Home > News > General News

GBSLEP Innovation Challenge Forum – get involved

The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) has a priority to stimulate higher levels of demand-led innovation and increase the rate at which new ideas and solutions are generated and translated into economic growth. There is a recognition of the potential offered by disruptive and emerging technologies, including intelligent systems technologies, to enable increased productivity and more inclusive and sustainable growth. We also believe that innovation can come from all areas so we will stimulate demand-led innovation by developing a conducive and supportive environment in which innovators, entrepreneurs, universities and science parks, large companies and public organisations work together to develop new solutions with commercial potential. To help us meet these goals, GBSLEP is seeking to set up an Innovation Challenge Forum (ICF) (comprised of a pool of practitioners we can draw upon to review incoming proposals) who are the first line of engagement and potential customers for innovative products or services (e.g. NHS, local authority, corporates, entrepreneurs, SMEs and interest groups) and academic experts to bring a stronger ‘market voice’ to stimulate and prioritise demand-led innovation activities in line with the GBSLEP Strategic Economic Plan (SEP). To establish the ICF, GBSLEP is inviting expressions of interest from innovation experts to act in a non-executive advisory capacity tasked with reviewing and ranking innovation proposals. The LEP is looking for panel members who are passionate about innovation – so sign up now if you’re interested. SWM was involved in scoping the objectives and form of this Forum in the early stages and as such we are keen to see it succeed.

Related content