Stoke & Staffordshire Growth Hub
The Growth Hub acts as the focal point for businesses that wish to grow by referring them to co-ordinated and cohesive growth programmes, business networks, growth groups and links to specialist information, advice and services.
Innovate UK Business Growth
Innovate UK Business Growth provide a range of services to help ambitious, innovative SMEs scale and grow through:
- Exploiting innovation: By protecting and harnessing IP, improving innovation management and connecting to the innovation ecosystem globally. In addition to Sector Innovation Leads at Innovate UK, they have strong relationships with ecosystem players including Catapults, Laboratories, KTN, the investor community and universities
- Entering new markets
- Sourcing funding and finance
Staffordshire Business & Environment Network (sben)
sben was launched in 1992 as a membership organisation to support organisations to achieve long term sustainability and maximise their business opportunities through innovative environmental activity. sben helps raise business awareness through seminars and enhance skills and knowledge through environmental training and counselling. It also provides practical advice on developing and implementing environmental policies as well as promoting examples of good environmental practice.
Funding
Grants and support are available to Stoke & Staffordshire SMEs on a broad range of sustainability issues. We’ve listed just a few of these below:
EBRI – Energy & Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI): EBRI leads and delivers a range of research projects and collaborations with partners in the West Midlands, UK, Europe and beyond. Projects focus on the adoption of bioenergy technologies in both urban and rural settings and the provision of support to businesses to enable them to make informed bioenergy decisions. Support is available to SMEs wanting to develop low carbon goods and services.
EnTRESS – Environmental Technologies & Resource Efficiency Support Service: Working across a variety of sectors EnTRESS seeks to improve resource efficiency for SMEs. Their aim is to increase business competitiveness, improve productivity and identify new market opportunities for SMEs through the adoption of environmental technologies and the reduction of waste.
SBEN Smart Energy / Sub-metering Monitoring Funding: Sub-metering monitoring systems are a cost-effective way for Staffordshire businesses to manage and reduce their energy use. SBEN (Staffordshire Business Environment Network) through Staffordshire County Council is providing businesses with sub-metering monitoring grants of up to £5000 (50% match funded).
SEND – Smart Energy Network Demonstrator: A key element of Keele University’s SEND project is a collaborative research and development (RD&I) product development programme on industry-led university research and they are looking for ambitious businesses who want to develop their products or services or to develop new markets. You can benefit from a paid-for specialist Graduate Researcher for up to three years, an opportunity to undertake a substantive collaborative project with a research organisation, support from one or more specialist academics, funding towards your Graduate Researcher’s equipment and/or software and access to Open Innovation and networking events. 217 SMEs also have the opportunity to access 12-hours of fully-funded consultancy from environmental, engineering and innovation consultants.