The partnership, led by Anglia Ruskin University, has secured funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to support innovation and growth amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the East and the south-east of England.
The programme, Knowledge Exchange and Embed Partnerships (KEEP+), will connect SMEs to academic expertise and graduate talent, via a new programme of subsidised research and development support to enable SMEs to develop and launch new products and services.
Professor Andrew Lloyd, the Å·ÃÀÐÔ°®Æ¬’s Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, said: “We are pleased to be involved in an initiative that dovetails with our strong reputation as a knowledge exchange partner through national schemes such as Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, and other work we do with businesses and innovators.
“Thanks to the ERDF funding, this new KEEP+ programme will deliver real benefits for regional businesses in the South East and East of the country.”
Through the provision of grants, KEEP+ will aim to increase innovation activity in SMEs, strengthen local innovation ecosystems, engage SMEs in knowledge exchange, enable new products and services to be introduced to the market, and support the creation of new jobs.