Memorandum submitted by West Midlands
Technology Network (WMTN)
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The West Midlands Technology Network
(WMTN) warmly welcomes the Select Committee's inquiry "Creating
a Higher Value-Added Economy".
1.2 The WMTN is a collaboration between 11 top research
departments drawn from universities and colleges in the West Midlands.
Over the past 4 ½ years the WMTN has achieved considerable
success by working in partnership with SME's in the manufacturing
and emerging industries. We work with companies to identify the
developments they need to enhance their business and then use
our research skills to develop bespoke, practical solutions.
1.3 The Network has already has provided over 900
business assists to over 650 companies enabling them to enhance
their products and services through the practical application
of innovation. These are 900 real examples of using knowledge
to enhance and develop new products and services. Over 90% of
partner companies surveyed in 2006 were fully satisfied with the
quality of their experience.
1.4 Through its activities the Network
has secured and created 1,300 jobs and over £50.2 million
of new / safeguarded sales in addition to £5.1 million consequential
R&D spend. The WMTN is on course to meet or exceed the output
targets agreed with our funders, the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) administered by
Government Office for the West Midlands (GO-WM)
1.5 We believe that we have successfully
developed a practical approach to creating productive relationships
between higher education research institutes and industry. We
want to share with the Committee our experience and ideas for
creating a higher-value-added economy.
2. EVIDENCE
2.1 In an increasingly competitive world,
the future prosperity of our country depends more and more on
the practical application of innovation by UK companies, both
large and small. Key to improving the UK's productivity and competitiveness
is the transfer of knowledge and skills from our universities
to the private sector.
2.2 The key to the WMTN success has been its ability
to engage with small and medium size enterprises by providing
practical support to develop all elements of their partners' activities.
These range from product design and development, to implementing
processes that improve management and the delivery of goods and
services.
2.3 From 2006 the Network has enhanced
its services to include high level accredited training of the
management and staff of collaborating companies. This includes
both core skills and highly tailored training that specifically
relates to a particular company's activities. The WMTN has used
a range of techniques, including e-learning, to provide support
in ways that are most practical for its busy private sector partners.
2.4 A large part of WMTN's success has
been in understanding the needs of SMEs in its region, engaging
with them in close and trusting partnerships and collaborating
to deliver innovative but practical ideas that directly enhance
their products and businesses. The skills transfer has been two-way,
with our staff learning from their private sector partners so
that they can pass this knowledge on to future partners.
2.5 With a proven record of success,
we believe that the WMTN is a model for the transfer of knowledge,
skills and technology through collaboration between higher education
and the private sector.
3 POST-LAMBERT
ENVIRONMENT
3.1 The Lambert Review criticised government
funding for technology transfer and university-business collaboration
activities as being cumbersome, unduly ring-fenced and short-term
and it is questionable how much has actually changed since December
2003?
3.2 For those Universities that attempt to build
the necessary infrastructures to interface with businesses efficiently
they are still trapped within short-term funding cycles and changing
paymasters both of which control their sustainability.
3.3 This is prohibitive to maintaining
continuous and efficient long-term relationships with small business
owners based on continuity, trust and longevity. Lambert recommended
substantial, permanent and consistent third-stream funding for
universities.
3.4 In addition the Lambert Report acknowledged
that the main challenge in business-university collaboration is
on the demand side. There was the recommendation for action from
the Government to encourage business to engage further with Universities,
especially in the case of SMEs. The Lord Sainsbury Review published
4th October 2007 announced a doubling in the amount of Knowledge
Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), a scheme which is widely accepted
as a gateway for graduate knowledge in the SME sector.
3.5 However, further measures are required
to encourage SMEs, with limited resource available for research
and development, to engage with Universities.
3.6 In addition SMEs do not always perceive
universities as being relevant to, or interested, in their specific
development issues.
3.7 The WMTN recognised this need for
innovation and has provided the very practical response that has
appealed to this sector. Some examples of our many successful
partnerships are given in Appendix 1
4. RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1 Based on our experience we have made
two clear recommendations for improvements that would assist the
creation of a higher value-added economy, which we set out in
the following paragraphs.
4.2 We recommend that the Government establish a
series of beacon research projects for specific elements of economic
activity that have been proven to work so that these can become
national models
4.3 In addition we recommend that the
Government provide substantial, permanent and consistent third
stream funding for universities to establish of business support
Networks assisting small, medium and large companies to progress
and develop robust new product development activities using academically
endorsed and proven processes.
22 October 2007
APPENDIX 1
WMTN IN ACTION
Barney Gardner's Birmingham based company,
Footrite, wanted to develop a new form of insole to meet the growing
demand to correct feet and back problems. Using the latest computer
technology WMTN helped him to design a better looking and better
performing product which is now being produced and sold worldwide.
Coventry based ABC Plastic products Limited benefited
from prototype modelling and product testing when developing a
new product range in order to diversify the core business into
new markets. Chris Collyer, Managing Director acknowledges that
the WMTN were able to provide the inspiration and real support
needed to progress the project to the final stages.
Fire Protection Coatings Limited, a leading manufacturer
in the provision of flame proof/fire retardant coatings is celebrating
having been able to introduce a unique product, new to market
thanks to the assistance provided by the WMTN. They received engineering
design input and assistance including CAD development and prototyping
technology and the introduction of the new product has not only
safeguarded existing jobs it has generated new sales of up to
£1.5 million and provided opportunity for patent spin off
and application to other problems.
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