Innovation

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March 2014

INNOVATION

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Willetts sets the innovation agenda Exclusive interview | Page 3

Business Reporter · March 2014

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Innovation

Opening shots René Carayol

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HILE presenting a TV series called Business 2025 back in 2007 for BBC World, we took six C E O s of d i s p a r ate companies from a variety of sectors and asked them one simple question: “What will your company look like in 2025?” Working alongside some eminent futurologists, we analysed their predictions.

From mobile phones to electric cars to satellite systems (and with 20/20 hindsight), they all got it completely wrong. Looking back at the episodes, everything they thought they would do in 18 years was achieved in less than three. The rate and pace of innovation and change is getting forever faster and ever-more unpredictable.

This begs the perennial question – can innovation be an exact science or is it more of an art form?

Most innovation still occurs in small, fast-moving and agile organisations where people are encouraged to think “outside the box” and “fail fast” and start all over again, without a corrosive blame culture and no bureaucratic burden.

Large successful businesses tend to inadvertently extinguish the creative spark innovation so desperately needs. They tend to fear failure more than they desire success; consequently processes and procedures are

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To innovate successfully, you must ask questions without worrying about the answers built which become increasingly “safe” and risk averse. Many corporate cultures can become uncomfortable with anything that breaks the rules or challenges the hierarchy.

But is it really all about size? Received wisdom points to small start-ups, with entrepreneurial and visionary leaders, who thrive on backing themselves and proving the world wrong as a much stronger source of innovation. However, whenever these young, nimble companies are acquired by larger corporations, they are unintentionally strangled. Many would put this down to the fact that they are just too big and unwieldy to be either innovative or entrepreneurial.

But there are some large and successful companies that have broken the mould, none more so than Google, a company that puts its success down to a common purpose of innovation and a set of strong principles

which empowers all employees to be creative and challenge anything. They continue to say “yes” and resist a culture of “no”, accepting the inevitability of failures, and persevere until they get things right.

There are three distinct approaches that any enterprise, large or small, can learn from Google’s innovative culture.

First is that innovation can come from anywhere – it can come from the top down as well as the bottom up, and from the places you least expect.

Secondly, aim to be 10 times better – if your target is a 10 per cent improvement, you will get, at best, incremental change.

If you want radical and revolutionary innovation, think big, at least 10 times improvement, and that will force you to think the unthinkable.

Finally, give employees 20 per cent of their time to pursue projects they are passionate about; the subject matter is irrelevant, even if it is outside the core mission of the company. That’s one day a week – “They will delight you with their creative thinking”.

Management has become conditioned to slow all innovation into a safe and deliberate plan – this brings the efficiency required, but change can never be risk-free. Efficiency and innovation are very strange bedfellows.

It might be true that we cannot maintain exponential change for ever – the task of innovation is to demonstrate the courage to never accept that. In pursuit of innovation it is essential to be bold enough to still ask questions rather than have all the answers – go up all alleys to prove they are blind.

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Innovation is central to success D

By Joanne Frearson

AVID Willetts, minister for universities and science and the mastermind behind innovation in the UK, is adamant that the government is doing all it can to encourage new thinking across the country.

Willetts, taking time out from his busy schedule to speak to Business Reporter from Downing Street, explains that the government is working in three main areas to support innovation.

“The first crucial thing we are doing is improving the links between scientific researchers and the business community,” he says. “One of our initiatives is the new Catapult centres, modelled on the German Fraunhofer Institutes. They combine public money, but there also have to be private partners and project finance.”

At present, there are seven Catapult centres in the UK, all of which were created by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB).

They include high-value manufacturing, cell therapy, offshore renewable energy, satellite applications, connected digital economy, future cities and transport systems. And, by 2015, there are due to be two more, in energy and medicine.

Second on the list are the catalyst funds that link research council funding and TSB money, helping develop ideas all the way from the lab to the market. The biggest in this area is in life sciences – the £180million Biomedical Catalyst Fund.

The third is the co-funding of R&D centres on university campuses. Projects that have come out of this new initiative have involved major companies. These include Vodafone, which is planning a 5G innovation centre with the University of

Surrey, while Rolls-Royce is linking up with the University of Birmingham.

“It has worked so well it is going to be a new feature for university funding,” Willetts explains. “And we’ve got some further funding for the next few years.”

Another initiative has been created to help small to medium enterprises (SMEs) link up with universities: the innovation voucher programme, run by the TSB. “SMEs do not often realise they have universities in their area with fantastic resources that can help them with a specific problem,” says Willetts. “The innovation voucher scheme allows the SME to describe a problem they may have; the TSB then puts them in touch with a relevant department of a university to help.

“That does two things; it obviously helps them with a problem, but it also means they cross the threshold into the universities and are able to get to know the departments they can use in the future with innovation.”

The TSB has run several different innovation voucher programmes, involving agri-food, built environment, cyber security, energy, water and waste and open data innovators and inventors.

Looking to the future, there are still challenges the government faces to make Britain a more innovative country. “I would say the challenge is to work through and support the supply chain,” says Willetts.

“We obviously have good links with RollsRoyce, Jaguar Land Rover and GSK, but behind them is a network of SMEs in the supply chain. What we have to do is assist them with R&D and innovation. That is why we have specific supply chain initiatives in sectors like aerospace and automation.”

In a bid to attract more business from emerging countries, Willetts has been promoting technologies, including

Universities and science minister David WIlletts, speaking at the G8 Innovation Summit in London last year

advanced materials, big data, energy storage, satellites, robotics and autonomous systems, synthetic biology, regenerative medicine and agri-science, that strengthen UK science and business capabilities abroad.

“I have been to Kazakhstan and I will be going to Indonesia in a few weeks,” Willetts says. “We are growing UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) missions and it is in these places where you can take SMEs and find export opportunities.”

Support from the government is helping make the UK an innovative place across the board. Initiatives have not only been helping bigger companies make links with the universities, but also helping smaller companies with the challenges they face to develop their innovative ideas.

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Business Reporter · March 2014

Innovation

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Economic growth in the Golden Triangle Converting ideas into high-value products INDUSTRY VIEW

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n 2011, the 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) set out to accelerate economic growth across the country. In their Strategic Economic Plan, Hertfordshire LEP set out a vision that, by 2030, Hertfordshire will be the leading economy at the core of the UK’s Golden Triangle (covering the area between London, Oxford and Cambridge), prioritising the growth of its scientific and research capabilities.

The UK has one of the strongest and most productive life-science industries in the world, and Hertfordshire is a leading contributor to this success story.

A growing number of established life-science firms are relocating to Hertfordshire, and LEP chair John Gourd explains why: “Our position in the Golden Triangle leaves us perfectly placed to attract life-science investment,” he says.

“Most LEPs want to create a bioscience cluster in their area, but we already have one and are proud to boast the highest concentration of pharmaceutical manufacturing in the UK. It is important that we at the LEP capitalise on our advantage as the home of the UK’s pharmaceutical industry and begin co-ordinating investment. We must ensure that the area continues to attract high-growth firms while keeping our existing business base happy.”

Brian Williamson explains why claiming what’s yours is a no-brainer INDUSTRY VIEW

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ntroduced by the UK government in 2000, the R&D tax relief scheme is designed to encourage innovation and global competitiveness by allowing companies to reclaim money invested in qualifying R&D. This can then be used however the company sees fit, be that to fuel further innovation and growth or simply to help ease the cash flow.

Around 10,000 SMEs and more than 2,500 large firms are already benefiting to the tune of well over £1bn each year, but many more thousands aren’t. So why the reticence in taking advantage of a scheme that’s as generous as it is underused?

Lack of awareness is a major factor, says Brian Williamson, MD of Jumpstart.

“Out of 100 client companies surveyed, 92 didn’t claim because they didn’t think they were eligible – yet they all received money after we helped them with their claim,” he says.

The county is also renowned for its highly skilled workforce – with a remarkable 40 per cent of its working-age population being qualified to degree level or above – and has more than 2.5 times more scientists and researchers than the national average.

The LEP will enable and support the convergence between engineering and life sciences and will encourage collaborative working on the development of the next generation of medical devices and technologies.

It sounds ambitious, but Hertfordshire is building from a position of strength.

GlaxoSmithKline, MSD, Eisai, DDD, and Sigma Pharmaceuticals all use the county as their base.

Hertfordshire also boasts a number of significant medical device companies such as Stanmore Implants and Smiths Industries, all contributing to the area’s position as the centre of the UK’s bioscience cluster.

Contrary to its sedate reputation, Hertfordshire is a crucible for high-growth companies. The LEP is positioning the county as the engine room of the UK’s intellectual infrastructure, where worldclass businesses will power the UK’s knowledge economy as ideas are converted into high-value products and services that can be sold across the globe.

Hertfordshire is home to both the Stevenage BioScience Catalyst (the UK’s first and only bioscience open innovation science park) and Rothamsted Research (the oldest agricultural research centre in the world). These are unique assets where innovation is deeply engrained into the ethos and raison d’être of the centres.

BioScience Catalyst chief executive and LEP board member Martino Picardo says: “At the Catalyst we are driving new levels of collaboration between SMEs, multinationals and academia. Among our tenants we count Cambridge University, Johnson and Johnson, UCL and GE Healthcare as proof of our ability to attract high-end research and industrial capability.

With such a diverse range of firms in the county, Hertfordshire is best placed to address the convergence of technologies in the medical field.” www.hertfordshirelep.co.uk Twitter: @hertslep

There’s a common misconception that only companies with labs full of men and women in white coats qualify. “That simply isn’t true,” continues Williamson.

“All kinds of companies are eligible – from bakers and brewers to software developers and oil and gas producers.

SME or large company, at whatever stage of your business life cycle, there’s a chance you’ll qualify.”

With an average claim of as much as £100,000 in the oil and gas sector, it’s well worth taking the 20-second test below.

Does your company: • Attempt to develop new technology rather than just using what’s available, and perhaps not always successfully due to the technical difficulties involved?

• Try to make measurable, objective and significant improvements to the design and use of its products and processes?

• When faced with a challenging technical problem, use internal, qualified and experienced staff to design the solution?

If the answer is yes, there could be a substantial cheque with your name on it.

The exact size of your claim will depend on a variety of factors, but companies can currently deduct up to 225 per cent of

qualifying expenditure when calculating their profit for tax purposes. What’s more, you can claim R&D tax relief on expenditure that’s up to three years old.

The trick is not to go it alone. “We meet lots of people who are technically brilliant, but don’t have a clear grasp of the complex legislation involved,” explains Williamson.

“Well-intentioned though it may be, HMRC’s guidance runs to several hundred pages. Then there’s the risk of getting it wrong or claiming too much and prompting an HMRC investigation.”

Far better to use a specialist – someone who combines relevant technical

experience with an in-depth understanding of the legislation, who prepares claims day in, day out and who has a strong and proactive relationship with those ultimately responsible for approving those claims. As the UK’s leading technical R&D tax relief specialist, Jumpstart has thousands of successful claims under its belt, equating to tens of millions of pounds in R&D tax relief.

For a free consultation and analysis of the potential returns, contact Jumpstart.

0131 240 2900 helpinghand@jumpstartuk.co.uk

Business Reporter · March 2014

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Like us: facebook.com/business-reporter Oliver Murphy originally developed his Revivaphone system while at school; inset below: his mentor Kelly Hoppen saw the product’s potential on Dragons’ Den

By Joanne Frearson

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Y E A R ago, Oliver Murphy was selling Reviveaphone, a product which repairs mobile phones that have come in contact with water, from his bedroom in his parents’ house in Essex.

Now, since appearing on BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den, where he won backing from Kelly Hoppen, his product has generated interest from around the world.

We meet at a restaurant in London’s Spitalfields Market where Murphy tells me: “I’ve always wanted to run my own business and do my own thing. When I was 13 or 14 I used to buy broken mobile phones, try to fix as many as possible and sell them on eBay. “There were a lot of water-damaged phones and I wanted to develop something that I could put the phone in to fix it. I tried lots of different combinations that allowed you to put the whole phone in the liquid. Eventually, I managed to do it. I still remember the phone I fixed first – it was a little BlackBerry and the light just came on. Even then I still

Innovation

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REVIVAL!

How Oliver Murphy went from his bedroom to the boardroom to build his mobile phone repair outfit did not think of turning it into a business. It was only two years later that I decided to do that.

“I spent about £400 on different bits, back then that was a lot of money. I started selling 10 a month and that was going quite well and within two months I was selling 200 a month. I had a job as well while I was doing it for the first year.

I would go to work, come home and send all the orders out and do that every day and try to build it up as much as possible.”

After pitching on Dragons’ Den and winning support from Hoppen, sales have increased to more than 2,000 a month. Murphy, who is now 20, says: “Life has got a lot busier since Dragons’ Den. The biggest thing is that it has gone global.

I have had enquiries from South Africa, Japan and Dubai.

“India is also expected to be a massive market. We want to try to get it out as quickly possible so people know the name. It is quite an achievement to take it from the beginning to where it is now. People are so ecstatically happy when it works. They will send me emails saying thanks so much. It has saved all their photos and things like that.”

He speaks to his mentor Hoppen about once a week and

says: “Kelly has been really good in terms of marketing and that side of things.”

Reviveaphone is no longer being produced at the family home and production has been moved to a factory in Derby. Murphy is even looking to hire another person as well as set up an office.

And he also has other plans for Reviveaphone.

He says: “We want to do a full-service online site, we will try to make it as easy as possible for customers. For example, if they smash their screen or something like that we will start doing repairs for them. We want to get that in as many countries as possible. I am doing that at the moment and that will take about six to eight weeks to get going. Once we have it done in the UK, we want to do it in all countries.”

But phones are not the only thing the product can fix. It has also worked on cameras, MP3 players and tablets and Murphy is looking to bring out a version to fit tablets in two to three months.

It is fair to say Murphy is now a global entrepreneur since starting his business as a s c h o ol k i d a t h i s p a r e n t s ’ h o u s e i n Chelmsford, and the 20-year-old tells me it is his ambition to grow the business as much as possible before selling it and moving on to build something new.

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Technology innovation in the boardroom INDUSTRY VIEW The last three years have seen an explosion in the adoption of digital board portals, which simplify the way board materials are produced, delivered and reviewed. A secure app gives directors access to all the documents and current and historical data they need to make critical business decisions.

Diligent Boardbooks is the world’s most widely used board portal. It is used by more than 3,400 boards and 72,000 directors, executives and administrators across the world, including 39 of the FTSE 100. Designed to meet the needs of board members, the portal includes features such as voting, access rights control and simple navigation; the ability to share comments with board directors via the portal, and a calendar feature that lets executives access relevant information for each meeting.

Distributing piles of paper to directors on the road and at their residences is less viable as companies’ concerns about data security grow. Diligent Boardbooks offers a secure alternative where all information uploaded to the board portal is password protected and encrypted, and security meets or exceeds the most demanding standards of companies’ IT departments.

A board portal is also far more convenient for directors to use. A secure app on an iPad, for example, allows them to carry all the information they need on a single device. And instant delivery updates means that they can access the most up-to-date materials at the touch of a button on their iPad, tablet or laptop. An intuitive interface, easy navigation and search functions make moving to a digital reading experience simple for directors, most of whom already use a tablet and mobile device personally.

Charlie Horrell is MD EMEA, Diligent Boardbooks +44 20 7605 7400 chorrell@boardbooks.com

Business Reporter · March 2014

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Innovation

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Below: McLaren’s new highspec hybrid, the P1

When it comes to innovating, there are few greater tests than F1.

Joanne Frearson visited McLaren to find out how they applied their know-how to road vehicles…

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HEN engineers at McLaren want a challenge they decide to throw themselves into the deep end first, and then decide how they are going to get out. By working on problems as they occur, McLaren has not only made winning Formula 1 cars for Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, it also has a successful on-road collection.

The high-performance automotive manufacturer is also helping the British nation become more innovative, having been chosen by the government to be in its GREAT campaign to support and inspire British innovation.

To help inspire businesses involved in the campaign, McLaren designed a car especially for it. The high-tech McLaren 12C was built entirely in the UK at the McLaren Production Centre and was launched by F1 driver Jenson Button. The car incorporates groundbreaking technologies taken directly from McLaren’s 50 years of experience in F1.

A very much a technology driven company, McLaren has now just launched its new P1 hybrid supercar, which uses F1 technology

Giving Britain a lead in 5G The role of Enterprise M3

Link with Surrey University is key INDUSTRY VIEW

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nterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership has joined forces with the University of Surrey to support the development of the world’s first dedicated 5G innovation centre. The centre, based at the University of Surrey’s main campus in Guildford, will focus on advanced technologies that could go on to underpin the 5G networks of the future and give Britain global leadership in mobile technologies.

The Innovation Centre is supported by a consortium of organisations including AIRCOM International, Aeroflex, BBC, BT, EE, Fujitsu Laboratories of Europe, Huawei, Ofcom, Rohde & Schwarz, Samsung, Telefonica and Vodafone, who have pledged time, expertise and other contributions totalling more than £50million. On its completion in January 2015, the centre will be home to a large team of researchers and PhD students, all working hand-in-hand with industry partners.

Professor Rahim Tafazolli, head of the Centre for Communication Systems Research and 5G Innovation Centre, University of Surrey, comments: “By

bringing together leading academics with heavyweight industry partners, I believe that we can develop the technologies that are required to shape a future 5G system, all of which will help deliver economic growth. And with Enterprise M3’s help we aim to offer opportunities from these new technologies to smaller companies across the Enterprise M3 area.”

Why 5G? While 4G technologies are revolutionising mobile connectivity in the UK today, demand for additional capacity continues to accelerate, with 19 times more capacity

needed by 2020. 5G offers the user perceived infinite capacity and smart internet connectivity, opening up enormous possibilities for new uses.

Using the latest 4G technologies as the starting point, the aim is to give UK leadership in mobile broadband technologies in 5G and drive forward a connected society and digital economy.

Part of the work at the 5G Innovation Centre will be the development of a 5G “test bed” that will give the university and its industry partners the facilities to test advanced emerging technologies in a real-world environment.

Enterprise M3, as the local enterprise partnership, sets out the blueprint for economic growth in the region. The Enterprise M3 area is one that is rich in innovation and invention – it is home to 86,500 businesses, including major global innovators as well as a raft of equally innovative high-growth companies – and therefore the LEP has placed innovation, and the success of the 5G Innovation Centre, as top priorities.

Geoff French, chair of Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership, adds: “Enterprise M3, and its partners, will be supporting the innovation centre through a targeted campaign with existing and inward investments aimed at building on the commitments in 5G research already made by business. We will work with industry to ensure that there is a ‘soft landing zone’ for their investment.”

Enterprise M3 is also working with neighbouring LEPs across the Thames Valley to ensure that UK business can take advantage of this new technology opportunity. Future investment by industry and government in these new technologies will establish the UK as the place for business to invest in R&D for mobile broadband and associated technologies. www.enterprisem3.org.uk info@enterprisem3.org.uk

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as a part of its design. Paul Mackenzie, P1 programme director at McLaren, says: “I think the government identified with McLaren as having a lot of the attributes that really help demonstrate what is great about British engineering.

“I think what McLaren does is it gives a good showcase to enable us to present what is great in Britain. Clearly what McLaren has is a great brand and name. It is a name that everyone knows.

I think it is a name that everyone realises is high technology.”

The P1 is a case in point of the company’s manufacturing ethos, as Mackenzie explains. “We set ourselves challenges without actually at the beginning understanding how we are going to do that. I think the P1 is a very good example.

“We will ask, what has this car got to deliver, and then work out what technology we need to enable us to deliver that. For example, on the P1 we set a pretty big challenge of being the best driver’s car ever produced.

“We then looked at the key elements of that. We knew that fuel efficiency is a big part of the buying decision these days. We wanted to produce the ultimate high-performance car, but we wanted to make sure it had quite good fuel efficiency.

“We asked, what technologies we could use that can deliver good fuel efficiency. That’s where we came up with the concept of combining the petrol engine with the electric motor.

“I think that is a really good example of innovation – that we knew what we wanted. We did not actually have a clear route to get there and we set the task to our engineers, and they essentially developed this system for us.”

Being a state-of-the-art technology company, McLaren employed someone straight from its F1 team to work on the aerodynamics of the car.

Mackenzie says: “Aerodynamically, the car is absolutely cutting edge. We actually recruited someone straight out of our F1 team, the chief aerodynamist, and he came and joined us. He brought all of that know-how and knowledge into the road car.”

One of the challenges for the team was the aerodynamics of the car and being able to cool the energy produced by it.

He says: “It is a 900 horsepower car. What you have is a huge amount and it needs a lot of air to feed 900 horsepower. It generates

The McLaren 12C incorporates technology from the firm’s Formula 1 models

a lot of heat and you have to dissipate all of that power as well, you’ve got to enable it to get rid of the heat.

“We have some amazing engineers here that know no boundaries, and that is within the racing company and also the automotive. But there is also a commercial element to delivering a car, and McLaren Automotive is here to turn a profit for our shareholders.

“The P1 is not a loss-leader, it is a very profitable vehicle. A lot of the challenges are actually about making sure we deliver on our targets and within the commercial constraints of the project.

“Like with all of these things, you can throw a lot of money at these projects. That does not actually mean you can develop a product to the end that actually turns a profit.

“We made the P1 profitable by continually monitoring and reviewing it and being quite nimble; what we found was that in some areas we were a little over budget, but we could make savings in others. We brought it home on the right side of the line.”

Although the P1 is a very expensive car, Mackenzie believes technology will evolve enough that the price will eventually come down to the same amount as a normal car.

He says: “I think it is interesting, when we started on this project, we did not know what Ferrari and Porsche were doing.

“But subsequently it has come out that all three of us have decided to go down this combination of electric power and petrol engines working together, to actually enhance the performance of the vehicles.”

Developing the P1 had been on McLaren’s radar for many years as part of its product strategy. It now has a new project – the P13 – intended to rival Porsche’s 911 Turbo. The car is on the drawing board right now.

Mackenzie says: “I think it is genes, really. We have derived from the Formula 1 company, and McLaren Automotive came from McLaren cars. That dates back to the 80s, when Gordon Murray and Ron Dennis, after the Italian grand prix, decided they wanted to produce a road car. The actual DNA of the road car company came straight out of the Formula 1 team.”

By engineers throwing themselves in the deep end, the company has an innovative approach to solving problems.

McLaren is known for its technological developments in both its F1 race team and on-the-road collection. And being involved in the GREAT campaign has identified it as what is innovative in Britain.

Business Reporter · March 2014

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Real food nation…

WHILE RUNNING a yoga and meditation retreat, Natasha Corrett decided to cook for the group after a chef did not turn up for work. She got such great feedback she did this more and more, leading her to start her own healthy lifestyle business Honestly Healthy.

The concept behind the food from Honestly Healthy was so innovative she was the first person to bring the alkaline cooking style – based around lowering the body’s acidity levels through diet – to the UK. She now teaches chefs around the world how to cook the alkaline way, and has worked with top nutritionists to create nutritionally balanced meals and help people understand and feel better about the food they eat.

Her book Honestly Healthy became a bestseller and recently she was asked to be an ambassador for the British government’s GREAT campaign. Corrett (pictured left) says: “The GREAT campaign asked me to come in. They had some amazing chefs involved, but nothing that really covered the health sector. People are becoming more aware of health and realising it goes hand in hand with the food we eat.

“I think that is why they really asked me to be a part of it. They see that and they see it helps other people. It is not a fad – we call ourselves a lifestyle.

Not only on a superficial level of looking great, but in also making a difference in the environment. It is about every aspect of health, from the environment to exercising to movement to everything.

“It is all about really inspiring other people and being able to use GREAT Britain as a platform to spread the message all over the world. I was the first one to bring it to the UK, so it was in the press. I think they ask people in the GREAT campaign who are pioneers.”

Her advice for anyone wanting to be innovative and start their own business is to find what they are really passionate about. She says: “At the end of the day, when all the mundane paperwork comes in and you have to sit at your desk until 11pm at night exhausted, you have to remind yourself why you’re doing this.

“There has got to be an underlying passion for what you’re doing. If you have passion and creativity for what you are doing you will succeed at some point on whatever level it may be.

“It does not have to be splattered all over the press.

A person’s success can be opening up a corner shop or launching a blog. ” Corrett has just launched a new online magazine to teach people about all the different aspects of a healthy way of life.

She says: “It is like a one-stop shop, a place where you can get everything from recipes to tips on window gardening, to nutrition for new mothers.

“It is everything under one hub. That is where I feel my business is heading at the moment, to providepeople a platform of information so they can create a better, healthier life for themselves. I am trying to grow our health hub as an information platform for people globally.”

Corrett has been innovative in the food industry. Honestly Healthy has helped people to live healthier, and through her involvement in the GREAT campaign she will continue to support innovation.

Business Reporter · March 2014

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Innovation

yet2: helping innovators connect with market needs INDUSTRY VIEW The strategic focus on Open Innovation (OI) and new methodologies and tools to source external innovation are enabling some of the most successful product launches as of late.

New innovations from entrepreneurs, start-ups, universities and SMEs have all benefited from funding, university technology transfer initiatives, regional development and globalisation. But pairing innovations with commercial organisations remains a challenge. It is critical that market needs and roadmaps of global corporations are linked to innovations to ensure they make it to market successfully.

This is where OI technology consultant yet2.com can help. With offices in Liverpool, Boston (US), and Tokyo, and nearly 150 associate broker organisations around the world, yet2 has worked with large corporates on their market needs and scoured the world for new technologies and local products to enable rapid business development through technology acquisition. yet2 offers several client services that focus on connecting large corporate needs with innovations to ascertain the best fit. yet2 works on tactical specific technology needs, and strategic growth-driving adjacency and disruptive opportunities. yet2 also manages corporate-branded OI portals and provides patent acquisition services and investment via yet2 ventures.

For one of yet2’s investment clients, Mobeam, the yet2 team confirmed a larger and more compelling market need than the inital area of focus, and then facilitated global senior level connections to secure engagements with several key large corporate customers and investors. (mobeam.com/news). +44 151 705 3540 europe@yet2.com

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Joanne Frearson on bringing her double to life

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S I WALK into the room I didn’t expect to see Harry Styles there, in the middle of a photoshoot. Or, I should say, the Makie Doll version of the One Direction boy band singer. I am on a visit to MakieLab, a company which specialises in making custom 3D dolls.

The firm has made dolls resembling Prince Harry, David Cameron and pop singer Jessie J by developing a system of creating objects using game technologies and then 3D-printing them as toys complete with internal working joints.

I can’t resist but have a go making my own…

The process starts by inputting characteristics you want the doll to have on Makie Doll’s website.

I chose an outfit, which is sewn at MakieLab, while the body image which has been created is sent off to be made via 3D printing. Once the body parts are made, they are assembled at the MakieLab and my doll begins to take form.

Clothes, hair and make-up are the final finishing touches. I now have my very own mini-me Makie doll, which joins Harry’s in his photoshoot on the dance floor.

The idea behind MakieLab comes from Alice Taylor, CEO and founder of the company. “My background is in digital media and games,” she explains. “When I had the idea for Makie Dolls, I was actually at the New York Toy Fair.

“It was one of those moments where I was looking at the digital stuff and how popular it was, and yet the toys were so separated. I wondered if you could turn an avatar into a doll using 3D printing. I went home and started to think harder about it and do research, do sketches and do more research.”

Taylor believed that the thing people loved to do in online games – and spent hours doing – is creating characters. “The thing about 3D printing is it is an amazing bit of tech that enables stuff that you can never do before,” she says.

The form of doll has changed since the product first launched. Taylor enlisted the help of Martha Lane Fox CBE, the co-founder of Lastminute.com, as chairman of MakieLab, and still uses her to sound out ideas.

When Taylor first launched Makie Dolls a year and a half ago, “they were bone white, 100 pounds, were not toy safe and they were pretty ugly.

“They were really what we would call a minimal viable product. It was the bare minimum we could put on the market to see what kind of response we would get. Since then, we’ve got skin colour, we have made them cuter, we dropped the price, we passed toy safety and we have won a bunch of awards.

“It just sort of got better, and [the dolls] change according to the feedback we get. Our customers write in pretty much daily on the forum, and then we go onto the model, change it to what they want, and they have it immediately.”

B

ut it is Taylor’s ultimate ambition to go up against American Girl, a rival firm covering the same price range as a Makie Doll.

She says: “American Girl is a completely traditional off-the-shelf doll – it is only sold in America and possibly Canada now. It is an American brand owned by Mattel and they sell a me-doll. The way that works is they actually have 40 dolls that all look very similar to each other.

“What you have to do is pick the one that looks most like you, rather than actually changing it in

So what do we want to look like tonight?

Just a click here and a click there… don’t forget a touch of lippy!

Only a few more steps...

It’s so important to get the hair just right, don’t you think?

any way. In our case, we are very similar, but you have more control over what you make and ours are made on demand so there is no warehousing.

Other than that they are very similar.”

About 20 per cent of the Makie Dolls made already get sent to the US, and Taylor has ambitious plans to grow that market. The company at some stage is planning to launch an office there.

Elsewhere, 15 per cent goes to the EU. “We would love to crack Japan because there is a huge market out there for anything emerging tech and also dolls,” says Taylor. “They love dolls and love to have customised ability and all that stuff.

“But obviously Japan and the Japanese language are a lot harder. We are sort of expecting that we will probably reach places like Singapore first, because they speak English. That said, Japan is definitely on the radar.”

There are plenty of new things in the pipeline for MakieLab, and the firm has a game coming out globally in April. “Kids will be able to spend hours getting really creative,” says Taylor. “In the game you grow plants and animals to produce materials like cotton and wool, which you make cloth out of. Then you get to paint and design the cloth into patterns, and then you make clothes for your avatar.

“It is a dress-up game, but you actually craft and create the clothes instead of choosing them.

It is possible not only to print the avatar doll, but in the future we are looking to print the designs that the kids make onto real cloth for doll clothes, or even adult clothes.

“The little machines that you print and the little pets that you have, we will be able to print into little toys as well. Everything you see in the game we will be able to make real using 3D printing or using new manufacturing techniques.

“The game will be available on iPad and the website will remain as it is. Then we will spread it out across smartphones and Android as it grows.”

MakieLab is also in partnership talks with various retailers. It already has a partnership deal with department store Selfridges in its new toy section. Originally the deal was for Christmas only, but MakieLab has now been asked to stay.

Makie Dolls only launched two years ago, and the company has gone from producing a minimal viable product to winning awards. There is a huge range of possible creations, with users just as able to create their own Harry Styles effigy as a mini version of themselves. This is a company that shows what 3D printing can do in creating and making toys.

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Now off to find Harry Styles...

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Turkey on track to celebrate centennial in style Exclusive incentives scheme to support R&D and innovation activities across the country are making an impact INDUSTRY VIEW

T

he Turkish R&D Law provides special incentives for R&D investment projects if a minimum of 50 personnel are employed in an R&D centre, and this will be valid until the end of 2023. One of the most attractive incentives is the 100 per cent deduction of R&D expenditure from the tax base.

Aiming to become a high-tech manufacturing and export base by 2023, Turkey strongly supports R&D and innovation-related investments through its comprehensive investment incentives regime. The country heavily relies on its technology development zones (TDZs), which are rapidly increasing in number and populated by the country’s visionary entrepreneurs and talented workforce.

In Turkey, there are 52 technology development zones, of which 37 are operational and 15 are currently under construction. Today, more than 2,200 companies are developing projects in the technology development zones. More than 16,000 R&D experts are working on around 6,000 software and R&D projects in these zones.

Although software developing companies are the backbone of Turkey’s TDZs, sector-specific sites are also in progress. Teknopark Istanbul, focusing on defence technologies among other high-tech branches, is a good example.

Future TDZs may also be focusing on medical devices, pharmaceuticals and other particular areas.

TDZs, with unique advantages for investors, are designed to support software development and R&D activities and attract knowledge-intensive investments. TDZs offer ready-to-rent office spaces, in addition to infrastructure facilities. Software development and R&D activities in TDZs are exempt from corporate and personnel income taxes, as well as value-added tax for the sales of software produced exclusively in TDZs. fifty per cent reduction in the employer’s share of social security premium is also available in TDZs. If the number of researchers exceeds 500, then in addition to the 100 per cent deduction, half of the R&D expenditure increase incurred in the operational year compared with the previous year will also be offset. Other support instruments

mainly include exemption from personnel income tax, 50 per cent reduction in social security premium and exemption from stamp duty. R&D projects do not only benefit from tax and social security incentives, but also grants which are provided by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), a governmental organisation dedicated to support science and R&D related activities in Turkey.

Today, 142 R&D centres are operational within this exclusive incentives scheme,

while 25 of them are operating in the ICT sector. Companies that establish R&D centres in Turkey can benefit from all incentives equally regardless of the location of the investment. As in the case of technology development zones, more than 15,000 R&D experts are also employed in R&D centres. For example, Ericsson, Huawei and Vodafone Group have already established their regional R&D centres in Turkey.

In addition, the Turkish government has embarked on realising grandiose

targets to be achieved by 2023, the centennial of the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. Some of these ambitious goals include increasing the R&D expenditure to GDP ratio to 3 per cent from 0.85 per cent, having at least 100 operational TDZs filled by some 10,000 companies, and increasing annual exports of TDZs to US$10billion, up from the current level of US$1billion. info@invest.gov.tr www.invest.gov.tr

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Inspector Dogberry Dogberry has slowly been gaining a steady following on Twitter, and was excited by some research by the University of Sheffield, where a team is building a system that will automatically verify online rumours as they spread around the globe.

Dr Kalina Bontcheva, lead researcher from the Department of Computer Science in the University of Sheffield’s Faculty of Engineering, says: “There was a suggestion after the 2011 riots that social networks should have been shut down, to prevent the rioters using them.

“But social networks also provide useful information – the problem is that it all happens so fast and we can’t quickly sort truth from lies. This makes it difficult to respond to rumours;

The Vodafone Foundation has launched the Instant Network Mini (inset), an 11-kilogram mobile network in a backpack that can be deployed in just 10 minutes, enabling aid workers to carry out life-saving work in disaster situations.

It can provide up to five concurrent calls within a radius of 100 metres and enable text messages to be sent to thousands of people to provide crucial information following a disaster. The backpack can also be taken as hand luggage on commercial flights.

Andrew Dunnett, director of the Vodafone Foundation, says: “Vodafone Foundation Instant Network Mini is simple and quick to deploy and will be particularly valuable to humanitarian workers without any other means of communication.”

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Twitter: @dogberryTweets

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By Matt Smith, web editor

u Editor’s pick Next Big Future

for example, for the emergency services to quash a lie in order to keep a situation calm. Our system aims to help with that, by tracking and verifying information in real time.”

It will search for sources that corroborate or deny the information, and plot how the conversations on social networks evolve, using all of this information to assess whether it is true or false. The results will be displayed to the user in a visual dashboard, to enable them to easily see whether a rumour is taking hold.

http://nextbigfuture.com/ With archives stretching back as far as 1999, Next Big Future covers innovations from around the world relating to the internet, mobile technology, sustainable energy, biology, and more. The site, which is run by a team of researchers and technologists, has an impressive number of posts to browse for a Blogspot blog.

Stephen Shapiro

Choc treatment A low-calorie chocolate that tastes just as good as the real thing and a white bread with high fibre are two of the projects being funded by the Technology Strategy Board.

Dogberry is quite the epicure and is known for cooking healthy meals, but is also a big sucker for chocolate, so is especially pleased the project is funding the development of a bar low in calories.

The TSB is investing £8.5million in almost 40 research projects to tackle issues around nutritional values, food safety, specific dietary requirements and food waste. Other innovations being developed include a study which assesses the potential for using pumpkin and mulberry extracts to help treat diabetes and obesity.

The Shapeways Blog

www.steveshapiro.com/blog

www.shapeways.com/blog

Innovation culture expert Stephen Shapiro offers his thoughts on his blog, with posts that include thoughtprovoking articles on drastic, company-wide philosophical changes, small hacks to help you save time and make the most of your day, and everything in between.

3D printing marketplace Shapeways hosts this blog, which shows off the best and most innovative 3D-printed gadgets out there. The inventions on show range from alarmclock-style stands for iPhones to printed fashion, and the site also covers developments in the technologies behind the industry.

Innovation Excellence www.innovationexcellence. com/blog

Robin (FREE – Android) Think Siri’s smart? Robin combines voice recognition with information from your device, including directions, social media updates, reminders, and more.

Vyclone (FREE – Android, iOS) What if video was truly social?

Vyclone combines your shots with those of others to create seamless, multi-angle videos.

With a focus primarily on innovation within business, Innovation Excellence brings you some interesting ideas to provide inspiration for your own. The blog covers a wide range of subjects, including customer relationship management, employee engagement, and cultures within the world’s leading companies.

Power of innovation hubs drives knowledge INDUSTRY VIEW

Creating a space to experiment

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s the government seeks to drive economic growth nationally, an innovation hub in Norfolk is working hard to support and grow local high-tech business clusters.

Innovation hubs are, and will be, one of the most important tools in accelerating economic growth.

In their most basic form, they offer affordable space for business start-ups. However, their potential is so much greater.

Since opening in 2006, Hethel Engineering Centre (owned by Norfolk County Council) has more than doubled in size (80,000ft2) and incubated more than 80 hi-tech start-ups. HEC’s success has been founded on its sector focus, concentrating on supporting the growth of engineering and manufacturing clusters. This approach builds Norfolk’s knowledge economy through ensuring

its strong enabling sectors, high-value manufacturing and energy, support expansion in emerging sectors such as agritech, biotech and cleantech.

An innovation hub should drive the local knowledge economy through building effective networks, strengthening supply chains, facilitating partnerships with the knowledge base, and encouraging cross-sector collaborations. Through creating a space where innovators can experiment, entrepreneurs can flourish and students can be inspired, innovation hubs should look to the future and challenge the norm.

Innovation hubs can also play a key role in supporting local enterprise partnerships to develop smart innovation strategies and deliver start-up/high growth/innovation-led business support programmes.

Furthermore, through linking with catapults, R&D institutions and universities, they can provide a link to SMEs so encouraging knowledge transfer and the commercialisation of ideas.

HEC is expanding through Hethel Innovation. This new company is operating nationally with clients who

seek to build their own innovation hubs and deliver innovation-led business support. Locally, Hethel Innovation is seeking to develop a technology park around HEC and its nearest neighbour, Lotus Cars.

For more information contact scoward@ hethelinnovation.com or visit www.hethelcentre.com 01953 859 100 www.hethelcentre.com

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used to input work status, a right rotation could indicate a normal state, and a left rotation a problem.

United States

China

Chinese telecomunications company Huwaei has developed the world’s first hybrid smart band. The wearable device lets you talk while keeping track of your active life. It connects your wrist to your smartphone so you can stay updated with all of the information you need about your daily life with just a quick glance.

Japan

ExpertInsight

Japanese technology firm Fujitsu has developed a device so people who have jobs where they need to wear gloves can still use their smartphones and tablets.

The wearable device uses gesturerecognition technology. House testing showed that six patterns – up, down, left, right, rotate left and rotate right – could be recognised with 98 per cent accuracy.

These gestures could be used to flip through pages of a manual being shown on a head-mounted display with left and right motions, or to scroll with up and down motions. In a scenario where it is

American tech giant Google has unveiled a prototype of a phone that can use 3D technology to create a map of the users environment.

Sensors allow the phone to make o v e r 2 5 0 , 0 0 0 3 D m e asur e m e nt s every second, updating its position and orientation in real-time and combining that data into a single 3D model of the space around you.

Denmark

Danish man Dennis Aabo Sørensen has been the first man in the world fitted with an artificial limb, which allows him to feel things as if using his own hand.

Surgeons implanted ultra-thin electrodes into nerves in his upper arm. These send sensory data from Sørensen’s artificial hand directly to his brain, giving him information ab o ut t h e shap e and consistency of t h e objec t s he grasps – even when not able to see them.

A thriving innovation community INDUSTRY VIEW

T

he MedBIC at Anglia Ruskin University’s Chelmsford campus is an innovation centre dedicated to medical and advanced engineering.

It recently opened its doors to start-ups, small businesses and spin-outs in the sectors. Aideen McCambridge, manager of The MedBIC, explains:

What was it about the centre that led you to join The MedBIC? I love seeing someone come in with an early-stage idea and supporting them through development, research, trialling and eventual release. There’s nothing like seeing a person at the moment when they realise their idea has become a viable product or service.

Innovation can be an overused word. What does it mean in the context of what The MedBIC does and enables occupying businesses to do?

It is regularly used to describe anything that’s perceived as cutting edge – from aircraft to iPads. True innovation is key to the future of our economy and something to be fostered. At The MedBIC, we see innovation as creating a completely new product, service or treatment, or improving something that

currently exists. This could be to make it faster, cheaper, easier to produce, more intelligent or more sustainable.

Improvements in advanced engineering and medical technologies, and their supply chains, can result in measurable improvements to people’s lives.

Why did Anglia Ruskin choose these sectors to focus on?

Essex already has world-renowned companies who have supported the idea of an innovation centre in the area for many years, as have Essex County Council and Chelmsford City Council.

Anglia Ruskin University has particular strengths in these sectors, with its postgraduate medical institute, specialist clinical trials unit, new MedTech campus, and health and engineering faculties.

It made sense to work together to develop something to benefit early-stage businesses and encourage new players to grow the sector in the UK. Essex is the ideal place for that.

What can occupying and virtual tenants have access to?

The MedBIC offers co-operative workspaces, engineering research labs, office space and start-up focused programmes to help make entrepreneurial visions a reality.

Being part of Anglia Ruskin University’s

Chelmsford campus also means they can benefit from the expertise of its academics and industry partners, who are accustomed to innovating and supporting others. Support is available from researchers, consultants and clinicians for prototyping and testing to speed up routes to market.

What’s your vision for The MedBIC? A shared work environment where entrepreneurs, early-stage start-ups and experts can gather, collaborate and innovate. In building a strong network of innovators, entrepreneurs, academics, industry mentors and leaders, The MedBIC offers occupiers everything

required to bring their ideas to market.

The MedBIC can be a catalyst for Essex becoming a centre of excellence for innovation in medical technology and advanced engineering.

If someone has an idea they think has potential and would like to develop it, what should they do?

If they are in medical, advanced engineering or an allied field, we can look at how we can help them develop their idea and make it a reality. We’d love to hear from them.

0845 196 4207 www.medbic.com

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S INNOVATION in the retail sector is changing the way we shop, more and more people are shopping online and using social media to engage as part of their everyday life. Companies are creating social media games and using innovative techniques to create a stir about their products.

Mark Elkins, vice president of digital sales and marketing at Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), says: “Social media can also create a buzz to keep consumers engaged and keep them loyal to the products.

“There was a Facebook fan page set up to say bring back Vanilla Coke and there were a lot of fans who wanted it brought back,” Elkins says.

“Before even launching it there was a strong desire to bring the product back.

“What we did was work with Ocado and the Facebook fan page, so before even launching a product we allowed the customer to do a preorder on Ocado, a bit like you can for your Christmas turkey.

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“But before it went live, we seeded it using social media and people could drop it into their basket before it was fully available. Then we made a big splash about it on the Ocado website.

“The fans of Vanilla Coke saw that banner ad saying you can get your Vanilla Coke here at Ocado. They choose to make the Ocado banner the fan page banner on their Facebook fan page. Suddenly hundreds of thousands of people were seeing the linkage to Ocado.”

Elkins reckons people are not just purchasing products, but also looking to buy into the story of a brand. Innovative techniques can be used to capture shoppers’ attentions with a great story.

“The great thing with digital is it allows brands and retailers to connect with their customers in a much more engaging and interactive way,” he says. “That is one of the big trends.”

CCE uses games to help interact with buyers of their products and tell a story. The firm used this type of promotion with Tesco.

“We created a simple mobile game for people to pop the bubbles and win free products or money off products in the store,” Elkins says.

“We changed the offers on a regular basis and we noticed that people went back time and time again. The game created very good engagement with the shoppers.”

Great content can make a difference and Elkins says there will be “closer partnerships with a variety of different content providers”, such as movie and games companies. “People

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Mark Elkins of Coca-Cola Enterprises

will find shopping a really fun experience.”

Retailers are also using data to create innovative ways to engage consumers. “A lot of the retailers that are really smart are looking at how to use data and personalisation to give a more relevant offer to the shoppers,” Elkins says.

“Companies are looking to offer a more relevant set of our products to their customers.

It is great when you go to Tesco.com to see the most relevant content for you.

“Players like Amazon are world-leading in that area, and grocery retailers will be looking for inspiration on how to give people what they want in a much more relevant way.

“What we are also seeing is that shopping behaviour is generally multi-channel. Almost 50 per cent of in-store sales are somehow digitally

influenced – a purchase could start online and end offline, or vice versa.

“Some of the research we have conducted shows that what we call multi-channel shoppers, those that buy online and in-store, are more loyal to retailers and to the brands as well.

“It is the power of convenience. That is what is driving some of the loyalties to the retailers.

A lot of this is about creating ecosystems, so they can provide great value to shoppers across multiple channels.”

Digital technology is enabling shopping to become easier, more engaging and more rewarding for consumers. People have many options about where and how to buy products, and it is the retailers that think of innovative ways to keep their customers engaged who are likely to see the most loyalty from consumers.

Labs: breaking through business as usual to spin up new ideas INDUSTRY VIEW

R

emember the days when plonking a foosball table in the middle of the office meant you were progressive?

In the early 2000s many companies set up hothouses and incubators in an attempt to ride the dotcom wave. They took great people from their business and put them in an isolated environment, with no access to big company resources or support structures – just a scattering of oversized beanbags and a coffee machine. Almost inevitably there were more failures than success stories.

But is taking talent out of the building into a lab the wrong way to approach innovation?

After all, the inescapable draw of business as usual means most big companies struggle to do new things – the skills and focus of running an operationally excellent business are fundamentally different to those required to develop groundbreaking new products and services.

For innovation to flourish, different attitudes, tools, techniques and a different focus is required. You wouldn’t put Aston Martin engineers in a busy garage behind a high street greengrocer’s and expect them to have what they need to design a new vehicle. In the same way, you need to ensure the people in your business who you

want to create new products and services have what they need, in the right environment.

The lab is not just a place, but an approach, and Fluxx specialises in helping ensure the tools to bring big thinking to life are there. An innovation company started in 2011, Fluxx creates new products and services for brands such as John Lewis, More Th>n Insurance, IPC Magazines, Homebase and Lloyds Bank.

Fluxx has witnessed the folly of firms trying to design products that nobody wants – investing months in design and build before launching to a dismal response from

consumers. They may be brilliantly executed but, according to Nielsen, the hit rate for new products is only 19 per cent. The lab is instead about experimenting and the focus is on learning, and by starting small they quickly identify the 81 per cent of new products that are unlikely to succeed.

Experiments generate facts, not opinions.

It’s easy to be optimistic when developing a new product. “The market size is x billion pounds,” is a standard response when the CEO says: “Have you done something good with the money we just invested?” – but unless you’ve experimented, this is just guesswork. Evidence beats estimates every time.

Designing, building and running the experiments to get there all require new skills.

Some people will pick up these capabilities more readily than others, but if any bright sparks are left in the lab for too long, it’s easy to lose touch or get burned out. Fluxx favours rolling secondments, bringing new waves of people into a best-practice academy to learn by doing, before sending them back to their day jobs invigorated and refreshed.

This creates a network of experimenters across your business who can help the lab move forward with your business, rather than spinning around going nowhere, like those foosballers. http://fluxx.uk.com Twitter: @fluxxstudios

Business Reporter · March 2014

Innovation – Industry view

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Alexis de Tocqueville

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I cannot help fearing that men may reach a point where they look on every new theory as a danger, every innovation as a toilsome trouble, and that they may absolutely refuse to move at all

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The future

There’s no such thing as a free lunch Who is supporting the innovators of British industry?

I

t could be said that cynicism is a British mentality. Coupled with “nothing is certain, except death and taxes” means it’s no surprise that the reactions to hearing you can get money from HMRC simply for doing business as you have done for years range from “what’s the catch?”, through to utter disbelief. So let’s be clear, the government’s motivations for these incentives are not entirely selfless.

The UK economy has been struggling in recent years and the government needs to stimulate growth.

The principle that innovation drives economic growth is one of the most consistent findings in macroeconomics and has been true for centuries. But innovation carries risk and, when times are tough, we avoid risk. We stick with what we know and we play it safe.

To encourage innovation (or research and development), the government introduced the R&D tax credits scheme to reward and stimulate businesses that undertake these activities.

Who are these businesses? We at The MPA Group often hear: “I don’t have a lab” or “I don’t have an R&D department”.

But it is all about how you view your business. Engineer or innovator?

Software developer or innovator?

Manufacturer or innovator? You are

probably both, and when you are, and can demonstrate that you will be rewarded.

Yesterday’s innovation is today’s business practice, so HMRC, which administers the scheme in the UK, regularly assesses the qualification criteria through their advisory committee. The MPA Group’s founder and innovation director, Mike Price, is a member of this committee. He says: “Businesses assume they are not eligible, but this often comes down to their understanding of the scheme.

To fully assess what activities qualify and to make sure you get maximum benefit you need to understand both the industry you work in and the legislation itself.” The government wants businesses to innovate and will

handsomely reward those that do. The MPA Group supports British industry by helping innovators become more competitive on the world stage. R&D tax credits are just the beginning – more and more incentives are available for innovative businesses, so look again at what you do, ask an expert if you’re not sure and get the support due to you.

Kaeli Denison is a director at The MPA Group www.thempagroup.co.uk kaeli.denison@thempagroup.co.uk

In focus: Putting clients first is in our DNA

T

he traditional image of the lawyer as an old-fashioned adviser is being rapidly consigned to history as the market for legal services undergoes a transformation.

The combination of client demand for better value for money, technological advances and deregulation has created an environment where the best lawyers are innovating in order to provide legal advice in different ways.

Clients’ needs are at the heart of any creative solutions, and many of the best solutions in modern legal services are being developed together with

clients. For many lawyers, collaborating with clients in designing new ways of delivering legal services is, in itself, an innovative approach.

A wide range of new approaches is emerging.

At BLP, where we have put innovation at the heart of our client service delivery models, we have developed a number of market-leading services. For example, these include flexible resourcing alternatives through our Lawyers on Demand (LoD) business. LoD now offers virtual transaction teams – groups of lawyers who work remotely and come together for defined projects.

designed to support clients at all stages of dispute resolution. While this service is specifically for dispute resolution, the firm as a whole has adopted new ways of delivering legal advice using visual techniques, making complex advice accessible to executives with limited time.

Innovation isn’t always about inventing new things.

At BLP, we encourage our people to think in innovative ways. It’s become part of our DNA.

We have also developed an Integrated Dispute Resolution service which brings together a unique set of services

Neville Eisenberg (left) is managing partner at Berwin Leighton Paisner 020 3400 1000 www.blplaw.com

The third mission: driving business growth Universities have traditionally been centres of knowledge and education but, as society has evolved, so too has the role of the university. Modern universities no longer solely focus on research and educating and developing the individual; they now have a vital role in developing local businesses and driving economic growth in their region – the so-called “Third Mission”.

To this end, being a catalyst for developing partnerships with industryrecognised bodies and local businesses is central to the role Anglia Ruskin University holds in its local heartlands. In the last 12 months, Anglia Ruskin has worked with more than 2,000 UK businesses and organisations, from giants such as Barclays, Specsavers and the British Army, through to entrepreneurs, early-stage start-ups and spin-outs. Many of these smaller businesses have never previously had contact with a university.

Through established routes such as Knowledge Transfer Programmes, businesses can partner with academics and researchers to improve processes or products or fast-track new innovations to market.

Anglia Ruskin is particularly strong in the areas of health and med-tech.

The Postgraduate Medical Institute (PMI), for example, is a partnership of 22 including NHS Trusts, private healthcare providers, Essex County Council and the Royal Society of Public Health.

Through the PMI, Anglia Ruskin has also been able to bring in inspirational leaders from the NHS, such as Professor Tony Young, who, as well as being a consultant surgeon, is a successful entrepreneur and champion for innovation.

Professor Michael Thorne, Anglia Ruskin’s vice chancellor, said: “At Anglia Ruskin we embrace innovation and are committed to supporting business growth and enabling others to benefit from our world-leading research.”

0845 196 3177 http://business.anglia.ac.uk

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The debate

What leads succesful innovation?

Gary Moss Patent litigator EIP

Austen Miller Senior Partner 3form Design

I believe innovation is about what you do with the ideas that come out of your company.

First, you need ideas from bright sparky people. You need those people not to fear failure.

Importantly, though, you also need management and organisation to see ideas through to commercial success.

Systems within a company are needed to harvest innovation, turning first sparks into commercial success. These should include dedicated procedures to identify, develop, record, protect and reward good ideas. At the same time, caution is needed; too much rigid structure and new ideas can be stifled. Truly innovative companies and individuals are those that learn how to balance these two competing senses.

As a patent attorney meeting daily with companies and inventors I see this at the coalface.

My advice to companies seeking to innovate would be: encourage your people to think new ideas and ensure you have in place structures to enable and encourage the transition from new ideas to commercial success. Manage your company this way so that innovation can follow.

The answer is a bit like an elephant – difficult to describe but you know it when you see it. There is no magic formula. But successful innovation usually requires an individual’s refusal to accept the status quo, an ability to look at things from a totally different angle and a determination not to give up until he/she has found the right answer.

Take the Anywayup dripless trainer cup, invented by Mandy Haberman. She was motivated to come up with it by seeing friends panicking when visiting toddlers were walking around dripping juice over their new carpets.

And her solution was so simple that everyone thought it must be obvious and therefore could not be worthy of patent protection.

Fortunately for her, the courts did not agree; it decided that her invention might have been sitting under the noses of the other players in the industry, but the fact was no one else could see it. As such, it was truly innovative.

The one thing which does not lead to innovation is a desire to make money. Rather, it is a determination of the innovator to solve a problem and create a better product.

Successful product innovation needs more than an inspiration – it’s a process. Taking too long is a big killer, as is blowing the budget before you get to the finishing line.

An obvious enough statement but when you break down the whole process into milestones, it can all look obvious. However, those that embark on the process learn that the “obvious” later gets shored up with hindsight.

Most people would agree: if your company needed to run a race and Mo Farah was available, you wouldn’t risk losing by running it yourself.

Running the race on a regular basis are companies such as 3form Design. They offer a turnkey solution to get ideas into a finished box.

Specialising means those involved are fitter from the daily creative workout. Knowledge anticipates needs, experience avoids the pitfalls, problems are owned and solutions are found.

The companies (big and small) that adopt the 3fD alliance are successful. They are able to focus on business planning, marketing strategies and, most importantly, selling.

The commercialisation of intellectual property is at the core of business growth.

To achieve business growth, emphasis must be placed on innovation, whether through strategic R&D or ongoing development of intangible IP. This is a move supported strongly by the government who continue to support the commercialisation of intellectual property with the increase in value and application of the R&D Tax Credit scheme, and multiple grant funding options. Perhaps the biggest incentive of all is the new Patent Box scheme.

It should be standard process for businesses to investigate whether current or future products, services or processes can be patented. There are allowances built in the regime that will benefit all these areas even where there are no direct sales out of some of the innovation. To achieve the above, it is imperative that the financial and technology functions within the business are working together, or an expert is bought in to ensure opportunities are not missed.

020 7693 5600 beckgreener.com

020 7440 9510 www.eip.com

01264 326306 http://3formdesign.com

020 7043 2300 wgarvey@leyton.com

ExpertInsight

Avi Freeman Partner Beck Greener

William Garvey Managing director Leyton UK

Invest in Turkey Turkey’s promotion agency is working to attract foreign investment INDUSTRY VIEW

What is ISPAT’s key mandate and the nature of its services?

In order to support and serve investors, the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT) was established under the auspices of the government.

Since its foundation, the agency has been providing assistance to global investors before, during and after their entry into Turkey. It has been instrumental in realising many investment projects in Turkey. The agency serves as a reference and a point of contact for international investors by linking them with both the government and businesses in Turkey, working on a fully confidential basis and functioning as a private venture.

The agency’s free-of-charge services include, but are not limited to, providing market information and analyses, site selection, B2B meetings, co-ordination with relevant governmental institutions, as well as facilitating legal procedures and applications, such as establishing business operations and obtaining licences and work permits.

What are the priority sectors that the agency is targeting to attract foreign investment into?

Turkey is mainly interested in attracting investment projects that will contribute to the country’s economic development.

In this regard, the priority sectors include, but are not limited to, automotive, energy, renewable energy, ICT, hi-tech, finance, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, petro-chemicals, agribusiness, machinery, mining, infrastructure and iron and steel.

Attracting investment into these sectors is a priority for the agency, which has developed specific strategies for each sector.

Moreover, the government offers incentives for investments in these sectors by providing tax deductions and exemptions.

Where does the United Kingdom stand in terms of Turkey’s inward investment policy for priority sectors

as well as its very strong infrastructure and energy projects pipeline?

Although the UK is the top investor in Turkey, we are working to attract more investment from the UK, as it is one of the largest investors in the world. UK investors have been investing in ICT, energy, renewable energy, food and beverage and finance.

However, we would like to see these investors invest in Turkey’s infrastructure and energy projects. To this end, we have recently organised an infrastructure conference in London, where major infrastructure and energy projects were introduced to investors.

What is the current situation with PPP? Turkey has successfully implemented the PPP (public-private partnership) model both on a national and regional level for various infrastructure projects and is now looking into realising new ones in the education, construction, healthcare, transportation, ICT and defence industries. More and more investors with long-term goals are drawn into Turkey’s infrastructure sector each day, discovering the enormous benefits of investing in a rapidly developing country.

Ilker Ayci, left, is president of ISPAT info@invest.gov.tr www.invest.gov.tr

Priority sectors include renewable energy