DCLG looks to Huddersfield for ERDF funding successes
Professor Liz Towns-Andrews,the University's Director of Research and Enterprise and the originator of the 3M BIC (centre) is pictured next to DCLG's Director of Local Economies, Regeneration and European Programmes, Philip Cox and his successor Julia Sweeney.
Mon, 24 Feb 2014 14:40:00 GMT
Department for Communities and Local Government delegation visit the University’s 3M Buckley Innovation Centre
WHEN the UK Government department responsible for distributing millions of pounds of EU development funding wanted to find out how well the money was being spent in the Yorkshire and Humber region, it chose the University of Huddersfield as an ideal case study.
A seven-strong party from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) paid a visit to the University. By focussing on the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3M BIC) and on the Graduate Entrepreneurship Project that are based at the University, the DCLG delegation was able to gain insights into both capital and revenue expenditure.
Both the 3M BIC and the Graduate Entrepreneurship Project have received substantial funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which in the UK is administered by DCLG.
After the Huddersfield visit, the Department’s Director of Local Economies, Regeneration and European Programmes, Philip Cox, said that he was impressed by what he had seen, and that it had shown how ERDF funding made a real difference.
Mr Cox is shortly moving on from his post and one purpose of the Huddersfield visit was to show his successor, Julia Sweeney, examples of ERDF funding in action in the region.
During their fact-finding visit, the DCLG party met various key members of University staff, including Professor Liz Towns-Andrews, who is Director of Research and Enterprise and the originator of the 3M BIC, which was awarded £6.4m of ERDF funding and £1.3m from Kirklees Metropolitan Council.
The delegates also met Dr Kelly Smith, who is Head of Enterprise and responsible for the strategic direction of the Graduate Entrepreneurship Project, which received £2.7 million from ERDF and Denise Ogden, the University’s Head of Post-Award (Strategic Projects) who organised the visit.
While touring the 3M BIC, the visitors talked to some of the Huddersfield start-up businesses located in the £12 million building. They included the design business THAT Creative, which was also helped by the University’s Enterprise Team and the Graduate Entrepreneurship Project. Other tenant companies visited were Open2Design, Hypersloth Games and Here2Grow, all of whom are receiving ERDF-funded support through the 3M BIC.
- The 3M Buckley Innovation Centre is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, the University of Huddersfield and Kirklees Metropolitan Council.
