This project is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The Innovation Catalyst is delivered by Lancaster University as part of the Cumbria Accelerator Driving Innovation programme in partnership with Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership and funded by Westmorland and Furness Council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Innovation Catalyst - Westmorland and Furness
Taskforce collaborations for Cumbria businesses to develop new innovation solutions for a prosperous and sustainable future
Make an enquiry
About the Catalyst
The Innovation Catalyst is designed for influential/ambitious business leaders interested in connecting with academic expertise and like-minded peers to address the 21st Century Grand Challenges.
By creating the space to innovate and collaborate, this fully funded programme works to build resilient, sustainable innovation ecosystems in specific sectors across Cumbria.
The Innovation Catalyst is a proven and powerful way of helping individual firms and regional clusters with shared issues to develop effective long-term solutions that capture greater value for them and for the region.
Over a six-month period we will facilitate a series of investigative and action-focused ‘Innovation Collaboratories’ to collectively map out your goals, challenges, and innovation needs - drawing in the right expertise at the right time for you. The aim of the Catalyst is to develop an ecosystem of businesses, industry experts, academics, public sector bodies and other interested parties to solve both individual and shared challenges.
Timetable
What's Involved?
This 6-month initiative begins with a two-day residential followed by a series of one day workshops. Throughout the Catalyst you will work collaboratively with a trusted group of key stakeholders to share challenges and find solutions. The Catalyst culminates with a final Symposium.
Catalyst Activation
15th & 16th May at Castle Green Hotel , Kendal
The programme begins by forming the ‘Innovation Catalyst’ at a two-day, induction event designed to stimulate ideas for tackling challenges in the sector. This immersive start will develop the peer group; building trust, creating bonds and developing interaction and energy to activate ideas and commitment to tackle the challenge. The process works through mapping goals, challenges and needs. A shared commitment will be formed.
Innovation Collaboratories
6th and 25th June, 18th July, 12th September and 3rd October
Expertly facilitated by Lancaster University Management School, Innovation Collaboratories are a solutions focused space to exchange knowledge, share expertise and resources to accelerate innovation and encourage exponential change. Opportunity to experiment with new ideas and discuss solutions to challenges with policy makers, influential business leaders and academic experts.
An expert speaker will join the group to inspire and inform on a specific topic, thereby creating a sense of urgency. This will galvanise the group to act by seeking further research information.
Innovation Accelerator
Dates organised independently
These break-out sessions will be formed independently by delegates in either pairs or smaller groups (accompanied by an Innovation Associate). They will provide the group with space to actively experiment, test and learn from ideas developed during facilitated activity. This could include researching innovation barriers such as resource constraints, organisational structures, processes, or stakeholder conflicts. Findings will be shared with the wider group. This process seeks to develop insight and idea generation - accelerating innovation.
Innovation Associates are Lancaster University students who provide insight, perspective and resource as equal members of the Catalyst taskforce. Recruited from faculties across the university, they bring diverse knowledge, expertise and ideas to the group. As representatives of the future generation of innovators, the associates will actively contribute to ideas generation and project planning, inform process through research and development, and accelerate progress through collaboration.
Final Symposium
24th October
This session will reflect on the groups journey and ensure that action is planned to continue to tackle the challenges outside of the Catalyst. By this point, the group will have developed an ecosystem of firms, industry experts, academics, support service providers and others that has the ability to solve/has solved both individual and shared challenges.
The Innovation Catalyst
The Innovation Catalyst creates Taskforce collaborations for businesses to develop new innovation solutions for a prosperous and sustainable future
Benefits to Business
The unique design of the Lancaster University Catalyst process utilises our extensive expertise, continually refined over many years of curating and facilitating transformational and sustainable innovation platforms. During the catalyst process you will be exposed to the generative power of collaboration, underpinned by Lancaster Universities Management School research on Open Innovation and Transformational Change in the face of 21st Century Grand Challenges.
Purpose
Lead a sustainable revolution in Westmorland & Furness
Collaborate
Collaborate and engage with key stakeholders to accelerate idea creation
Ideas
Mobilise new ideas through collective experimentation, testing, prototyping and innovation
Develop
Develop your leadership capability through critical thinking, reflection and collaboration
Expertise
Access cutting edge research, facilities and expertise at Lancaster University
Future proof
Future proof your business, sector and place in the changing environment
Costs & Eligibility
This programme is fully funded and available to SME businesses who are eligible under the Shared Prosperity Funding criteria, as follows:
- SME based in Westmorland & Furness council local authority district
- Received less than £315,000 of subsidies in the last 3 years
Find out more about how and why Lancaster University and our funding bodies holds your information.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
