of operational delivery and coordination of HE activities including the development of this action plan. There is however a much deeper justification for the intervention by the HEI sector within the NW Objective Programme area in terms of assisting to address the shortfall of R&D within enterprise within the NW, particularly within the large SME base, as this is clearly a prerequisite for promoting creativity, a sustainable entrepreneurial culture and the moving towards the strategic objective of developing a knowledge-based economy. The NWDA regional assessment recognises that, according to surveys such as the UK R&D Scoreboard, Dti, 1998, the UK lags behind its international competitors in terms of research and development. In 1997 the aggregate intensity of R&D activity measured as a proportion of sales revenue was 2.5% for the top 100 UK companies compared to 4.6% for the worlds biggest 300 companies. In the UK corporate R&D activity is dominated by specific sectors for example, pharmaceuticals, electronic/electrical engineering, other engineering and motor vehicles. Since the UK lags behind it's international competitors and that according to the Science, Engineering & technology statistics 1998, manufacturing businesses in the North West slightly under-performs the UK average for R&D it is a cause for concern. It is therefore critical that SMEs are encouraged and are able to access the knowledge & technology research & development resources that are available within the region. The North West possesses a substantial research and intellectual knowledge base both within the higher education sector and amongst the Region's firms, although the bulk of company research activity is concentrated in a smaller 26

27 number of multinational businesses in the Objective 2 area such Bae, Astra- Zeneca and BNFL. This Action Plan, incorporating four of the eight NW Universities, can therefore play a major role in addressing supporting this fundamental business needs shortage within the Objective 2 programme area. Businesses Higher Education Other public Total North West 1,187m 228m 88m 1,503m UK 9,553m 2,891m 2,017m 14,461m NW % 79.0% 15.2% 5.9% UK % 66.1% 20.0% 13.9% NW as % of UK 12.4% 7.9% 4.4% Source: Regional Trends The Objective 2 SPD recognises evidence from the manufacturing sector, indicates the relative advantage in levels of R&D expenditure in the North West compared to the UK has not been sustained. In 1994, R&D expenditure in manufacturing accounted for a greater share of gross value added (6.4% of GVA) than in the UK (6.1% of GVA) but by 1997 this position had been reversed (6.3% and 6.7% respectfully). The 1997 CBI Innovation survey supports this as its results show that Innovation expenditure for manufacturing firms in the NW was only 4.3% of turnover, much lower than the national average and comparable regions such as the East Midlands. This reversal partly reflects the over dependence on the manufacturing sectors which are in decline or where competitive pressures are intense, thereby having a knock-on effect in reducing R&D expenditure. It also raises the concerns of concentrating such a significant amount of R&D expenditure predominantly within a numerically small number of large multinationals. The Objective 2 area does however possess a number of centres of excellence & research strength within its region's six Universities where leading-edge research is carried out - four being concentrated within Greater Manchester. The 1996 Research Assessment Exercise indicated the NW possessed 24 science, engineering and maths departments rated 5/5*, the third largest number outside the London & the South East regions. Surveys amongst SMEs and evidence collected as part of the development of the North West Regional Innovation & Technology Plan indicate that collaboration with HEIs is lower than in other regions, that some weaknesses remained in the provision of support for companies and that significant scope was evident to increase SME desire & capacity to innovate. The report identified: A weakness in the provision & maintenance of learning networks for firms, limited provision for demonstration facilities and insufficient mentoring support; Insufficient support for innovation management; and The lack of developmental networks The six Universities & Bolton Institute, all located within the NW Objective 2 area, have made considerable efforts and achievements with the aid of HEROBC funding, in addressing the underlying structural weaknesses within their 27

28 Institutions in order to create 'gateways' to facilitate greater SME/HEI interaction and to promote a new emphasis of interaction within the culture of HE. Mechanisms such as the CONTACT Action Plan under the Objective 2 programme, which despite its late start, has also enabled a range of project initiatives, have also focused specifically on addressing the above issues. These include the creation & support of sector & supply-chain networks, encouraging the development of learning cultures by promoting graduate placements and Teaching Company Schemes as well as providing specialised mentoring & knowledge transfer and highlighting the extensive technology & facilities available for use by SMEs. This new emphasis supports the Universities other continued successful technological and innovative activities through other delivery arms such as UMIST Ventures and spin-out activity facilitated by incubation facilities such as Campus Ventures, Manchester Science Park and Technology House at University of Salford. The Universities are now at the forefront of strengthening the regions knowledge base and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, which are at the heart of the wealth generating process. A few examples include: The four GM Universities have been successful in securing one of the eight national centres under the Science Enterprise Challenge to foster the commercialisation of research and new ideas and to encourage scientific entrepreneurialism in teaching of enterprise, science and engineering programmes. The University of Central Lancashire and BNFL Enterprise limited have created a 500,000 Harris Knowledge fund to assist new start-up companies, the first university/ private sector seed fund of its kind in the region. Salford University along with other major agencies assisting to establish & develop an RSO for Community Financial Organisations. The creation of a 'Centre of Excellence' in telecommunications research at Lancaster University This new Action Plan proposal aims to develop and augment this successful record of achievement and unique positioning of the six Universities & Bolton Institute in innovation & technology. Risk & Realism Assessment: As previously stated this action plan cannot be successfully delivered or exploit its full potential without the close collaboration of Partner organisations & key agencies. This has been secured within the HE sector and strong linkages made to other key agencies drawn into the Action Plan Partnership Board should ensure that all Partner agencies continue to embrace, develop and maximise the potential of the Action Plan. Consultation & development will continue over the forthcoming months. 28

29 Priority One activities are linked, but not extrinsically, to activities included within the Priority Three schedule of activities. It is therefore possible for each Priority to operate independently of the other however the obvious synergy between activities would be lost and the wider impact reduced. The project proposals are based on identified need & specialist knowledge of the target market, the proposed start-dates for individual projects has on large been set to coincide with the end of the existing programme which will release project managers & key staff to be re-assigned to new projects. The indicative project proposals submitted have already been scrutinised by the CONTACT Partnership to remove duplication and where identifiable financial "excess". Discussions have also been held with colleagues at Manchester Enterprises Ltd - developers of the Manchester South and also of the NWDA's Priority One Action Plan to help identify and thus minimise any duplication. In addition a number of other project proposals were re-directed to other more appropriate local or regional thematic action plans to enhance subsidiarity and best coordination. Any further reduction/ scaling down of this provision therefore will immediately impact on the delivery of the action plan both in terms of the associated outputs but also the level of support provision across the Objective 2 eligible & transitional areas. The project proposals relating to specific sectors, such as Tourism, who have already been circulated to the appropriate Regional Agency such as NWTB, discussions held and development of collaborative working links to ensure projects align with regional strategies and complement (but not reliant on) activities being undertaken by other agencies. Individual projects will be expected to provide, as part of their justification of need, letters of support from appropriate & relevant bodies/ trade associations; with regard to Measures One & Two support from the SBS is required in line with recent PAG expectations. The principal risks associated with the Action Plan relate to the overall amount of European grant finally awarded and the early receipt of the Action Plan approval letter. This Action Plan has engaged, as challenged by Central Government, the Universities to facilitate delivery towards developing the knowledge economy and providing access to the knowledge & technology resources within HE. This addresses the Government's agenda of engaging HE with businesses and continues the theme of knowledge transfer that has already commenced through the "Third Leg Funding. This enthusiasm & challenge has already seen as a preliminary phase the HE Institutions undertaking considerable structural and managerial changes, partly supported through special funds such as 'HEROBC' over the last 18 months. In order to maximise on and justify these changes, there is now an expectation that having undertaken this process and providing the delivery 'gateways', that equal access and consideration will be given to the HE sector, by other agencies/ sectors, to European funding that will enable co-financing high quality HE business support and innovation activities. If these project proposals are not, by 29

30 enlarge, supported then the enthusiasm within the HE sector will be severally dented and commitment reduced in addition to a considerably large amount of Public Match funding being under-utilised but more importantly the reduction in the level of high technology and knowledge-based support available to SMEs. Risks Impact/ consequence Contingency Plan Reduced Action Plan funding Late Action Plan approval Planning Permission (Measures 1.5 and 3.1/3.3 only) Reduced number of or financially capped bids. This will limit overall delivery capabilities (outputs) and mean that support to specific sectors being either reduced pro-rata or even removed. Knock-on effect in terms of timing of AP bidding rounds - pro-longed project approval may have detrimental effect transition of provision from programme e.g. retaining experience project staff/ SME leads/ predevelopment work. A limited number of projects in specific measures relate to capital buildings or refurbishment which are subject to planning / Building regulations requirements. These requirements must be met in advance prior to individual project approval. 1) Assessment to ascertain the deliverability of financially reduced bids 2) Identification of key projects/ linked projects as priority for funding. 3) Acceptance of a smaller number of projects. 1) Early development of project applications and preassessment prior to formal submission to reduce 'technical' delays. 2) A number of project startdates have been delayed until 1 st January 2002 to limit early financial commitment/ risk. 1) Early discussions over project proposals are well in advance with local Authority Partners and are coordinated to meet identified regeneration strategies should ensure any potential delays are minimised. ******************** 30

31 Strategic Objectives and the related measures. The objectives associated with the Plan's strategic aim are given below and the main measure to which they mainly relate. It should be recognised that some objectives will link to more than one measure. Priority One - "Business & Ideas". 1. To accelerate new business development by investing in entrepreneurship, innovation and improving the creation and survival rates of new businesses. (Measure 1.1) 2. To raise the productivity and competitive performance of the region's existing business through support for innovation, ICT and technology transfer. (Measure 1.4) 3. To support the number of assisted investments in new & established SMEs and to raise the productivity & competitive performance of assisted SMEs in terms of increased turnover and number of jobs. (Measure to be undertaken through NWDA) 4. To raise the production, creativity and competitive performance of SMEs in terms of increased turnover & number of jobs by encouraging greater involvement in HEI/ Business networks, innovation partnerships and to stimulate new joint collaborative ventures and utilisation of advanced R&D opportunities. (Measure 1.4) 5. To increase the competitiveness of the Objective 2 region by providing high quality premises for growth orientated business start-ups and SMEs by providing & stimulating specialist business accommodation linked to Higher Education Institution's academic & research facilities. (Measure 1.5) Priority Three - "Strategic Regional Investment 1. To develop employment sites within the designated economic development zones that will create significant numbers of jobs in key industry sectors that will secure new & higher value added jobs. (Measure 3.1) 2. To put in place the necessary capital & revenue support which will ensure that the maximum possible employment benefits from each economic development zone and EDZ-equivalent initiatives flow to residents from "communities in need". These Action Plan objectives closely relate to those contained within the Northwest Innovation Strategy (NWIS) Objectives: Increased business growth by encouraging investment by increasing sales of new products & services by innovation, 31

32 Streamline, improve & develop products & services by fully exploiting the available knowledge Encourage the appropriate use of ICT Improve performance in all sectors in particular: - Improve productivity & reduce costs Increase exports Increase process innovation Release the potential of people Increase enterprise, entrepreneurialism and new business foundation, in particular:- Support & encourage the creation and development of advanced technology HE supported incubators modelled on best practice from other high performing incubators. (To complement and link to NWDA Incubation services). Improve access to HE research bases/ resource (inc Knowledge Brokerage Service). Encourage new business start ups & spin-outs to promote themselves both inside and outside the region New Product/Process development Improve the image of businesses by:- Encouraging environmental best practice Improving energy efficiency Improving waste minimisation practices Project-based Themes & Activities. The following sections describe the themes of the Action Plan's activities and the indicative projects & actions that exemplify them. These activities will draw capitalise the strengths & opportunities identified in the SWOT analysis above to assist in addressing the recognised weaknesses and minimising the potential threats. Whilst the HEI sector activities will be more specialist in nature to other sectors, it is recognised that other key agencies will also play a prominent/ lead role in some existing activity areas; where this is the case projects must complement & augment this existing provision to avoid unnecessary duplication. Incubation - creation of new & development of existing facilities and provision for specialist business support to facilitate these incubator units (M1.1, M1.5 & M3.1). HE/SME cluster, sector & supply-chain network development Distant and E-Learning packages Enterprise - culture generation, spin-off development & support Graduate Apprenticeships/ Placement schemes (but not ESF activities) Encouraging & facilitating Teaching Company Schemes (in conjunction with SBS) 32

33 Innovation & Collaborative research projects between SMEs & HEIs Developing an 'action-learning' culture within & amongst SMEs Encouraging SMEs to expand their internal company knowledge base by increasing graduate & post-graduate recruitment. Facilitating SMEs to access HEI academic & technological resources Individual project proposals incorporated into the measure summaries below have been developed on a cross measure basis to reflect the inter-linkages of the proposed project activities across the range of measure and to ensure the projects closely reflect the aims & objectives of each measure. Key projects Considerable effort has been undertaken within this Action Plan Partnership to develop indicative themes and projects based on clear demonstratable evidence of need identified through both research conducted by the regional agencies and through direct interaction with sectorial groups & associations. The Partnership is confident that all the indicative projects that have been identified to date offer considerable & significant benefit to their target sectors & audience. These indicative projects are intended & will be required to demonstrate deliver beyond the "local" action plan framework and into the regional arena. Several project do however stand out as key projects within this Priority One & Priority Three Action Plan due to their nature and impact potential and are listed below: Name of proposal Applicant Priority/ Measure Core Technology Facility Manchester P3.1 & P1.4 Innovation Centre Development UCLAN (lead) In conjunction with Lancaster P3.1 Knowledge Business Centre Lancaster P3.1 NW Incubation Programme NWDA P3.1 "Technology Awareness & Spin-out Companies" "KnowledgeNorthWest.com" virtual knowledge System & Brokerage Service UMIST Ventures Ltd NWUA (lead) In conjunction with NWDA P1.1 P3.1 & P1.4 Summary description Development of a specialist biomanufacturing incubator in conjunction with NWDA co-funding. Development of three innovation centres to complement the incubation activities across the region. Centres are proposed in Preston, West Cumbria and East Lancashire. Development of a leading edge 'Centre of Excellence' with key themes of Informatics, Networking and Knowledge Business. Development of up to nine (eligible) specialist incubators throughout the region. Business support provision to be included within NWDA P1 AP. Providing intensive care project management to act as a facilitator of faster track & larger scale spin-off activities from HE. To establish an integrated service, supporting innovation, incubation, sector/ cluster development by providing a knowledge transfer web portal: a knowledge management system and an integrated e-network system 33

34 Public Match Funding: The six Universities and Bolton Institute have a substantial source of public match funding which has been under-utilised in the past. Changes in the Universities internal structures, objectives and funding by central Government has enabled Universities & HE sector generally to become more proactive and interface with business. By linking this to the objective 2 area, not only are businesses fulfilling their funding obligations but also they will be targeting the most needy ensuring maximum impact potential. In order to facilitate & achieve this, the six Universities have, in addition to core HEFEC funding providing significant match funding capabilities, successfully been allocated funding from the 'Reach Out to Business & the Community Fund' (HEROBIC) provided by the DTi, DHFETE and the DfEE, totalling 6.6m over four years. The fund is intended to develop the capability of HEIs to respond to the needs of business, and to contribute to economic growth and competitiveness, by enabling HEIs to put into practice organisational & structural arrangements to achieve their strategic aims in this area. In accordance to Government policy and its recent 'Competitiveness' white paper, an important strand in the HEFCE's aims & objectives is to ensure that higher education is responsive to the needs of business, including the wider community, where this will lead to wealth creation. This 'clean' funding was granted on the expectation that it would be used as match funding against European Structural fund Programmes to augment the delivery of appropriately design projects promoting knowledge & technology transfer, graduate retention and utilisation. This fund is intended to initiate a permanent third stream of funding, complementing the Council's existing grant for teaching & research, to reward and encourage HEIs to enhance their interaction with Business. The core belief behind this funding is that all HEIs should be engaged with business in different ways. This fund will enable HEIs to develop links across the full range of their academic endeavours, and to develop closer working relations with business that could also benefit the way in which HEIs prepare their students for employment. This provides a direct linkage for the HE sector to pro-actively contribute to the NW Objective Programme. This 'Reach Out' funding has enabled the HE Institutions for the first time to establish the required operating platform to facilitate interaction gateways within Universities. The proposed ERDF funding is intended to provide the project-based delivery mechanisms to complement this vision and to identify, establish and deliver the expertise contained within the sector for the benefit of the region measured through the set output/ impact measurements. A range of other 'clean' public match funding is also available to the HE sector to promote Knowledge transfer/ exploitation, such as the Science enterprise Challenge, University challenge, Public Sector Research Exploitation fund and the proposed HE Innovation Fund awards. The 6m University challenge fund is 34

35 open to UMIST Ventures and the University of Manchester, which will help fasttrack ideas through the technology transfer process and provide some venture capital match funding. The Universities also have funding contracts with DTi and NWDA, which will provide clean match funding for activities proposed under the Action Plan. As with standard practice, where public sector contributions are expected from sources other than through the applicant e.g. NWDA then the applicant must include a letter of support/ commitment from other Public agency. Private Sector Contributions: Private sector contributions will be sought in alignment with expectations laid out in the SPD and likewise will be treated as leverage. Projects engaging in in-depth activity and support will seek contributions from the private sector and the intervention rate adjusted accordingly. All private sector contributions must meet value-for-money principles and be capable of independent audit and valuation. Details as to the calculation of Private sector contributions should be included in the application for assessment. In-kind contributions should comply with guidance/ principles included in Information note # 2 & 5 issued by GONW. Historic experience has found that obtaining auditable private sector match funding from SMEs is difficult but not impossible and therefore will be sought in particular through those projects offering support to existing SMEs or engaging the involvement of larger organisations through partnerships, supply-chain development or venture capital/ sponsors. *************** 35

36 Programme Cross-cutting programme themes The Action Plan recognises the aims and adopts the objectives of the three crosscutting programme themes applied across the programme namely: Equal Opportunities Information Communication Technologies (ICT) Sustainability Equal Opportunities: Each of the six Universities, Bolton Institute and other partner organisations are committed to the promotion and implementation of equal opportunities as required by UK and European law such as the Sex Discrimination Act, Race Relations and the Disability Discrimination Act. All the institutions have publicised their policy commitments and update policies as appropriate to reflect legislative changes and best practice. This Action Plan recognises that, whilst for the purposes of the North West programme the EU definition of equal opportunities which is solely concerned with the gender issue, the full scope & ethos of equal opportunities will be applied. Due to the regional nature of this Action Plan the baseline data on equal opportunities corresponds to the details contained & can be referred to in Chapter 3 of the SPD. The Action Plan adopts the SPD's Equal Opportunities overall Priority objective as being: " Mainstream and promote gender balance by maximising the opportunities for women in the North west Objective 2 Programme. To be achieved by means of promotion, provision of support, and prioritisation of activities that address barriers to participation, and increase the take-up of opportunities provided by the programme, thus leading ultimately to improved access & participation in all levels of the labour market." The HE sector have a proven track record of positively progressing to raise the awareness of equal opportunities both in terms of training staff and also embedded in the policies and cultures of the Higher Education sector. The HE sector is also a leader in identifying barriers to women's economic growth and the development of strategies for overcoming such barriers. For example, the "Women's Economic Growth" project conducted by the Manchester School of Management, UMIST in presented it's findings & proposals to audience which included local MPs; Ms Lorna Fitzsimons & Jim Dobbin as well as community and key agency representatives. This project identified a range of barriers preventing women entering into growth business, these can be summarised under the following headings & include: Business Support Agencies - lack of awareness of services or the confidence to use them and the lack of appropriate support for women entrepreneurs. 36

37 Financial Institutions - lack of access to finance inhibiting the growth of female owned business due to the inapproachability of financial institutions and continued heavy charges. Cultural Barriers - no access to new business start-up provision or support due to cultural beliefs and Asian women in particular cannot access mainstream provision. Barriers are not restricted to those arising from religion or ethnic origin but also "class" appears to be an effective barrier to women, in particular those with minimal education or women returners. Childcare - lack of provision prohibits many women from pursing a new business or from developing an existing enterprise. Premises - a lack of start-up premises means that micro& small businesses operate from home, isolating them from other business owners and inhibiting growth as well as the scale of business rates. The Action Plan recognises the requirement specified in the programme complement, that Project sponsors in Priority One will have to provide gender and other EO target group related data as listed in the SPD & Complement with regard to SMEs assisted, current employees and employees recruited as a result of programme support (see below). The Action Plan administrators - the CONTACT Partnership, will implement such systems necessary, following receipt of guidance from the European Programme Secretariat at GONW as to the format, data content and frequency of submission they require, to facilitate & collate this information at Action Plan level and advise individual Project Managers on the appropriate methods of data collection. The HEI sector is well positioned as a role model for promoting equal opportunities to SME beneficiaries, based on well established policies reflected in the profile of the age, gender and ethnicity of both students and employees, assisting SMEs, in the absence of proper policies, to develop such systems as part of the 'assistance' portfolio. Project managers/ staff will receive training/support, as required, in Equal Opportunity Policies by their Institutions existing HR/ Personnel departments, in order that they maintain the high Institutional/ sector standards. This complies with the principal set out in the E.O. gateway criteria. Action Plan targets have been developed which aim towards achieving the initially ambitious, but necessary aims & objectives set in SPD to address key gender disparity in Employment trends, gender stereotyping, pay-gap, occupational trends & economic activity. See attached Gender baseline data. The Action Plan will assist deliver & ethos of the SPD criteria by the inclusion of the following targets: Measure E.O. Aim E.O. Target P1.M1 P1.M1 P1.M4 Priority One - all Measures Encouraging women to participate in business start-ups. Encouraging women to participate in creation of new technology businesses. Encourage women to participate in business networks and clusters. Encourage companies to adopt Equal Opportunities Action Plans. New companies assisted 92 New jobs created 82 SMEs assisted New jobs created All SMEs 1,563 1,834 37

38 P3.M1 P3.M1 Supports access for women to employment opportunities. Supports the participation of women in the management & control of projects. Jobs created 523 Jobs safeguarded 89 The Action Plan Equal Opportunities targets have been set in accordance to the rates indicated in the SPD/Complement regarding: New companies assisted SMEs assisted New Jobs created EO Monitoring: Subject to confirmation by GONW as to the reporting format/ frequency of these cross-cutting theme targets, individual projects will collectively contribute to the achievement of these targets in line with their offer letters and be required, alongside the regular standard outputs, to declare the timely achievement of the equal opportunity targets in their quarterly claims/ progress reports. Declarations made will be scrutinised as part of the scheduled audit framework. Information Communication Technologies (ICT) The HEI sector are undoubtedly key players with a successful historical track record in the development of ICT systems, hardware and user-friendly software emanating from the development of the first modern computer at University of Manchester to the latest high-band technologies and user software e.g. GEMISIS at University of Salford. Senior University staff representatives are members of the Information Society Advisory group who are tasked to ensure the implementation of this policy objective. Due to the regional nature of this Action Plan the baseline data on ICT corresponds to the details contained & can be referred to in Chapter 3 of the SPD. The Action Plan Partners are ideally based & supported to demonstrate the use of the latest technology and to pro-actively encourage the development & exploitation of e-learning cultures, new media and the strategic role this can play in improving the competitiveness of the region and supporting social inclusion. This will be reflected in the advanced technology and knowledge outlines of the indicative project proposals a number of which have specific ICT focus particularly under Measure 1.4 and Measure 3.1. ICT has increasingly a major role to play in allowing & enabling SMEs, even in remote areas, to engage in collaborative and networking activities to share best practice and the joint development of research & products. This intervention can take a number of forms. For example, SMEs who's senior staff/ owners often are unable to leave their place of work due to operational pressures therefore need flexible/ remote support to accommodate their needs. Use of ICT packages to provide on-line support or networking capabilities helps address this issue. 38

39 At the different end of the ICT spectrum, projects will assist SMEs awareness of the latest technology and ICT based systems such to encourage them to adopt such technology in order to increase their competitiveness, added-value and long-term sustainability and to engage in new collaborative research products leading to new product development. The Action Plan embraces the 'ICT' cross-cutting theme targets for Measures 1.1, 1.4, 1.5 and 3.1 which will be correspondingly applied across individual projects. The Action Plan will continue to develop it's existing website with details of this Action Plan joining information currently available regarding the current AP under the Programme: The targets set below follow the Programme targets in relation to the finances requested. Measure Target Results P1.M1 New e-commerce/ Internet businesses assisted 23 P1.M1 New businesses using e-commerce 123 P1.M4 SMEs involved in network/ clusters using advanced IS applications 1,954 P1.M5 Premises refurbished/ provided installed with ICT capability 3 P3.M1 Projects using ICTs in the development of Strategic employment opportunities 11 ICT Monitoring: Subject to confirmation by GONW as to the reporting format/ frequency of these cross-cutting theme targets, individual projects will collectively contribute to the achievement of these targets in line with their offer letters and be required, alongside the regular standard outputs, to declare the timely achievement of the equal opportunity targets in their quarterly claims/ progress reports. Declarations made will be scrutinised as part of the scheduled audit framework. Sustainability The HE Partnership acknowledges that the NW Objective 2 Programme must, in order to be truly successful, leave a sustainable legacy both in terms of economic gains and the social & physical environment. The SPD recognises & identifies a number of problems inherited from its industrial legacy, which traded short-term economic goals for long term social & environmental losses. Increasing pressures from global competition and increased productivity from other UK regions, the North West faces considerable pressure to restructure & refocus its economy. In combination these social, economic and environmental issues are a challenge & a serious threat to regional competitiveness, impact adversely on the quality of life of its inhabitants and contribute to a negative image, which dissuades potential investors and visitors. The "Knowledge Based" Action Plan partners, incorporating the six Universities within the Objective 2 area & Bolton Institute, under its Priority 1 "Business & Ideas" and Priority Three "Strategic Regional Investment" action plan, have unique access to the advanced knowledge and technological processes that will 39

40 enable SMEs to address this challenge by demonstrating the benefits & advantage of new processes, technologies and methodologies. By adopting such, SMEs will be able to maintain and increase their competitive advantage; allowing the region to develop an efficient, responsive and flexible business base but without an adverse effect on the environment. The increase in environmental & sustainability awareness will lead to 'cleaner' modes of production, new opportunities for product development and new markets for the region's businesses. The Action Plan embraces the 'sustainability' cross-cutting theme targets for Measures 1.1, 1.4, 1.5 and 3.1 which will be correspondingly applied across individual projects. Due to the regional nature of this Action Plan the baseline data on Sustainability corresponds to the details contained & can be referred to in Chapter 3 of the SPD. The targets set below follow the Programme targets in relation to the finances requested. Measure Target Action Plan Target 1.1 New start-ups in environmental related sectors SMEs specialising in environmental products /processes Schemes to develop new environmental technology/ techniques Hectares of brownfield land made ready for development TBC 3.1 Number of redundant, derelict buildings TBC Sustainability Monitoring: Subject to confirmation by GONW as to the reporting format/ frequency of these cross-cutting theme targets, individual projects will collectively contribute to the achievement of these targets in line with their offer letters and be required, alongside the regular standard outputs, to declare the timely achievement of the equal opportunity targets in their quarterly claims/ progress reports. Declarations made will be scrutinised as part of the scheduled audit framework. Marketing & Publicity ********** Standard conditions The Partnership will ensure that all Action Plan and individual project activities acknowledge and satisfy the publicity standards of the European Commission in regulation 1159/2000, summarised in annex 2, reflecting the co-financing from the European Structural Funds in European Regional Development Funding. This will include the prominent use of the correct ERDF logo (full colour, mono and B&W) and strapline on all publicity material and external documents in accordance to the requirements stipulated by the European Commission. 40

41 Colour Black & White This requirement will continue to be included as a standard condition of the "offer letter" and will be appraised as part of the monitoring process to ensure compliance. Specific guidance notes, as available on the use and technical drafting of the European logo will be issued to Project Managers. Applicant will be made aware of Commissions website for example which contains further details: Website: The Action Plan will co-ordinate the further development of the existing web-site contactpartnership.ac.uk which will publicise the Action Plan & European co-funding, the Partnership, individual projects, activity areas and types of support available, contact details & linkages to projects in addition to update sheets as to progression. Events & seminars General information will also continue to be available on the web-site as to events & seminars being held by; the CONTACT Partnership e.g. the Bid writing seminar in June 2001 and ERDF Record Keeping & Audit planned for September 2001, individual projects or the Action Plan Partnership, as well as linkages to Government & Commission information/ resource web-sites and obviously other Action Plan sites (as appropriate/ available). Although almost standard practice now within HE, Individual Projects will also be encouraged to create/develop as a minimum, websites/ web-pages in which to 'publish' their projects, activities and events as well as contact information. A large number of projects are expected to be aiming to provide on-line packages and facilitate telematic networking. Other Marketing & promotional activities: The Action Plan will attempt to utilise existing promotional activities of Partner Institutions and individual projects to minimise costs but all so to maximise impact & integration with projects & agencies and will utilise ICT technologies, for example websites, wherever possible to both demonstrate sustainable practice and ensure maximum geographical access. New marketing & referral mechanisms: To enable SMEs to easily identify available HE resources, centres of excellence and to encourage SME interaction with HE & the knowledge base, the NW Universities Association, NWDA and Small Business Service are developing under this Action Plan, a new referral service under the Knowledge Nortwest.com Virtual Knowledge System project. 41

42 Project Directory: In addition to the above, the CONTACT Partnership in discussions with the Regional Small Business Service Office have agreed to produce for the first time a comprehensive Project directory giving details of the Universities Enterprise 'gateway' offices/staff, individual project's activity & support areas/ specialisms and associated contact details. This directory will then be circulated electronically to the SBS outlets, Regeneration Units within Local Authorities and to HE institutions enabling agencies with the aim of increasing communication, referrals between agencies to ultimately assist SMEs access the knowledge based more readily. State Aids Due recognition has been given in the development of this action plan to the Commissions current State Aid policies. Details published by the Commission ( ), UK Government on the DTi website in addition to all the guidance provided by Government Office NW, will be distributed and made available to all project applicants. The Action Plan does not include within its sector target audience any SMEs within the following sensitive sectors: Coal and Steel, Synthetic fibres, Motor vehicles and Shipbuilding Project submissions will also be required to acknowledge and take into account & observe State Aid regulations and "De Minimis" Aid limits (currently 62,000 over a 3-year period) throughout all stages of the action plan process. Projects will be required to ascertain an SME's past level of 'assistance' during a documented pre-assessment evaluation. The definition of an SME is as follows: Medium-sized enterprise is an enterprise satisfying the following criteria: has fewer than 250 employees and has either an annual turnover not exceeding 40 million, or a balancesheet total not exceeding 27 million, and is independent. Small enterprise is an enterprise that satisfies all of the following criteria: has fewer than 50 employees and has either an annual turnover not exceeding 7 million, or a balance-sheet total not exceeding 5 million, and is independent. Other European Regional Development Fund Requirements All projects will be required to comply with the following directives that will be included as part of the Offer letter agreement. Annex 3 provides further information: Structural Fund Regulations 1260/1999 and 1685/2000, Commission Regulation 1159/2000 European Community State Aid Rules, Public Procurement Directives, Environmental Legislation ***************** 42

43 Linkages to Objective 3 ESF training activities This Objective 2 Action Plan links to ESF training activities under Objective 3 through a number of successful bids made by consortium partners both under national & regional bidding rounds held in 2000/01 and under previous Objective 2 ESF provision under the 1997/99 programme. Linkages also exist to other non HE agencies involved in ESF training /provision by addressing the regionally identified skills shortages. Examples of some of these ESF projects that were undertaken through the CONTACT Action Plan (Dossiers U2, NW2, NW2) are as follows: Manchester Metropolitan University: Advanced Biological Training provide specialist NVQ level 5 equivalent training in a number of specialist/ technical work-sectors. Bolton Institute: Change Training targeting Directors/owners of SMEs in addressing key skill shortage areas. Advanced Microelectronics - providing high level training & development (NVQ level 5 equiv.) in microelectronics. University of Salford: Graduate Gateway - ongoing programme of support to recent and unemployed graduates assisting them progress into placements, work opportunities and further training aspects as well addressing key employability skills such as c.v., writing, interview preparation etc. Director Development - specialist programmes targeting Directors/owners of SMEs in addressing key skill shortage areas. These projects and many others delivered by partner organisations, provide high level skills training & guidance and graduate placement opportunities across a number of priority fields. These projects are in line with supporting identified business sector needs, skill's shortages and help to reduce graduate unemployment & retention by the applicant Institution as part of their strategic objectives and business plan. These higher-level courses, facilitated by the opportunity made available by ESF funding, encourage the development of a learning culture & inclusion across generations, ethnicity and social backgrounds. Developments in e-learning packages & programmes by sectors such as HEIs, facilitate social inclusion; extend opportunities to rural areas and promote the benefits of vocational or work-based training whilst pro-actively supported by the physical 'Centres of Excellence' situated with the Higher Education Institutions. Further applications to support priority target groups have continued to be made in the 2 nd NW bidding round in Spring/Summer 2001 by core partner organisations and are, at time of submission, currently logged with GONW awaiting the convening & outcomes of the regional scoring panels and subsequent approval body. It will therefore be after the submission of this Action 43

44 Plan before both the results are known and direct links established to projects operating within the same time-scale as the action Plan - however due to the required linkages to the regional strategies under both Programmes, synergy & compatibility are assured. Partner organisations will be developing ongoing ESF projects for submission either directly to GONW in further rounds thereafter or in conjunction with their respective LSC's under co-financing arrangements being initially intended to run from September *************************** 44

45 NW Objective 2 Programme PRIORITY ONE Specific Aims & Objectives: Financial summary tables & Outputs: Measure One: page 47 Linkages to Measure Two & Three: page 49 Measure Four: page 50 Measure Five: page 54 45

46 Priority One - Business & Ideas: Activities undertaken through the HEI Action Plan will focus directly on the following measures but will predominantly focus on Measure 1.4: Linkages: Creation & establishment of Entrepreneurial Business Starts. (1.1) Developing the Regional Knowledge Economy: supporting Business innovation & networking. (1.4) Investment in premises for new & expending SMEs. (1.5) The Action Plan Partner organisations have demonstrable linkages to activities that are proposed under Priority One Measure 3 - Access to Finance for Growth SMEs. (M1.3). These proposed activities relating to specifically venture capital aspects of the projects will be re-directed to the NW Regional Development Agency. NWDA are tasked with developing regional M1.3 provision relating to providing venture capital to SMEs, as it is more applicable & better regionally positioned, to deliver this aspect of business support. Due to the expectations raised at the PAG, limited resources have been allocated to the two regional thematic actions regarding Measure 1.1 and the presumption being that the local Action Plans incorporating the SBS franchises would cover this area of activity. In order to utilise regionally assigned resources effectively, the NW Knowledge-Based Partnership and NWDA have agreed to assign the whole Measure 1.2 resource to the NWDA P1 Action Plan thus avoiding conflict & duplication of activities. ************* 46

47 Priority 1 Measure 1: Creation & Establishment of Entrepreneurial Business Starts A limited number of projects are expected under this Measure, as the presumption exists within the Programme Partnership (PAG / PMRC) that the local Action Plan Partnerships will deliver the vast majority of activity in this measure hence funding for Regional Thematic Action Plans has been limited to 5% of the programme M1.1 allocation. The allocation requested under this Action Plan has been derived from discussions with the NWDA Priority One Action Plan to focus our respective areas of activity. This measure aims to stimulate & support stream-lined activity in creating new entrepreneurial business start-ups, particularly focusing on the high technology & spin-off company potential stemming from the Higher Education Institutions and referrals from other agencies and increasing their survival rates. Its principal concern is to create an environment in which entrepreneurs are able to invest their ideas and to be intensely supported in developing them utilising the high technology and support infrastructure of the Higher Education sector. The activities under this measure will support innovation activities undertaken through Measure 1.4 and have effective linkages with knowledge transfer and HEI linked incubation services (Priority 3.1) at all levels. This activity is intended to be complementary & augment the service provision provided by the SBS; by providing high level specialist advice and technological support not available in-house through the SBS or other agencies. In line with PAG/ PMRC expectations for Measure 1.1, Project applicants will be required as part of the appraisal process to demonstrate that their project is complementary to and endorsed by the Small Business Service. It is also intended to support the innovative ideas and spin-off company potential stimulated through HEIs. HEIs are uniquely placed to attract, develop & utilise this source of innovation & ideas therefore it is appropriate that the sector be supported to develop this area and provide entrepreneurs the support required. The financial profile below is limited to be inline with the regional thematic allocation and excludes the specialist business support provision intended to support the nine NW specialist incubators being funded through the NWDA ICF fund. This activity, although linked to the HEIs, is being delivered through the NWDA's Priority 1 Action Plan/ Local Action Plan Partnerships. Activities will include: 1. Business counselling and consultancy of innovative ideas/ spinoff potential principally stimulated through HEIs. 2. business plan appraisal (following on from #1 above) 3. Innovation and product development for new start ups 4. Mentoring, management and human resource development 5. Entrepreneurship development 6. Technology awareness 7. Spin-outs from major companies and HEIs 47

48 8. E-commerce development within (should be in conjunction with the support of the Small Business Service to complement their existing activities). 9. Social economy and not-for-profit start-ups Transitional Area Objective 2 Area Total Public sector 412, ,334 1,086,022 Private sector 23,701 38,667 62,368 ERDF 412, ,334 1,086,022 Total 849,077 1,385,335 2,234,412 MEASURE 1.1 QUANTIFIED TARGETS Fully Eligible Transition Total Outputs New companies assisted Spin out companies assisted New products/processes developed Results New jobs created Increased sales ( m) m 5.527m m % of new companies assisted surviving more than 18 months 80% 80% 80% % of new companies assisted surviving more than 36 months 70% 70% 70% Impacts Net additional jobs Net additional value added ( m) 1.904m 1.194m 3.098m Indicative project proposals submitted to date requiring early (pre October 2001) start date: Name of Project Technology Awareness & Spinout Companies Mentors for Enterprise Laboratories Applicant/ Lead Body UMIST UMIST/ MSEC Start/End date 01/02/2001 to 31/12/05 01/01/2001 to 31/12/03 Indicative Total Costs ( ) 2,000,000 ERDF requested ( ) 760,000 (38%) 260, ,000 Description Development & support for Spinout companies as well as a technology & intellectual property programme to identify, select & create a new batch of licenses & spin-off' opportunities. Providing Mentor support to MCR Science Enterprise centre for HGBS incubator SMEs *********************** 48

49 Priority 1 Measure 2: Increasing the Competitiveness of Established SMEs Following the agreement at the PAG meeting in August 2001 to limit the resources to the two Regional Thematic Action Plans in Measure 1.2 and subsequent discussions with the NWDA Priority One AP representatives to determine their key objectives, the CONTACT Partnership has agreed to transfer & reschedule it's emphasis to Measure 1.4 in order to release "regionally" allocated funds in this area to the NWDA to facilitate its activity areas. Priority 1 Measure 3: Access to investment Finance for Growth SMEs As previously cited indicative projects submitted by Partner Organisations under this measure have been re-directed to the regional Action Plan developed by the NWDA relating to Venture Capital. The projects under the NW Knowledge-based Action Plan will inter-link with the NWDA Action Plan and act as a sign-post for SMEs to access venture capital & "seed-corn" funding. Combined with the support offered under this Action Plan as a package integrated with management advice and other forms of business support, this will seek to stimulate higher rates of business formation, survival & growth by encouraging new investment in entrepreneurial businesses located in the Objective 2 area and overcoming the difficulty being experienced by SMEs in accessing investment finance. ******** 49

50 Priority 1 Measure 4: Developing the Regional Knowledge Economy: Supporting Business Innovation & Networking Measure 1.4 contains the largest range of activity within the Action plan and reflects the determination and actions available through HEIs to fully engage & deliver the aspirations of Objective Two Programme SPD. Measure 1.4 relates directly to the innovation, knowledge transfer and the development of the knowledge economy. The HE sector is strongly positioned and challenged by Central UK Government, to better engage with the Private sector. Additional funding by the UK Government, such as "HEROBC", has provided the sector with funding, in addition to core funding & University Challenge funds, to install "gateways" and facilitate projects in which to engage SMEs in knowledge & technology transfer. This measure contains actions which will utilise these funding streams to facilitate the HE sector to develop and deliver projects that will promote & support greater access to and involvement in the exploitation of knowledge and innovation across the Objective 2 region by: enabling SMEs to benefit from the exploitation of the science and technology base; collaboration and partnership between SMEs and HEIs as well as other support agencies. developing closer links with large businesses in the region; the promotion & support for 'horizontal' and 'vertical' networks including supply-chain initiatives. This will be in conjunction with the NWDA activities in this field. the development of substantive inter-firm collaborative projects including joint research, joint ventures, and the joint exploitation of new markets and customers; inter-firm trading and supply chain developments; enabling SMEs to broaden and deepen their knowledge through collective learning ; encouraging SMEs to operate as groups to leverage better quality business support from public and private agencies, for instance by developing funding applications; providing sources of intelligence that are accessible to specific groups of businesses and organisations in the region. Whilst the HEI sector and the NWDA have made progress in formulating and developing networks and clusters in a number of North West sectors, for instance in aerospace, chemicals, food, and biomedical/life sciences, the Objective 2 region is still underdeveloped in comparison to other more advanced areas of the UK where networking and collaboration is a well-established feature of the business development process. This Action Plan seeks to significantly contribute in addressing this area of opportunity. This measure will closely link with measure M1.1, M1.2 and M1.5 and to M1.3 under the NWDA Action Plan "Innovation & Specialist Business Support". 50

51 Support under this Action Plan will be available for: 1. benchmarking and dissemination of best practice 2. establishing business-led sector groups 3. collaborative innovation and research programmes 4. supply chain initiatives (should be in coordination with NWDA activities) 5. knowledge-based incubation support services 6. individual sector group innovation strategies 7. strategic cross-network initiatives 8. HE/FE advanced innovation initiatives 9. virtual business networks 10. development of SME links with the HE sector 11. pilot and demonstration projects 12. development of advanced e-commerce solutions (should be in conjunction/ supported by the Small Business Service). 13. 'gateway'/'portal' Internet/Web sites 14. technology management projects 15. innovative services and applications provided by advanced digital networks 16. support to help SMEs increase their research and development activities 17. Intellectual property rights management strategies Transitional Area Objective 2 Area Total Public sector 8,703,520 14,200,480 22,904,000 Private sector 1,666,033 2,718,264 4,384,297 ERDF 8,703,520 14,200,480 22,904,000 Total 19,073,073 31,119,224 50,192,297 Measure 1.4 Quantified Targets Fully Eligible Transition Total Outputs SMEs assisted 2,363 1,544 3,907 SMEs implementing new processes, ways of working ,303 Results New jobs created 2,757 1,828 4,585 Jobs safeguarded ,500 Increased sales ( m) m m m Sales safeguarded ( m) 75m m m Impacts Net additional jobs 1,853 1,254 3,107 Net jobs safeguarded ,020 Net additional value added ( m) m m m Net value added safeguarded ( m) m m 28.03m 51

52 Indicative project proposals submitted to date stipulating a requirement for an early (pre October 2001) start date: Name of Project CPD & Lifelong Learning Bio-mechanics CAD Centre NW Technical Textiles Partnership E-Learning Centre Knowledge transfer for Fashion Knitwear Work-based Learning/ Training Centre NW Textile & Clothing Product Design Centre Electronic trading, supply-chain & internal business efficiency Support for Electronic trading & supply chains Knowledge NW.co Virtual Knowledge System Developing the Harris innovation Centre as a BIC Incubation Business Development Services Incubation International Links Applicant/ Lead Body Salford Salford Salford UMIST Manchester UMIST Bolton Bolton (& MMU) Bolton Bolton NWUA/ MMU UCLAN Incubation Partnership Incubation Partnership Start/En d date 1/03/2000 to 31/12/03 1/10/2000 to 30/09/04 01/09/01 to 31/03/03 01/01/01 to 31/12/04 01/07/01 to 30/06/04 01/01/01 to 31/12/04 01/08/01 to 31/07/04 01/08/01 to 31/07/04 01/01/01 to 31/12/05 01/01/01 to 31/12/05 1/01/2000 to 31/12/05 01/08/01 to 31/07/05 01/07/01 to 31/01/05 31/07/01 to 31/12/05 Total Costs ( ) ERDF requested ( ) 700, , , , , ,000 1,400, ,000 1,825, ,000 1,400, , , , , , , , , ,000 1,797, ,000 1,951, ,686 1,959, ,974 1,593, ,624 Description Development on the Salford campus for facilities to support CPD & LL for professional training inc ICT. Development of a virtual journal/ website for SMEs providing latest technology developments and models in bio-mechanics along with associated support. Targeting construction & engineering SMEs providing access & support in high technology CAD facilities. Increasing the competitiveness of technical textile SMEs via enhanced product development & manufacturing. Aims to accelerate transition to knowledge based economy by stimulating SME to use e-learning in business patterns. Aims to revitalise the knitwear industry by introducing whole garment knitting and 3d shaping as a concept. Development of work based learning packages delivered through internet & development of knowledge base for manufacturing. Development of a centre for product design and a number of sub-cluster groups in apparel, technical textiles as well as supporting the NWDA Textile Incubator. To facilitate the development of effective supply-chains between SMEs and corporate companies, assisting development of internal business efficiency via technology To support the collaborative design, development and delivery of product & associated services. Establishment of an integrated service supporting the 'knowledgebased' innovation & incubation, by linking SMEs & HE effectively. Creation of a EU BIC in the form of the Harris Innovation Centre based at Harris Knowledge Park providing high level innovation services, R&D expertise & technical knowledge. To stimulate & develop the process of business incubation, establish a funding structure for new technology based companies, electronic network Stimulate & develop the process of business incubation establish funding/advice structure & e-network linking the incubator SMEs 52

53 Outputs from Innovation Alternative Technologies Programme The "new" Business Manager project Technical Feasibility studies in SMEs UMIST Northern Technologie s/ Pendle Training UCLAN Bolton Institute 01/02/01 to 31/12/05 01/04/01 to 31/12/05 01/01/01 to 31/12/03 01/04/01 to 31/12/05 1,330,000 1,898, ,400 (38%) 759,436 (40%) 360, , , ,225 Intense business support for projects/ companies emerging from the incubation process encouraging accelerated growth potential. Via University HEROBC activities & regional incubators the project aims to introduce SMEs & HGSU to new & advanced technologies. Development of specific programmes for SMEs providing guidance for core management skills for Mgrs in flatter structures. Assisting SMEs to exploit existing technology &/or reducing costs by innovation via network, technology transfer and application of microelectronics. ************************************ 53

54 Priority 1 Measure 5: Investment in Premises for New & Expanding SMEs Limited actions under this Measure will be permitted, as the presumption exists within the Programme Partnership (PAG / PMRC) that the local Action Plan Partnerships will deliver this measure activity. The local Partnerships have agreed however to allow a limited number activities (see below) with individual project proposals being individually scrutinised by GONW for: Demonstration that the local partnerships are aware of the projects and actively endorse them Demonstrate that the activity cannot be supported through the relevant local Action Plan. The projects must be closely integrated with, in particular, Measures 1.1, or 1.4 under this Action Plan and should closely complement the activities supported under Priority 3 (Measure 3.1) with regard to developing new and expanding existing specialist Incubation facilities. Support will be available for: 1. starter units and managed workspaces 2. specialist HEI linked SME accommodation on science and technology parks 3. business incubator units 4. centres of manufacturing excellence 5. the development of intelligent buildings and links to advance ICT networks 6. refurbishment of derelict buildings 7. new/improved facilities for SME training and development 8. technology transfer facilities Measure 1.5 Quantified Targets Fully Eligible Transition Total Outputs m 2 of premises provided 2,754m2 2,754m2 of which refurbished premises (m 2 ) 2,156m2 2,156m2 Results New jobs created (accommodated) Jobs safeguarded (accommodated) Increased sales ( m) 3m 3m Sales safeguarded ( m) 4m 4m % of accommodation occupied by 2 years following 90% 90% completion Impacts Net additional jobs Net jobs safeguarded Net additional value added ( m) 0.573m 0.573m Net value added safeguarded ( m) 0.752m 0.752m 54

55 Measure 1.5 Summary: Transitional Area Objective 2 Area Total Public sector 0 1,290,072 1,290,072 ERDF 0 1,009,978 1,009,978 Total 0 2,300,050 2,300,050 Indicative project proposals submitted under this measure 1.5 are listed below. Only the MSEC project proposal has stated a need for an early start date (pre October 2001): Name of Project Business Creation Unit CREATE Centre for Outdoor Management & Training Applicant/ Lead Body MSEC in conjunction with the ASK/ Akeler Development Consortium Lancaster University in conjunction with Blackpool BC UCLAN in conjunction with Lancaster University Start/End date 01/01/01 to 30/09/01 Post October 2001 Post October 2001 Total Costs ( ) ERDF requested ( ) 250, ,000 1,100, , , ,155 Description Construction of a Business Creation Unit with capacity for 50 people for exploitation of high technology. This is part of the ICT Enterprise Centre to be situated on the Manchester North Business Park development. Development of ecology & environment centre, which would act as a regional advice centre and technical centre of excellence. Internet linkages and help-desk will be available to regional industry on a number of related issues. Will provide an integrated centre for Business 'learning/education' in Cumbria. The centre would facilitate vocationally related training in outdoor education / recreation inc Sport & Tourism Industries. Summary - Priority One ******************* Total cost ERDF 1.1 Business Starts 2,234,412 1,086, Competitive SMEs Knowledge 50,192,297 22,904, Premises 2,300,050 1,009,978 Total 54,726,759 25,000,000 ************************ 55

56 PRIORITY THREE Developed by the CONTACT Partnership on behalf of The North West Development Agency and the NW Objective Two Partnership. FINANCIAL TABLES AND SUMMARY OUTPUTS Measure One: Developing Strategic Employment Opportunities. Sections: 1 Introduction: page 57 2 Strategic Contribution: page 3 SPD Compliance: page 4 Project portfolio: page 5 Contribution & value for money: page 6 Deliverability: page 56

57 Section 1: Introduction Priority 3 - Strategic Regional Investment The CONTACT Partnership, as lead agent on behalf of the HE Partnership and the NWDA, has submitted a proposal for an Objective 2 area Knowledge-based "Virtual" cluster Economic Development Zone (EDZ) as cited in the Single Programme Document (SPD) supported by the NWDA and NWRA. The 2 nd element of this Action Plan would encompass a number of indicative sites & proposals for principally capital projects, which are recognised as strategically important to the region as well as in the development of a sustainable knowledge economy and in regards to supporting some of the regional programmes being undertaken by the NWDA, such as their Core Technology Fund (CTF) and Incubation Cluster fund (ICF). Activities under this Priority Three segment of the Action Plan will focus on the following measure: Developing Strategic Employment Opportunities (P3.M1) The Priority 3 Objective is "to develop a competitive and sustainable economy which offers employment and income opportunities for people of all ages, abilities and gender". This objective will only be achieved if the potential is realised to innovate, and to utilise the knowledge base in the region to feed new developments in the knowledge economy. Business Incubation has proved to be the most successful means of providing these links. There is substantial demand for more business incubation facilities, and for facilities spread across the region as recognised by NWDA in its regional strategy and hence development programmes e.g. ICF and CTF. This Action Plan aims to embrace, utilise and augment regeneration programmes such as these and provide added value by ensuring the linkages and connectivity both to HE Institutions, appropriate partners and within the Incubation units themselves, to provide an integrated support framework which will enhance the sustainability of the incubated units as well as enabling access to the HE Institutions to provide long-term development. This framework is part of the national and regional agenda to more closely integrate Higher Education, with its research, graduate & academic base, into assisting key agencies, such as NWDA and SBS, provide the required & sustainable business support provision needed by the regions SMEs, helping to generate and develop an innovation & enterprise culture. As a result the majority of the eleven indicative proposals submitted under this action plan are co-funded and endorsed by the North West Development Agency, who in order to secure this funding have undertaken already detailed appraisal of the individual projects, cost analysis and benefit to the Regional Economic Strategy. The financial size of some of these proposals has necessitated secondary appraisal by central Government Departments prior to NWDA formally giving consent & agreeing co-funding. 57

58 The proposal consists of incubation facilities, including the Core Technology Facility biotechnology Incubator in Manchester, the regional scheme for various sector-based incubators part-funded through the Innovative Cluster fund, and a range of other incubators and innovation centres promoted by the individual Universities within the Objective 2 area. This cluster of incubation and knowledge-based innovation centres will develop new strategic employment sites for incubated businesses providing high quality jobs and will bring back into use brown-field land and buildings. The EDZ expression of interest & proposal will continue to be developed as part of the NW Objective 2 Partnership "Knowledge Based" Action Plan spanning priorities 3.1; providing a flexible link with projects supported under Priority 1 under the full range of measure activity. The NW Objective 2 Partnership, comprising the NWDA, HE and SBS, define this regional "virtual" EDZ as reflecting the strategic management investment framework and relationship between these partners. The 'strategic management investment framework' signifies the new relationship and agenda of the key regional enterprise agencies in drawing HE, in an unprecedented way, into assisting in the provision of entrepreneurial support and enterprise development; facilitating the transfer of knowledge from the Objective 2 Region's Higher Education Institutions into the wider regional areas. This is evident from the financial support by NWDA to develop new enterprise focused facilities in conjunction with HE; based on or adjacent to existing HE establishments to utilise existing Centres of Excellence; in the development of new 'outreach' innovation centre or in the case of the NWDA's specialist Incubator centres gaining the HE support framework in addition to SBS services. These activities include as part of the regional agenda aimed at drawing HE resources, expertise and resources into the wider regional arena, increasing the accessibility to HE in areas, such as Cumbria and East Lancashire who previously felt 'geographical distant' from traditional HE localities such as Manchester and Liverpool. 58

59 Section 2: Strategic Contribution Outline: Actions under this Measure will be closely assimilated with activities proposed under Priority One Measures 1.1, 1.2, 1.4 and 1.5 under this Action Plan and other local level Action Plans. Activities associated with this Action Plan will be for projects of a regional significance and directly linked to the strategic developments & plans of the NW Development Agency and the HE sector. Strategic Contribution: In addition to the aims and objectives set out earlier in the Main Action Plan document page 17, this Priority Three element of the Action Plan will contribute in the following ways to: Contribution to the SPD & Priority Three aims & objectives: To develop employment sites within the designated economic development zones that will create significant numbers of jobs in key industry sectors that will secure new & higher value added jobs. (Measure 3.1) The activities proposed under this "Knowledge-based" Action Plan will complement the EDZ plans being developed by local partnerships by adding an objective 2 region-wide area "virtual" EDZ that will provide the region with significant large-scale projects & provision in key high value industry sectors. This Knowledge Based Virtual EDZ is intentionally & specifically mentioned in the SPD and Programme Complement as being the type of zone that could support the Northwest Regional Innovation Strategy and facilitate activities which are best delivered regionally for control, removal of duplication, economies of scale and provides cohesion of delivery across existing, and occasionally restrictive, local district boundaries. It covers the whole objective 2 area, as does the associated Priority 1 section of this Knowledge-based Action Plan. All the projects proposals are designed to be fully regional-wide projects, reaching out to all areas of the region including rural areas. The HE resource, which is concentrated in a number of areas, will be shared throughout the whole region by the physical locations, ICT integration within the project design and that the EDZ addresses multiple priority sectors. Integrity and coherence of the zone The "virtual" EDZ submitted by the CONTACT Partnership on behalf of the NWDA & NW Objective 2 area Partnership covers the whole of the NW Objective 2 eligible area incorporating a total eligible population of 3.46million. 59

60 It is a knowledge-based virtual cluster that supports the North West Innovation Strategy. The Innovation Strategy identifies a key task of facilitating and linking business networks with higher & further education institutions and business support organisations, to foster innovation, share knowledge and pool resources. This ethos is intended to support the regional & national agenda to nurture and develop the knowledge economy within the North West. It is therefore necessary that this particular EDZ should cover the whole of the Objective 2 area in order that the whole area can benefit from the engagement of HE through the strategic regional projects that are envisaged & identified under this Action Plan. Regional Agencies including HE, recognise that the North West's HE institutions are not distributed evenly over the Objective 2 area but through this virtual EDZ and ICT connectivity, it is envisaged that the Knowledge transfer will be delivered to the whole Objective 2 area. Therefore this EDZ represents a coherent area, unifying both built-up & rural areas, which will benefit from this unprecedented engagement of the HE sector with the businesses sector and regional partners. This EDZ will operate in conjunction with the Priority 1 Knowledge based Action Plan, which is a thematic Action Plan covering the NW Objective 2 area and Local Partnership Action Plans who will deliver a significant proportion of the Business Support function through their appropriate SBS franchises. Nature and scale of the opportunity It is felt that the outputs/results anticipated from the limited selection of physical projects envisaged are sufficiently regionally focused & concentrated in order to achieve "critical mass". Critical mass can be achieved not only through the physical scale of the proposed projects; their geographical location and sectoral prominence, but also through the synergisical multiplier effect achieved by linking these projects through ICT technologies and under the umbrella control, financing & coordination offered by the multi-agency partnership. This virtual integrity & cohesion eliminates, in this particular case, the need for close geographical proximity required by other local EDZ proposals in order to achieve comparable results but additionally facilitates the inclusion of rural & remote areas of the region. The proposed virtual EDZ will provide locations & intervention aimed at achieving sustainable, high quality, new jobs and the fostering of recognised emerging sector activity, such as ICT/ digital technologies/ networks and biomanufacture incubation facilities. The specialist nature of the projects and the HE association will result in jobs and skills at the high end of the spectrum as well as facilitating the ethos of the cross-thematic themes of equal opportunities, in terms the promotion & promotion of women, ICT and Sustainability. The focus on supporting emerging technologies & sectors facilitates the promotion of the North West in order to attract inward Private-sector interest & investment into the region in the same way that has already had a demonstrable impact in areas in the South-East such as Oxford & Cambridge. The type of projects envisaged under this virtual EDZ proposal are considered to be of B1 status usage (research & administration) and sited in areas that will 60

61 have minimal environmental impact but that can utilise & augment existing infrastructure resources and transport linkages. Linkages to Communities in need The majority of the indicative proposals are situated within the fully eligible areas however one of the Specialist Incubators based in Burnley in the Transitional areas, therefore targeting by default the areas designated as requiring the greatest level of assistance. The nature of the indicative project activities envisaged however, will reflect the regional impact of these facilities and the substantial attraction they will bring to the perception of the location and region as a whole, in supporting regeneration and longer-term sustainability. The envisaged locations, being predominantly in urban areas, are well served by public transport and infrastructure enabling access to employment opportunities from the local community. This "virtual" EDZ being of a regional basis and utilising existing infrastructure provision differs in nature from the local EDZ areas and in that it is not intended to necessitate alterations to transport infrastructure. This Action Plan is not therefore seeking funding under measure P3.M3 as this particular fund will be more appropriately required under the local area based EDZs, for example, East Manchester and Kingsway Business Park. Linkages to Priority 1 & Objective 3 (ESF) This section of the bid needs to be read in conjunction to with the general text already submitted to GONW in the Action Plan main document, this covers areas including: Justification of HE joint intervention page21 Risk & realism assessment page 23 Related measures P1 & P3 page 26 Linkages to Objective 3; page 33 The proposals under the priority 3 EDZ are part of a multi-priority Action Plan - "The NW Knowledge Based Action Plan" which is being submitted by The CONTACT Partnership on behalf of the NWDA and "The Objective 2 Area Partnership". A number of the Priority 3 EDZ projects have revenue bids under the Priority1 section of the "Knowledge-based" Action Plan and individual business support to companies contained within the Incubation clusters will also be delivered through the NWDA's own Priority One Action Plan. This "Knowledge-based" Action Plan brings together the HE institutions of the O2 area along with a number of HE related organisations, in addition to key agencies such as the NWDA and SBS, in an unprecedented way to address the Government's agenda of engaging HE with businesses and the community. This multi-agency partnership s aim is the development & nurturing of a knowledge economy, nationally recognised as being pivotal to the re-vitalisation 61

62 of the NW Objective 2 regional economy and instigating the move away from its over-dependency on traditional industries & practises; embracing the emerging sectors and digital/ict technology. This Action Plan clearly shows that HE is now fully engaged, both structurally & financially, and along with regional Partners such as NWDA & SBS, is ready to deliver significant outputs throughout the whole O2 region. Partner HE Institutions along with other key delivery agencies such as the LSCs, FE etc are bidding for complementary ESF projects under the Objective Three programme to assist address the various skill shortages identified within the various regional & sector strategies. Numerous ESF bids are currently awaiting the decision of the approval body, therefore it is too premature to be able to cite direct linkages due to the oversubscribed position of the Objective 3 programme. The fallback position is the requirement for these Objective 3 applications to also target the objectives of the Regional Economic Strategy and SPD, which will thus ensure compatibility and focus. The HE sector is also considering the proposed co-financing arrangements for Objective 3 funding. Contribution to the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) This Action Plan Priority EDZ proposal will contribute significantly to the Regional Economic Strategy as it develops the themes of "Investing in Businesses and Ideas" and "Investing in Infrastructure". Through the various projects identifies the Action Plan Priority/ EDZ will increase the opportunities for commercialisation of research and company spinouts from the region's Universities. A number of growth clusters and business networks, which are supported by NWDA, will be made possible through this EDZ. The 9 specialist incubators and the Core Technology facility are examples of such clusters, these projects are both supported by the NWDA. The Knowledge and Skills Brokerage service, again a NWDA supported project will stimulate the links between the lead academics and the clusters and further the development of the Knowledge Based Economy. The Regional Strategy stresses the importance of strengthening the region's Knowledge Base. The projects are all large-scale projects and, in conjunction with the priority 1 Action Plan, address all the priority sectors identified by the NWDA. The Harris Innovation Centre & Manchester Core Technology facility (Bio-manufacture), partfunded by NWDA are heavily represented within the Regional Strategy and Central Govt policy documents/ white papers and are intended to support the development within the North West of key high growth sector clusters which are still in their embryonic stages. The indicative project proposals are well situated across the region both to maximise the potential and resources of the Objective 2 area Universities but also to ensure region-wide delivery, relevance and integrity. ***************** 62

63 Section 3: SPD Compliance: Details as to how this action plan will address and satisfy the objective 2 programme cross-cutting themes have been cited earlier on pages 30 to 32. Due to the nature of the B1 status & usage of the type of projects envisaged, this will complement the RES and generate the high quality & emerging sectors that will maximise social, economic and environmental benefits. Environmental Impact Assessment Due to the nature & location of the indicative projects proposed under this "virtual EDZ", we do not expect any activities to produce any negative environmental impact. The construction / refurbishment of premises involved in some proposals will be geographically dispersed and principally conducted on existing brownfield sites bringing back into use derelict +/or under utilised land & buildings. In this context, this EDZ proposal is dissimilar to other EDZ proposals, which involve the large-scale urban regeneration e.g. 'New Media Hub', 'New east Manchester' or the creation of new business parks such as 'Rochdale Kingsway'. The type of projects envisaged under this virtual EDZ proposal are considered & recognised, including by NWDA & GONW, to be of B1 status usage and cited in areas that will have minimal environmental impact and that can utilise & augment existing infrastructure resources and transport linkages. Environmental Impact summary Global Sustainability Atmospheric Stability Non-renewable resources Renewables Trees Natural Resources Air Quality Water Land/soil Wildlife Local Environmental Quality Landscape Townscape Cultural Heritage Traffic/Congestion Measure 1 No negative aspects are expected from any aspect of the indicative projects proposed. No negative aspects or disruption to water quality are expected from any aspect of the indicative projects proposed. All facilities are envisaged to utilise existing brownfield sites or the refurbishment of existing premises therefore bringing back into use derelict resources into use. The exterior design of the buildings will be aesthetically designed and will comply with existing planning doctrines to be sympathetic to surrounding structures. N/a All facilities are envisaged to be located 63

64 Noise/Smell Safety Open Space Accessibility in immediate proximity to existing transport infrastructure including access to public transport. The use of ICT technology & network systems will facilitate electronic communication and connectivity to HE and other Institutions/ agencies. No negative aspects or disruption to water quality are expected from any aspect of the indicative projects proposed. N/a All buildings being constructed/ refurbished will be designed to give full access to the facilities. ICT infrastructures will also enable wider connectivity to the region including rural areas. It would be impractical & extremely difficult for this regionally focused Action Plan to conduct an environmental impact assessment covering all planned locations and the various types of envisaged projects. We therefore propose that under these particular circumstances the emphasis be applied to the individual projects to provide an environmental assessment. In deed, such an assessment is required and will be carried out as part of the normal planning applications whether as an outline assessment or a more detailed assessment based on local conditions and individual applications. Employment Action Plans To be confirmed following consultation. State Aid & Grant rates. In addition to the section earlier, grant rates for individual projects under Priority Three have been adjusted in accordance to the Programme Complement to reflect the restrictions and expectations envisaged within the SPD. Project proposals where investments are envisaged to generate substantial net revenue will be restricted to an ERDF contribution of no more than 25% of the total. Further talks with Government Office North West will continue to ensure awareness of the latest requirements and subsequent adherence. 64

65 Eligible Activities within the Measure: Eligible activities supported will include: Key projects Section 4: Project portfolio 1. site acquisition, reclamation and improvement of land costs; 2. provision or upgrading of on-site infrastructure, where essential for development purposes; 3. provision of high specification of business, industrial and commercial premises; 4. conversion, refurbishment or upgrading of premises to meet specific specialist business use; 5. reclamation works, landscaping, environmental improvements and limited external refurbishment of buildings where such works will directly enhance development potential; and 6. revenue related activities, such as promotion and marketing, directly linked to securing the benefits of the capital investment. (funding restricted to a maximum of 10% of the capital investment costs) The five Projects, summarised below, are considered to be the lead projects of the eleven indicative project proposals received to date although all the projects are important in their respective field of work. The majority of these projects are connected to the NW Development Agency either in operational activities +/or financially as part of regional regeneration programmes e.g. CTF or ICF. Name of proposal Core Technology Facility Innovation Centre Development Knowledge Business Centre NW Incubation Programme Applicant University of Manchester UCLAN (lead) In conjunction with University of Lancaster University of Lancaster NW Development Agency Priority/ Measure P3.1 (& P1.4) P3.1 P3.1 P3.1 Summary description Development of a specialist biomanufacturing incubator in conjunction with NWDA co-funding. Development of three innovation centres to complement the incubation activities across the region. Centres are proposed in Preston, West Cumbria and East Lancashire. Development of a leading edge 'Centre of Excellence' with key themes of Informatics, Networking and Knowledge Business. Development of nine (eligible) specialist incubators throughout the region. Business support provision to be included within NWDA Priority 1 Action Plan. 65

66 "KnowledgeNorthWest.com" virtual knowledge System & Brokerage Service NWUA (lead) In conjunction with NWDA P3.1 (& P1.4) To establish an integrated service, supporting innovation, incubation, sector & cluster development by providing a knowledge transfer web portal: a knowledge management system and an integrated e-network system. Other indicative project proposals received to date include: Name of proposal Applicant Summary description NETNW Communications platform UVL Incubation Project The Innovation Forum Incubator Knowledge-based Industries The Design Laboratory Partnership NW MCR Business Park Technology Transfer Centre Net NW U.M.I.ST. Ventures Ltd University of Salford Manchester Metropolitan University Bolton Institute MSEC To provide communications services using broad-band a platform from which SMEs working in the Knowledge-based economy, typically those on Science parks & start-up companies in Incubation Centre linking them to HE & FE, introducing them to telematic opportunities and related systems. To create incubator facilities which will enable UVL to provide intensive care project management for spin-off companies and act as a facilitator of faster track & larger scale spin-off activities. To create a distributed Innovation Forum across the Region using a "hub" and "spoke" model, providing the infrastructure to enable regional SMEs to work with each other, HEIs and other stakeholders, emanating best practice and generating a regional enterprise culture. Aimed at supporting the growth of the Creative & Cultural industries sector within GM & the region by providing facilities to support new business start-ups to explore the creative & business potential of entrepreneurial ideas in an interdisciplinary space. This facility is an integral component to the NWDA's Specialist Incubator focusing on Technical Textiles, which will be located in close proximity to the Bolton Institute campus. The 'Design centre' located, for technical reasons, on the Institutes campus, will containing high spec state-of-the-art design equipment & facilities for product, process, graphic, web and virtual reality design. Creation of a technology Transfer Centre in the North Manchester Business park, providing premises where scientists & engineers can through incubation, establish & grow their own companies. Skilled Technology Transfer teams will support commercialisation of ideas. This project ties in closely to the New East Manchester EDZ 66

67 Section 5: Contribution and value for money Output, results and impact targets The expected outputs, results and impacts are summarised below - due to the location of the expected sites the majority of direct outputs will be located within fully eligible ward areas but with some activity within the Transitional Areas due to the location of the NWDA Incubator in Burnley, the impact of these activities will however reach-out significantly further across transitional areas and the whole Objective 2 region. The differing nature of the individual projects can be broken down into three distinct areas: Knowledge, Incubation and Innovation. As the proposals are aimed at the creation of specialist high-tec facilities and ICT infrastructures, this is reflected in what appears at first-glance to be the high cost of the Priority 3 segment of the Action Plan, principally due to the specialist nature of Core Technology Facility proposal and the associated high cost of the equipment required. Overall this should however be viewed against what will be the development of an extensive package of facilities and enhanced emerging sector capabilities across the Objective 2 region. The envisaged jobs created results & impacts reflect the quality level of the envisaged activities. The creation of these facilities, in such a framework, will in itself provide an important strategic boost in promoting the region's capabilities and provision, to attract inward investment and assist the development of the regional economy to diversify away from traditional industries. These proposed activities/ facilities, in the majority, form part of the NWDA's CTF and ICF regeneration programmes and are an integral part of the Regional Strategy and the promotion of the regeneration of the knowledge economy through the integration and enhancement of the HE sector. 67

68 Outputs below are based on indicative proposal submissions and are subject to change. Measure 3.1 Strategic Employment Opportunities Fully Eligible Area Transitional Total Outputs Hectares of land serviced :of which, brownfield land Premises provided (m 2 ) 40, ,754 :of which refurbished premises 2, ,200 Feasibility Studies Results New jobs created 2, ,500 Equal Opportunity target - jobs created 1, Jobs safeguarded Equal Opportunity target - jobs safeguarded Increased sales ( m) m m Sales safeguarded ( m) m m Impacts Net additional jobs 1, Equal Opportunity target - net jobs created Net jobs safeguarded Equal Opportunity target - net jobs safeguarded Net additional value added ( m) Net value added safeguarded ( m) Cost per gross & net jobs analysis. The indicative project proposals submitted to-date under this Priority Three EDZ, estimate that the following output results will be achieved: 41,754 m 2 of new/ refurbished premises will be provided of which at least 3,200 m 2 will be refurbished premises. 2,500 jobs (accommodated) are estimated to be created, as well as 395 jobs safeguarded Jobs created: This represents a rate of 8,534 (ERDF) per new job created which reflects the specialist & higher quality nature of the jobs created against a SPD benchmark of 8,184 (ERDF). Premises provided: This represents an average rate of 1,301 per m 2 (total cost) against a benchmark of 700 per m 2 (Total cost). This rate appears high but reflects the higher than average cost of providing specialist incubator accommodation such as the Core Technology Facility and the fact that the NETNW project providing broadband IT linkages to the Specialist Incubation clusters will not be providing accommodated jobs created but which will provide significant opportunities. The nature of the projects proposed to comprise this virtual P3 EDZ element will produce longer term benefits with less immediate effect in terms of job outputs and Net added value as the incubated businesses included will by require time to develop and mature. 68

69 Private sector leverage Financial support from the Private sector has been sought & included where applicable to those individual applications. The overall contribution from the private sector is 5%, which is lower than the average expected under Priority Three, however this is compensated by the increased contribution from the Public sector at 56% i.e. from NWDA and HE Institutions. This due to the characteristics of this "virtual" EDZ, as the types of necessary infrastructure support envisaged and some of the locations utilising on/near campus sites, do not easily lend themselves to private sector financial support at the outset, unlike other EDZ's involving the creation of Business Parks largely supported by Private Sector developers etc. Financial Summary: The overall finances are listed below split between FEA & Transitional areas: Objective 2 Fully Eligible Area Objective 2 Transitional Areas 1 Total Eligible Costs Public sector 29,787, ,857 30,169,934 Private sector 2,845, ,845,000 ERDF 21,081, ,428 21,333,044 Total 53,713, ,285 54,347,978 1 relates to the NWDA Specialist Incubator cluster unit at Burnley. Combined total spend profile - Fully eligible & Transitional Areas: Match Funding Total Costs ERDF Public Private ,000 8,000 12, ,146,000 2,072,400 3,011,100 62, ,631,150 5,660,642 7,564,116 1,409, ,970,436 7,734,379 11,348, , ,854,249 4,678,455 6,967, , ,103, ,009 1,084, , , , , ,500 54,347,978 21,333,044 30,169,934 2,845,000 69

70 Financial breakdown ( Combined areas Total Costs) per quarter Year Total costs ERDF Public Private ,000 8,000 12,000 - Qtr Qtr Qtr Qtr 4 20,000 8,000 12, ,146,000 2,072,400 3,011,100 62,500 Qtr 1 20,000 8,000 8,000 - Qtr 2 20,000 8,000 8,000 - Qtr 3 474, , ,110 - Qtr 4 4,631,400 1,865,160 2,709,990 62, ,631,150 5,660,642 7,564,116 1,409,000 Qtr 1 1,828, , , ,125 Qtr 2 3,657,787 1,415,160 1,891, ,250 Qtr 3 3,657,788 1,415,160 1,891, ,250 Qtr 4 5,486,682 2,122,742 2,836, , ,970,436 7,734,379 11,348, ,000 Qtr 1 4,992,609 1,933,594 2,837, ,750 Qtr 2 4,992,609 1,933,594 2,837, ,750 Qtr 3 4,992,609 1,933,594 2,837, ,750 Qtr 4 4,992,609 1,933,597 2,837, , ,854,249 4,678,455 6,967, ,500 Qtr 1 2,963,562 1,169,613 1,741,954 54,875 Qtr 2 2,963,562 1,169,613 1,741,954 54,875 Qtr 3 2,963,562 1,169,613 1,741,954 54,875 Qtr 4 2,963,563 1,169,616 1,741,956 54, ,103, ,009 1,084, ,500 Qtr 1 525, , ,224 34,375 Qtr 2 525, , ,224 34,375 Qtr 3 525, , ,224 34,375 Qtr 4 525, , ,224 34, , , , ,500 Qtr 1 155,725 76,040 45,310 34,375 Qtr 2 155,725 76,040 45,310 34,375 Qtr 3 155,725 76,040 45,310 34,375 Qtr 4 155,725 76,040 45,310 34, ,347,978 21,333,044 30,169,934 2,845, % 39% 56% 5% Match Funding 33,014, Public 30,169, Private 2,845,

71 Indicative Project proposal #1 Project name: Core Technology Facility: Bio-manufacture: Applicant: Manchester Innovation Ltd, University of Manchester Project Director Dr Martino Picardo, Business Development Manager, MIL Location: Grafton Street, Manchester - Ardwick Ward (FEA) Finances Public match: NWDA agreed in principal, VUM = agreed Total eligible cost Grant sought Public Match Private match 24,000,000 8,000,000 (Cap) 1,000,000 (Rev) 10,000,000 (NWDA) 5,000,000 (VUM) None 9,000,000 15,000,000 Project Description The core technology Facility is an extension to the existing biotechnology incubator, but with additional state-of-the-art equipment to be shared by tenant SMEs and other regional SMEs to give access to current techniques in genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics. The current incubator unit, located adjacent to the University of Manchester's Stoppford Building (housing 1,000 bio-researchers) and the Royal Manchester Infirmary, is filled to capacity and this new facility will enable the continued growth of the biotechnology cluster in the region. The new facility would upon completion house 30 tenant businesses, employing based on previous experience on average 15 people each. These are high skill, high quality jobs at the leading edge of biotechnology. Outputs Hectares of land serviced 0.6 Of which, brownfield land 0.6 Premises provided (m2) 12,350 Of which refurbished premises (m2) 0 Results New jobs created 1,250 EO target jobs created 599 Jobs safeguarded 40 EO target jobs safeguarded 16 Increased sales ( m) 41.3m Sales safeguarded ( m) 23.7m Impacts Net additional jobs 1,000 EO - net additional jobs 399 Net jobs safeguarded 21 EO - net jobs safeguarded 8 Net additional value added ( m) 7.029m Net value added safeguarded ( m) 3.576m Individual contribution to RES Emerging high-growth sector Identified as addressing lack of provision within Region Co-funded by NWDA through its CTF fund and designated key regional project. 71

72 Indicative Project proposal #2 Project name: NW Incubation Cluster Programme Applicant: NW Development Agency Project Manager Mr Pete Elson, Enterprise Project Manager, NWDA Barrow (FEA) West Lakes (FEA) Bolton (FEA?) Locations: TBC Blackburn (FEA) Burnley (Trans) Gtr Manchester Central (FEA) Gtr Manchester Trafford (FEA) Finances NWDA match confirmed. Total eligible cost Grant sought Public Match Private Match 4,440,000 1,760,000 2,420,000 (NWDA) 260,000 (other) 2,680,000 0 Project Description As part of their regional Strategy & programme NWDA's Incubation Cluster Fund (ICF) intends to fund up to eleven specialist Incubator facilities within the NW region, seven of which will be within the Objective 2 FEA area. These incubators will support the needs of start-up and emerging technology businesses. To facilitate this two complementary 'projects' are required, one capital as part this Action Plan to create the incubator buildings, and a revenue one submitted under the appropriate Local Partnership (SBS) Action Plans to provide the necessary specialist business support services. This project will comprise the construction/ refurbishment of buildings to house the specialist Incubators. Outputs Hectares of land serviced Of which, brownfield land Premises provided (m2) 6,300 Of which refurbished premises (m2) 2,000 Results New jobs created 250 EO target jobs created 112 Jobs safeguarded 0 EO target jobs created 0 Increased sales ( m) 20m Sales safeguarded ( m) 11.52m Impacts Net additional jobs 129 EO - net additional jobs 51 Net jobs safeguarded 0 EO - net jobs safeguarded 0 Net additional value added ( m) 3.404m Net value added safeguarded ( m) 1.738m Individual contribution to RES Addresses identified lack of incubator units within the region i. Also utilises success of a cluster & sectorial approach 72

73 ii. iii. Utilises, wherever possible derelict / brownfield sites bring them back into use and reducing the large regional stock Addresses the disproportionate distribution of existing facilities within the region 73

74 iv. Indicative Project proposal #3 Project name: Innovation Centre Development Applicant: University of Central Lancashire Project Director Mr Paul Heald, Director of Business Services, UCLAN Location: Three centres: Preston Central (FEA), West Cumbria (FEA) and East Lancashire (Blackburn FEA). Finances NWDA agreed in principal, UCLAN secure Total eligible cost Grant sought Public Match Private match 6,051,000 2,299, ,000 NWDA 3,101,620 UCLAN 3,751,620 0 Project Description This collaborative project in conjunction with Lancaster University is to construct three Innovation Centres, one in each of the areas above, to complement the incubation activities across the north of the region, to augment & balance those facilities which are presently available in south of the region. The innovation Centres would have facilities such as training and seminar rooms, IT facilities and general office space. The facility would in partnership with local SBS/LSC strategies, provide innovation advice & assistance including exploitation of IPR, licensing, copy writing etc., plus advice of funding streams, assistance in bid writing and business growth. Outputs Hectares of land serviced 0.33 Of which, brownfield land Premises provided (m 2 ) 13,333 Of which refurbished premises (m 2 ) Feasibility/ research studies 3 Results New jobs created 30 EO target jobs created 13 Jobs safeguarded 5 EO target jobs safeguarded 2 Increased sales ( m) 4m Sales safeguarded ( m) 6m Impacts Net additional jobs 21 EO - net additional jobs 8 Net jobs safeguarded 5 EO - net jobs safeguarded 2 Net additional value added ( m) 0.681m Net value added safeguarded ( m) 0.904m Individual contribution to RES Provides facilities from which to radiate programmes to increase innovation and business start-up to address the regions flagging under-performance in this field 74

75 Addresses the imbalance of existing provision which prevails in the south of the region - promoting wider access and opportunities to the northern urban & rural areas. 75

76 Indicative Project proposal #4 Project name: Knowledge Business Centre Applicant: University of Lancaster Project Director: Professor Richard Davies, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Lancaster Location: On/adjacent to the University of Lancaster campus (FEA) Finances NWDA funding confirmed - letter attached Total eligible cost Grant sought Public Match Private match 5,490,000 2,490,000 3,000,000 (NWDA) 0 Project Description This proposal is to provide a centre of excellence for a North-West leading edge facility servicing the business community and providing a catalyst for economic development, predominantly in the North of the region, in the knowledge-based industries. The centre's initial focus will include three themes; Informatics, Networking and Knowledge Business, in addition it will act as a portal for developing further key industrial support mechanisms from other sources of expertise from within the University. The centre will offer business & technical support in addition to providing 'incubator' units where small business can exploit the research work of the University in particular its international reputation for ICT. Outputs Hectares of land serviced Of which, brownfield land Premises provided (m2) 3,000 Of which refurbished premises (m2) 1,000 Results New jobs created 180 EO target jobs created 81 Jobs safeguarded 200 EO target jobs safeguarded 80 Increased sales ( m) 20m Sales safeguarded ( m) 30m Impacts Net additional jobs 93 EO - net additional jobs 37 Net jobs safeguarded 103 EO - net jobs safeguarded 41 Net additional value added ( m) 3.404m Net value added safeguarded ( m) 4.517m Contribution to RES Addresses the identified emerging technologies sector - ICT Addresses the present imbalance of current provision presently centred in Manchester in the south of the region 76

77 Indicative Project proposal #5 Project name: "KnowledgeNorthWest.com" Applicant: NWUA in association with NWDA and Small Business Service Project Director: Mr Keith Burnley, Managing Director, NWUA Location: TBC but within FEA Finances NWDA confirmed match Total eligible cost Grant sought Public Match Private match 1,110, , ,480 NWDA 0 Project Description This is a strategic collaborative proposal from NWUA & NWDA which will provide an integrated service, supporting innovation, incubation, sector and cluster development by providing: A knowledge transfer web portal, with supporting Contact Centre, offering a single, user-friendly, point of entry for SMEs & enterprise to access the expertise of Universities and the wider knowledge base, to enhance HE enterprise activities and other similar collaborations. A knowledge management system (KMS), available to all key players, aimed at enhancing innovation and the development of the 'knowledge economy' and integrated into the KT system. KMS to be made available at local level for Universities & other Knowledge transfer institutions. An integrated E-network system & network providing enhanced communications and information flow between & within business (SMEs) and HE and the wider knowledge base. The need for such strategic services is well documented and this project is complementary to policy of & supported by NWDA, Regional Innovation Strategy, DTi, Innovation White paper, SBS etc. Outputs Hectares of land serviced 0 Of which, brownfield land 0 Premises provided (m2) 0 Of which refurbished premises (m2) 0 Results New jobs created 200 EO target jobs created 90 Jobs safeguarded 0 EO target jobs safeguarded 0 Increased sales ( m) 15m Sales safeguarded ( m) 8.64m Impacts Net additional jobs 103 EO - net additional jobs 41 Net jobs safeguarded 0 EO - net jobs safeguarded 0 Net additional value added ( m) 2.553m Net value added safeguarded ( m) 1.301m 77

78 Indicative Project proposal #6 Project name: NETNW Communications platform Applicant: NET North West Limited Project Director: Mr Wilf Gardener, NET NW Location: NW Objective 2 area Finances Funding to be confirmed - discussions with NWDA Total eligible cost Grant sought Public Match Private match 3,000,000 1,500, ,000 (TBC) 750,000 Project Description This project proposal activity is one component of an inclusive programme to develop an integrated Knowledge based cluster in the Objective 2 area with three principal constituent groupings: the Universities & other HEIs, the Incubation Centres and the Science Parks. Its purpose is to provide a comprehensive, leading edge communications platform that will deliver transparently a set of resilient & sustainable services to those who do not have them (typically the HEIs already have most services in place (e.g. JANET). The services include: 1. High bandwidth connectivity (with upgrade capabilities) to all the locations in the programme (@ 14) 2. Through 1 above access to Superjanet4 for research & other knowledge economy related services. 3. Through 1 above access to the Internet for commercial use by tenants 4. Utilising the same network infrastructure, the provision of modern telephony systems that would include virtual private networks for knowledge economy sub-clusters 5. The provision of state-of-the-art digital communications with simultaneous use of high quality video, voice and data sharing Outputs Hectares of land serviced 0 Of which, brownfield land 0 Premises provided (m2) 0 Of which refurbished premises (m2) 0 Results New jobs created EO target jobs created Jobs safeguarded EO target jobs created Increased sales ( m) Sales safeguarded ( m) Impacts Net additional jobs EO - net additional jobs Net jobs safeguarded Net additional value added ( m) Net value added safeguarded ( m) 78

79 Indicative Project proposal #7 Project name: UVL Incubation Project Applicant: UMIST in conjunction with UMIST Ventures Ltd. Project Director: Mr Clive Rowland, Chief Executive, UVL Location: Situated on/adjacent to the UMIST Campus Finances Match funding confirmed Total eligible cost Grant sought Public Match Private match 1,000, , ,000 (UMIST) 595,000 (UVL) Project Description To provide additional incubator facilities which will enable UVL to provide intensive care project management for spin-off companies for a longer period than presently available and to act as a facilitator of fast-track and larger scale spin-off activities. The facilities envisaged would provide support to 15 companies, which based on previous experience, would each eventually employ 10 employees. Outputs Hectares of land serviced 0 Of which, brownfield land 0 Premises provided (m2) 430 Of which refurbished premises (m2) 0 Results New jobs created 150 EO target jobs created 67 Jobs safeguarded 0 EO target jobs safeguarded 0 Increased sales ( m) 12m Sales safeguarded ( m) 6.912m Impacts Net additional jobs 77 EO - net additional jobs 31 Net jobs safeguarded 0 Net additional value added ( m) 2.042m Net value added safeguarded ( m) 1.043m 79

80 Indicative Project proposal #8 Project name: The Innovation Forum Applicant: University of Salford Project Director: Professor James Powell, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Salford Site Location: Salford - Blackfriars & Pendleton wards -both FEA Finances Match funding to be confirmed - New Deal money & NWDA. Total eligible cost Grant sought Public Match Private match 5,000,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 (New Deal & NWDA) 500,000 Project Description The purpose of this bid is to design & develop the Innovation Forum Centre, with four initial satellite nodes across the region. The "hub" at Salford and the "spokes" at MMU, UCLAN, Lancaster and Bolton HEI, will have SME drop-in facilities and will be linked electronically to maximise networking/ collaborative working. The ICT & building requirements for this have already been scoped out and the approach fully validated through regional testing. LJMU will bid separately into Objective 1 on Merseyside for an additional "spoke". The "hub" will be sited in the 53m New Deal in the Communities area adjacent to the University of Salford campus and will directly link into the Innovation Park development. The project will provide the infrastructure & framework to enable regional SMEs to work with each other, with regional HEIs and other stakeholders (e.g. SBS) to be more innovative, creative and entrepreneurial. It will also provide a regional framework for coordination and communication of enterprise development activities in the region assisting towards developing a regional enterprise culture & profile. NWDA & City of Salford are currently spending 60,000 to scope out the action. Outputs Hectares of land serviced 5.8 Of which, brownfield land 5.8 Premises provided (m 2 ) 570 Of which refurbished premises (m 2 ) 200 Feasibility/ Research Studies 1 Results New jobs created 304 EO target jobs created 136 Jobs safeguarded 150 EO target jobs created 60 Increased sales ( m) 24.32m Sales safeguarded ( m) 14.00m Impacts Net additional jobs 165 EO - net additional jobs 66 Net jobs safeguarded 77 EO - net jobs safeguarded 31 Net additional value added ( m) 4.139m Net value added safeguarded ( m) 2.112m 80

81 Indicative Project proposal #9 Project name: Knowledge-based Industries Incubator Applicant: Manchester Metropolitan University Project Director: Ms Sarah O'Donnell, Head of External Relations, MMU Location: Oxford Road, Manchester - Ardwick Ward FEA Finances Match funding confirmed from MMU Estates development fund Total eligible cost Grant sought Public Match Private match 1,000, , ,000 MMU 0 Project Description Sited on Oxford Road, this facility will concentrate on the continuing establishment of this area being the 'Cultural' and 'knowledge corridor' of the city, which already houses the New Media Centre, the National Computing Centre as well as close proximity to the Faculties of Art & Design and Humanities of the University. The newly created space will allow entrepreneurs, post-graduates and the wider community the opportunity to explore the creative & business potential of entrepreneurial ideas in an interdisciplinary space. The Unit will be able to support new business start-ups by providing facilities for business planning courses & workshops, business counselling, while providing generic facilities i.e. computing, internet access, fax & phone. Being in close proximity to the University allows the free flow of academic expertise and mentoring support capable of sustaining new business in the vulnerable early stages. The development will be operated in alliance with the Incubation Partnership, Campus Ventures Limited and NWDA, Outputs Hectares of land serviced 0 Of which, brownfield land 0 Premises provided (m 2 ) 160 Of which refurbished premises (m 2 )? Results New jobs created 25 EO target jobs created 11 Jobs safeguarded 0 EO target jobs safeguarded 0 Increased sales ( m) 2m Sales safeguarded ( m) 1.152m Impacts Net additional jobs 25 EO - net additional jobs 10 Net jobs safeguarded 0 EO - net jobs safeguarded 0 Net additional value added ( m) m Net value added safeguarded ( m) m 81

82 Indicative Project proposal #10 Project name: The Design Laboratory Partnership Applicant: Bolton Institute Project Director: Mr Mark Allanson, Director of Enterprise, Bolton Institute Location: Bolton - FEA (TBC) Finances Match funding confirmed - HEFCE Total eligible cost Grant sought Public Match Private match 1,900, ,000 1,045,000 0 Project Description This bid supports the creation of businesses through the NWDA specialist incubation unit being created in Bolton focussed on the Technical Textile market. The Textile industry is cited by the NWDA Economic Baseline Report, as a major regional manufacturing specialism based in Northern Greater Manchester & Lancashire. This bid will create a state of the art design centre located on the Bolton Institute campus containing high spec design equipment & facilities for product, process, graphic, web and virtual reality design. Outputs Hectares of land serviced 0 Of which, brownfield land 0 Premises provided (m2) 1,500 Of which refurbished premises (m2) 0 Results New jobs created 35 EO target jobs created 16 Jobs safeguarded 25 EO target jobs created 10 Increased sales ( m) 16m Sales safeguarded ( m) 9.216m Impacts Net additional jobs 18 EO - net additional jobs 7 Net jobs safeguarded 3 Net additional value added ( m) 2.723m Net value added safeguarded ( m) 1.388m 82

83 Indicative Project proposal #11 Project name: Applicant: Project Director: Location: Finances NW MCR Business Park Technology Transfer Centre MSEC Professor David Auckland, Managing Director, MSEC FEA area Match funding to be confirmed but agreement in principal from English Partnerships Total eligible cost Grant sought Public Match Private match 2,120, , ,000 1,000,000 Project Description Manchester Science Enterprise Centre (MSEC) is part of the consortium including Campus Ventures Ltd, which made a successful bid to develop the North Manchester Business Park. MSEC s role is to establish an ICT Graduate teaching & research centre on the site. To augment this facility in the form of a Technology Transfer Centre (TTC) the focus for this bid. The purpose of the TTC is to provide a facility where Scientists & Engineers can, through incubation, come and establish & grow their own companies. It will be a place in which Ideas can be commercialised by skilled technology transfer teams, experienced in business start-up, licensing and IPR protection. Outputs Hectares of land serviced 0 Of which, brownfield land 0 Premises provided (m2) 4,111 Of which refurbished premises (m2) 0 Results New jobs created 180 EO target jobs created 81 Jobs safeguarded 0 EO target jobs created 0 Increased sales ( m) 14.4m Sales safeguarded ( m) 8.294m Impacts Net additional jobs 93 EO - net additional jobs 37 Net jobs safeguarded 0 Net additional value added ( m) 2.451m Net value added safeguarded ( m) 1.252m 83

84 Section 6: Deliverability Quality & track-record of the Partnership / delivery team Management structure & organisational arrangements, The Partnership & Action Plan management structures and successful track record are cited earlier in the Main systems section of the Action Plan text on pages 8 to 12. The CONTACT Partnership, who has developed and will manage the Priority Three aspect of this "Knowledge Based" Action Plan on behalf of the NW Development Agency, in conjunction with the Objective 2 Partnership, has obtained a part-finance contribution from NWDA towards the management & monitoring of this Action Plan. Sub-contractor / consultancy arrangements/ track-record Applicants will be required to demonstrate their ability to operate and deliver their proposed projects and cite their track record within the project applications to the satisfaction of the scoring panels and GONW. Risk assessment (ownership/planning/statutory/ finance) Sites: The seven NWDA specialist Incubator Cluster units within the eligible area, are being constructed & developed through the Local Partnerships and local Authority Regeneration Units, will utilise available existing brownfield sites within their district wherever possible. The remaining sites will be located on current University Campuses around the objective 2 Area utilising existing brownfield sites or acquired land/premises therefore minimal risk exists for the acquisition of such property/ land. The potential risk of delays in acquiring appropriate sites is therefore minimal and will have the added benefit of being integrated & adopted under local regeneration area plans. Planning: Part of the specialist incubator programme has already commenced to keep-in line with funding streams from NWDA, other sites are in the process of seeking approval. Due to the nature of the sites, involvement of Local Authority/ SBS Partnerships, utilising existing buildings wherever possible, their low risk intended usage & proximity to existing transport infrastructure mean that extended planning processes are not envisaged and therefore offer minimal risk. Finance: The NWDA is the principal Public match funder of the Individual indicative projects proposals contained within this Priority 3 element of the Knowledge-based Action Plan totalling in excess of 26 million. This is particularly through its Core Technology Fund (CTF) and Incubation Cluster Fund (ICF). The second largest provider of Public Match funding is from within the HE sector itself and is secured. Project finances have been developed and on the whole have been agreed with the agencies involved in particular regarding public match funding with letters of confirmation issued. Sources of funding and confirmation of status has been listed for each project in 84

85 pages above. Letters of match-funding confirmation or intention have been requested and obtained wherever possible at this stage. Monitoring Plan The Accountable body as cited earlier will be Manchester Metropolitan University. This Action Plan will be overseen by the Action Plan Partnership Board, the composition of which is described earlier in the Action Plan text (page:10/11). The CONTACT Partnership will be the administrating body of the Action Plan who will be responsible for the monitoring and administrative duties associated with the Action Plan. The CONTACT Partnership Management Board is responsible for ensuring the resources are available for the Action Plan to meet its administrative & monitoring requirements & obligations. The Action Plan administration will be funded through three mechanisms: 1) Action Plan levies against individual projects (incorporating compulsory programme levy) 2) Technical Assistance (separate indicative TA proposal submitted) 3) Annual fixed contribution from NWDA All Priority Three applications are required as part of the application process to submit detailed business plans and set timescales for the expenditure of resources and the development of outputs over the life-time of the project. These plans and timescales will become embedded into the successful projects offer letter and will for the base-line for monitoring & appraisal of the project. To reiterate details cited in an earlier section (page 14), all projects sponsors (lead applicants) will be required to submit a quarterly ERDF claim form/ progress report - giving specific details as to progress and demonstrating performance against agreed targets (financial and output based) and timescales as specified in their offer letter. Projects will be required to demonstrate adequate financial commitment their individual projects within six months of the start of the Action Plan (Priority Three) approval as required in the SPD. Projects that do not comply will be reported to the Partnership Board and to GONW and further action may be taken against them. Masterplan The details required under a 'master plan' are covered in earlier sections of the main Action Plan text. A map is attached illustrating the geographical coverage of the indicative projects - maps, illustrations & diagrams of the individual facilities have been requested and will be forwarded when available. Detailed time-table/ schedule covering all major projects & supporting activities will be provided once individual prospective applicants have provided the information. 85

86 "Knowledge-based" Action Plan (Priority Three) location map Lancaster ICT Centre of Excellence UCLAN Innovation Centres: West Lakes Preston East Lancs. NWDA - Incubators West Lakes Barrow in Furness Burnley Blackburn Bolton Daresbury Manchester Trafford Manchester Central Bolton: Design Lab. Regional coverage NET NW Communications Platform NWUA: KnowledgeNorth West.com N. MCR Bus. Park Innovation Tfr Centre Creative Industries Incubator UVL Incubator Salford: Innovation Forum Centre Core Technology Facility 86

87 Annex 1: NW Objective 2 Programme Thematic Action Plan for Knowledge based economy. This bid has been developed by CONTACT Partnership, as the lead partner, and it is signed by the following partners who are committed to the bid and its implementation: Professor John Garside Principal & Vice Chancellor UMIST Professor Sir Martin Harris CBE Vice Chancellor University of Manchester Mrs Alexandra Burslem OBE Vice Chancellor Manchester Metropolitan University Professor Michael Harloe Vice Chancellor University of Salford Professor William Ritchie OBE Vice Chancellor Lancaster University Dr Malcolm McVicar Vice Chancellor University of Central Lancashire 87 continued

88 Partnership members continued: Ms Mollie Temple Principal, Bolton Institute Mr Mike Shields Chief Executive North West Development Agency Gillian A Cox Director of the CONTACT Partnership Mr Tom Walker Regional Coordinator Small Business Service 88