Our partners in innovation
Innovator/10 Associates
This year the awards have partnered with key regional associates; Business Link Yorkshire, Yorkshire Innovation and Lord Stafford Awards.
Profiles
Business Link Yorkshire
www.businesslinkyorkshire.co.uk
Business Link is a government-funded service designed to promote enterprise. Whether you are already running or growing a business or just starting out, Business Link can help. Research shows that businesses who use professional advice are more likely to increase turnover and profitability. Harnessing the benefits of the range of business support services available in the market is a huge task for any business owner; requiring time to understand, research and select what best suits their business needs now and for the future.
Yorkshire Innovation
www.yorkshire-science.com
New brand - Yorkshire Innovation - and our new direction to monitor and advise upon the implementation of the Regional Innovation Strategy (RIS), to help the region create a successful future. Yorkshire Science becomes Yorkshire Innovation - there couldn’t be a better time to introduce the name change as it tells its own story as we move from strategy into implementation and focus on business outcomes. At the same time we are continuing to encourage the development of internationally competitive new sectors of combined commercial research/business performance and we can be sure that the regional economic landscape will change as a result of this recession, so we need to start looking for and backing new winners now.
Also this year…
Lord Stafford – Partners in Innovation Award in association with the Lord Stafford Awards
http://www.lordstaffordawards.com
The Innovator/10 Awards and the Lord Stafford Awards, based in the West Midlands, have joined together to celebrate businesses that have collaborated with the research community through the Partners in Innovation Award for Yorkshire & Humber, in the hope to raise the importance of knowledge transfer partnerships on a regional and national scale.
About the Lord Stafford Awards
The Lord Stafford Awards are a showcase celebration of the mutual benefits that come from the collaboration between our universities and our businesses.
They are a tried and tested means of identifying and rewarding outstanding examples of knowledge transfer: universities and businesses working together on innovative technologies, products, and services and, importantly, a catalyst for further collaboration.
At the heart of the awards is the quality of the judging criteria. Successful applicants have to be able to demonstrate how both the business and the university benefited through their partnership; the Lord Stafford Awards is seeking to reward two way knowledge transfer. The judging panel conducts a site visit for each of the top twelve applicants and receives a presentation from the candidate followed by a Q&A session. The winner for each category is then announced at the prestigious awards dinner. Think of a combination of Dragon’s Den and The Oscars!
The consistency of the judging is assisted through the development of standardised criteria. These also facilitate the provision of valuable feedback to unsuccessful applicants.
There are also awards categories for university knowledge transfer staff and to individuals or companies demonstrating entrepreneurial spirit.
The Lord Stafford Awards started in the West Midlands in 1997 with 2 applicant companies and 2 universities. Today the awards have grown to encompass the East Midlands and the East of England and this year 650 companies and 30 universities took part.
The growth of the awards underlines the key role they play in recognising and stimulating the bringing together of the excellence of the knowledge base of our universities and the commercial flair of our businesses. Such collaboration plays a key role in the ongoing economic success of the UK. Accordingly The Lord Stafford Awards continues to seek opportunities to expand into new regions and ultimately become the national model for recognising excellent examples of knowledge transfer.
Coming soon
Find out about our judging panel. Profiles of our judges will be available soon.
