November 2014
South Cambridgeshire
OPEN FOR BUSINESS Issue 6
South Cambridgeshire Community Awards
In this edition P2
The District Council’s fifth annual Community Awards are now open for nominations.
New Space for Growth Scheme
Register your business for the Horizon 2020 Master Class
P5
P3
News on South Cambs Business Watch
Grants4Growth calls for local businesses
P9
Join our business register to access even more support and information. www.scambs.gov.uk/ businessregister
To unsubscribe from this mailing, email ‘unsubscribe’ to openforbusiness@ scambs.gov.uk
The five award categories for 2014/15 are:
(a)
Village Hero
Recognising outstanding individuals who have made a significant and voluntary contribution to their local community (any age).
(b)
Parish Councillor of the Year
Parish Councillors who have made a significant contribution to their local community in the past year.
(c)
Community Pride: Youth Group or Initiative
Celebrating local youth groups and initiatives that provide positive activities for young people and encourage young people to play a part in their community.
(d)
Community Pride: Businesses Developing Talent
Celebrating local businesses that develop talent through apprenticeships and support for further education.
(e)
Community Pride: Local Services and Amenities
Celebrating community run shops, post offices, recreational facilities or libraries, for example. To make a nomination please visit www.scambs.gov.uk/community-awards An awards ceremony will be held in March and all nominees will be invited to attend. For more information please contact Gemma Barron on gemma.barron@scambs.gov.uk or 01954 713340
Online money management support for businesses The Money Advice Trust has launched a new Business Debtline website, designed to help small business owners tackle their debts and manage their money wisely. www.businessdebtline.org/EW/Pages/default.aspx
South Cambridgeshire - OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Welcome Welcome to the November issue of Open for Business This edition we are pleased to feature ‘Grants4Growth’ calling for local SME’s to benefit from £11m of funding. There is also information on new opportunities for women to take advantage of digital technology including a business network challenge fund. Enterprise Europe Network East of England and Innovate UK are pleased to invite you to a one day Master Class focussed on participation in Horizon 2020, the EU's €80bn flagship research and innovation fund. Businesses in South Cambs can find out about CompeteFor which is a free service that enables business to compete for contract opportunities linked to major public and private sector buying organisations. We also have details on a new initiative called South Cambs Business Watch (SCBW). If you sign up your business you will be able to receive free, regular updates and alerts from the police about criminality against businesses in South Cambridgeshire. Other business news includes, a £30,000 competition prize to find Britain’s greatest SME, online money management support for business, small business rate relief scheme, new simple guidance to ensure health and safety compliance and the Space for Growth portal where you can find out about surplus Government estate which is being made available for free to small and medium enterprises, charities and social enterprises.
Introducing CompeteForGiving Business Access to Supply Chain Contract Opportunities. What is CompeteFor? Following CompeteFor’s successful use by the London 2012 Games authorities and their supply chains, the service continues to be used in the supply chain of major capital infrastructure projects, such as Crossrail. CompeteFor is a free service that enables business to compete for contract opportunities linked to major public and private sector buying organisations. CompeteFor strives to be the national supply chain development service matching buyers and suppliers. It focuses on opportunities in the supply chain of major capital infrastructure projects. CompeteFor has introduced a number of optional upgrades to further support buyers and suppliers.
Highlights
Over 185,000 businesses registered on the website In excess of 16,000 business opportunities have been made available 75% of CompeteFor awarded contracts going to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) Two thirds of contracts awarded to CompeteFor suppliers located outside of London. www.competefor.com/about
Space for Growth
Surplus Government estate is being made available for free to charities, small, medium and social enterprises under its new Space for Growth scheme. Available now are under-utilised workstations in office buildings. In the future, the scheme will be extended to include retail opportunities such as pop up shops, free meeting rooms and other types of buildings. Through this portal you will be able to view the entire Space For Growth portfolio of available sites.
Please keep your feedback coming by emailing openforbusiness@scambs.gov.uk, your comments help shape each edition and ensure we cover the local issues important to you. Cllr Nick Wright Cabinet member for planning and economic development www.epims.ogc.gov.uk/SpaceForGrowth/Home.aspx
2
South Cambridgeshire - OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Horizon 2020 Master Class Why, What and How to get involved Cambridge - Thursday 11 December 2014
The Enterprise Europe Network and Innovate UK are pleased to offer a one day Master Class focussed on participation in Horizon 2020, Europe's €80bn flagship Framework Programme for Research & Innovation. Who Should Attend?
The event is suitable for all businesses that have a clear intent to access H2020 funds and can evidence this through an idea for a potential project / appropriate funding call. The event is applicable to all research themes and the topics covered provide a comprehensive overview.
Making the right strategic decisions about participation Taking the right approach to minimise the cost of participation Working with the EU Commission on your proposal Available support Building a team and matching roles to partners Consortium organisation Partner search methods Building a proposal - section by section
The Master Class will offer an opportunity for an in-depth examination of the task of putting together a winning proposal under Horizon 2020, but will also discuss the reasons WHY you should participate and WHAT you are getting into, providing you with all the information you require to make strategic decisions about participation. The Master Class is FREE and will be delivered by Eddie Townsend, a practitioner with many years experience of collaborative R&D programmes Registration For further information or to register for this event, contact the Enterprise Europe Network team on 0845 641 9955 or enterprise.europe@eeneast.org.uk, or register online at the event page at www.enterpriseeuropeeast.org.uk
3
South Cambridgeshire - OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Opportunities for Women Connecting Cambridgeshire’s new project plans to help women in business take advantage of digital technology. Support available in the project includes:
Training courses on digital subjects.
Challenge fund for business networks.
Online resources providing advice on using new and digital technology.
Bursaries to join business networks where the membership fee is a barrier.
The six month scheme aims to help 1,500 women in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The project is funded by the Women and Broadband Challenge Fund from the Government Equalities Office.
Training Courses on Digital Subjects
Please see article ‘calling all dynamic women - digital and business training for you’ on the opposite page 5. Free Online resources The Women’s Toolkit provides a wealth of information on using digital technology for women who are starting, growing or returning to work. The tooklit also includes information on:
social media and digital marketing,
setting up your office,
employment rights and options,
and videos of successful local women entrepreneurs using digital technology
The Women’s Calendar lists local events in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough that are relevant to business women in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Business networks challenge fund
The challenge fund is available to new or existing business networks and provides up to £4,000 in financial support. The fund is open to applications for projects that:
drive broadband take-up
increase women’s technology skills
and enable new women-led businesses to start-up.
There are two application windows:
5 November - 5 December 2014
5 January - 5 February 2015
The following criteria applies for applications to the challenge fund:
Applicants can only submit one bid
£4,000 is the maximum amount an applicant can bid for
Funding cannot be used to pay any capital expenditure, such as IT equipment
Funding must be awarded by 13 March 2015
Further information is available in the challenge fund guidance notes.
Further information on the fund and the application form can be found on our website: www.destinationdigital.info/opportunities-women To apply to the challenge fund, please complete the short application form and send it to contact@destinationdigital.info
4
South Cambridgeshire - OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Calling all dynamic women - digital & business training for you Are you looking to start or grow your business? Are you thinking about working from home and setting up a home office? Have you recently returned to work or are thinking about it soon? Enterprising Women are delighted to bring these free training sessions to you held at venues across Cambridgeshire. They include: Digital marketing: Using social media for your business, building an effective online brand and e-business skills Set up your own home office: Advice on how to set up a home office & tips on working on your own successfully
Free Digital and Business Training for Women Looking to start a business, grow your business or return to work? Offering training opportunities now in Cambridgeshire – limited places available!
Returning to work: Tools to raise your IT confidence after a career break and how to cope with the emotional change
Training Venues Ely Library, St Johns Innovation Centre, Enterprising Women - Brookmount Court, March Library, Chatteris Library, Huntingdon Maple Centre, Melbourn Hub, Peterborough Central Library
Book your place visit www.enterprising-women.org
Enterprising Women Business Clubs
s: tion Loca
Cambridge • Melbourn • Huntingdon Chatteris • March • Ely • Peterborough
Call 0800 012 1365 for more details or book here www.enterprising-women.org/dd
just s
can!
Delivered by Enterprising Women
You are also warmly invited to join networking events at Business clubs in Cambridge and Peterborough where you will be able to build connections, widen your network and form potential business opportunities. These training sessions are brought to you by Enterprising Women in partnership with Connecting Cambridgeshire as part of the Destination Digital Women programme to encourage women to start or grow your business, return to employment or work from home.
Having Trouble Booking?
Please email farhana@enterprising-women.org or call 0800 012 1365
5
South Cambridgeshire - OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Are you focussed on achieving sustained business growth? Do you need support in securing the necessary funding for growth? GrowthAccelerator will give you the opportunity to work one-to-one with experts who have proven track records and experience in helping high growth businesses raise investment and obtain finance. They offer flexible support, tailored to the individual needs of each company which is based upon an intimate knowledge of the financial community and their requirements when considering investments, lending or providing grants for financing a business. Business benefits include:
A comprehensive assessment of the business’ suitability and potential for business development through one on one coaching and a series of workshops and master-classes.
Help developing the necessary ‘building blocks’ required for attracting investment.
Contact with suitable finance providers to enable businesses to accelerate their growth.
In order to obtain the necessary funding for your business you may need to provide a business plan, cash flow forecasts or potentially even prepare a pitch to investors. Clients have found that by doing this they get a more robust understanding of the working capital requirements of their business and it assists in the formalisation of an action plan to achieve their potential growth. GrowthAccelerator is a partnership between Government and private enterprise. Financial support is provided to enable you to access the service and because Government is investing in the growth of business, the cost to you is significantly reduced and reflects the size of your company.
Are you eligible?
You need to be a business registered in England with fewer than 250 employees and a turnover of less than approximately £40m. Just as importantly, you should have the potential for rapid, sustained growth and want to double or better within three years. To find out more visit www.growthaccelerator.com or call our Access to Finance Growth Managers, Penny Lord and Kirsten Masson based at St John’s Innovation Centre on 01223 421325 or visit www.growthaccelerator.com
Wifi request, South Cambs businesses As part of Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s efforts to create a more agile and more visible rural policing team, Police Officers and PCSO's will be out in the community completing electronic ‘paperwork’ via computer tablets and slate devices.
To enable Officers to work more flexibly and ensure that they are available in the community for as much time as possible, the Police are asking businesses to consider sharing their WiFi - particularly in areas where 4G and 3G mobile data services are not readily available. The WiFi access will encourage a visual Police presence at your business premises, enabling Officer's to 'log on' from outside and complete work within their Police vehicles, which may help them to promote community safety and business security in your area. To get involved, to find out more, or to provide the police with feedback, please email me your details at southcambsbusinesswatch@cambs.pnn.police.uk
6
South Cambridgeshire - OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Government grants to boost your broadband Grants of up to £3,000 are available for small businesses to upgrade their broadband through the Government’s Broadband Connection Vouchers scheme. An instant eligibility check can be conducted online by visiting. www.connectionvouchers.co.uk/
Growth Voucher funding extended eligibility The Government’s Growth Voucher Scheme provides up to £2,000 worth of funding to help small and medium sized businesses pay for strategic business growth advice. The rules regarding eligibility have been amended to extend the scheme to a greater number of businesses. The application process has now also been simplified. www.gov.uk/apply-growth-vouchers
Small business
rate relief scheme
Firms based in a single property with a rateable value of less than £18,000 may be eligible for a refund, which can be backdated to April 2010. www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief/small-business-rate-relief
7
South Cambridgeshire - OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Are you a GREAT face of British business? £30,000 competition prize to find Britain’s greatest SME
Business is GREAT has teamed up with BT to launch a nationwide competition to find the most innovative and successful small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) in the UK. The competition has been designed to champion these businesses and to showcase the Government’s growth support for small firms. By entering the GREAT faces of British business, entrants will be in with the chance of being crowned their regional champion, with the winners shortlisted for the national competition. The overall winner will receive a grand prize package of £30,000, which includes a bespoke creative advertising campaign and being featured in national and local media, along with an iPad Air and unlimited BT Wi-fi for 12 months courtesy of BT Business. In addition, the winner will also receive a package of export support from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), one of the Government departments currently supporting the Business is GREAT Britain campaign with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).
To be eligible to enter the competition, all businesses must employ between one and 250 people. There are three categories and businesses can enter one or all depending on which are relevant to their business:
Best exporter - a small business that has successfully entered new markets
Most innovative small business - a small businesses that has turned an innovative idea into a reality
Best growth story - a small business that has an inspirational growth story
To enter, all eligible businesses must state why they deserve to be named as the GREATest SME in their community. For more information about the application process, visit: www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/competition
8
South Cambridgeshire - OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Call for local SME’s to benefit from £11 million of funding Grants4Growth is an £11m European Regional Development (ERDF) funded project delivered through Local Enterprise Partnerships in your local area. It is a free two year package of practical, confidential and impartial support for small and medium enterprises (SME’s), which provides grants to purchase or install new products or processes to help them invest to grow. From new lighting and equipment, through to upgraded production facilities and clean technology, the grants have been used by a wide range of businesses to help them become more efficient and resilient.
The Grants4Growth programme offers simple and straightforward grants, designed to help your business grow. There are two types of grant available: Capital grants - which can be used to invest in technology or processes that facilitate growth, improve resilience and create or safeguard jobs. Revenue grants - which are available to businesses seeking specialist consultancy advice relating to the promotion, marketing or mainstreaming of low carbon. Grants start at just £1,000 up to approximately £25,000, but larger projects can be supported. Having already invested £1 million into SME’s, Grants4Growth has successfully helped support a range of different businesses, including: Pathology Diagnostics - Leading UK industry-accredited research business, Pathology Diagnostics, provide tissue laboratory and diagnostic services. To support their growth, they needed to invest in new specialist equipment. Grants4Growth provided a grant of £7,385 towards the cost of a new IHC Stainer, positioning them to tender for potentially lucrative new contracts within the pharmaceutical sector. This project will increase the company’s market share by approximately 30% and allow them to tender for work that was previously outside of their capability. PA Answer - Ely based PA Answer provide virtual PA services to a number of businesses across the UK. The company had identified a niche opportunity to provide virtual medical secretarial services to consultants and surgeons operating in the private sector. Grants4Growth provided a grant of £2,500 to the company to enable them to develop a new telephone dictation system, purchase voice recognition licenses and implement a new CRM system. Helping you to access funding Our local team can offer technical assistance to develop project ideas and support the completion and submission of applications at every stage. Your local Grants4Growth Business Broker, Katie Bavester, is dedicated to helping businesses throughout Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to access this funding.
To find out more: Visit www.grants4growth.org.uk email Katie@grants4growth.org.uk or call 07909 702695
9
South Cambridgeshire - OPEN FOR BUSINESS
New simple guidance to ensure health and safety compliance published The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently published new straightforward guidance which will help employers to comply with health and safety laws. Read more about the guides at: A brief guide to controlling risks in the workplace Health and safety made simple - The basics for your business
National Minimum Wage Increase
As of 1 October 2014, increased National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates apply. For those aged 21 or over, the rate has increased from £6.31 to £6.50. For 18 to 20-yearolds, it has risen from £5.03 to £5.13; and for those aged 17 or under, it has increased from £3.72 to £3.79. The NMW for apprentices aged 18 or under, or those aged 19 and over in the first year of their apprenticeship, has grown from £2.68 to £2.73.
10
www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
South Cambridgeshire - OPEN FOR BUSINESS
New food allergy laws
New laws to make food shopping and eating out easier for people with common food allergies, intolerances or coeliac disease come into force from mid-December.
South Cambridgeshire businesses that have not taken action yet are being urged to do so. Catch-all “Contains milk/nuts/other” statements will be replaced by clear labelling on packaging to flag up 14 major allergens. If any of the allergens are present in nonpackaged food and made-to-order dishes, information will need to be clearly displayed in cafés and restaurants, or mentioned to customers by staff. Both old and new labels will appear on packaging for a while as older stocks are sold. If you are allergic to a food or ingredient not on the major allergens list, it may not be clearly flagged - particularly when you eat out or buy non-packaged foods - so it pays to remain cautious.
The 14 major allergens are:
Food allergies affect 1-2% of adults and 5-8% of children in the UK At least 1 in 100 people has coeliac disease
For more information about the new regulations visit the Food Standards Agency website at www.food.gov.uk
11
South Cambridgeshire - OPEN FOR BUSINESS
New Shared Parental Leave Regulations New shared parental leave regulations are coming into force on 1 December 2014, enabling women to split all but the first two weeks of their maternity leave with their partner. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has published a new guide outlining the full rules and regulations for employers. For more informayion visit - Employers’ guide to shared parental leave and pay
Events
Businesses in South Cambs can take advantage of a myriad of events, providing networking opportunities and the chance to learn more about topics that can help your business. Most are organised through our network of local business support organisations. To find out more about what’s on offer, click on the links below:
Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commence
www.cambridgeshirechamber.co.uk/index.php?pageid=114
Enterprising Women
www.enterprising-women.org/events
Greater Cambridgeshire and Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership www.gcgp.co.uk/
Federation of Small Business www.fsb.org.uk/default.aspx?loc=111
12
Editorial information This newsletter is produced for local businesses by South Cambridgeshire District Council. Editorial enquiries should be emailed to openforbusiness@scambs.gov.uk The opinions and views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of South Cambridgeshire District Council. All data is accepted in good faith at the time of going to press.