Appeal to chemical industries

The innovative project is the first of its kind in the UK and will see 80 small and medium businesses (SMEs) benefit. The INDEX – INnovation Delivers EXpansion – programme is open to companies with up to 250 employees and aims to help them grow with support from universities across the region. And it was the subject of a keynote speech at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) conference in Birmingham in late October. The project offers £3,000 innovation vouchers to spend on developing a company, at any of 13 Higher Education Institutions in the West Midlands. It is hosted by Aston Business School in Birmingham, but involves the whole of Aston University. Dr Judy Scully, INDEX Project Manager at Aston Business School, was invited to explain to delegates how expert academic advice could be useful to chemistry businesses: “They are looking for ways to improve their interaction with businesses that involve chemistry, which matched our principle of helping SMEs, so I was delighted to highlight our great work,” she said. “The INDEX scheme cuts right through all the bureaucracy in universities and its simplicity is so important because it enables SMEs to select who they want to work with, to get the most appropriate expertise for their needs.” There were more than 200 applications for the first round of funding, which 40 successful firms received last month. (September). A further 40 will benefit in the next round with applications opening in April 2008. Melanie Washington, Industry Specialist at the RSC, said: “We were delighted to have Dr Scully here to talk about the INDEX Voucher Scheme.” The INDEX scheme was first conceived three years ago when Aston Business School was looking for ways to better way to communicate with SMEs. John Bailey, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Knowledge Transfer at Aston Business School, said: “This scheme enables SMEs to define their needs according to their agendas, which maximises the help they can receive from universities. This is leading the way as a new type of relationship which we are sure will become fruitful and will grow.” INDEX is funded by the Regional Development Agency, Advantage West Midlands, the Economic & Social Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The voucher will allow companies to work with their chosen university to develop an innovative project, aimed at driving their business forward.