A £3m South Yorkshire Innovation Programme has been launched to help regional organisations to innovate, accelerate, and grow.
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard spoke at the launch event held by the South Yorkshire Innovation Network at Sheffield’s Bramall Lane on Monday night (25 November). He welcomed the official roll out of SYIP, which will offer high quality, tailored support to businesses, charities and social enterprises.
It is funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, led by Sheffield Hallam University, with the University of Sheffield and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, and will provide access to consultancy, including academic-led innovation audits and discovery days; professional interventions; student projects and placements; and specialist equipment and facilities provided by the universities and Barnsley Council.
Support will be available to South Yorkshire-based organisations of all sizes and across all sectors. Participating organisations will contribute a percentage of full project costs, based on their size, and also be eligible for funding support.
The programme is co-designed and developed with each of the four South Yorkshire local authorities. It is one of several partnerships between Sheffield’s universities, local authorities and SYMCA aimed at driving economic growth and inward investment into South Yorkshire.
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “Our ideas powered the industrial revolution. We invented the world’s most popular sport. We’ve created products that are used worldwide, from New York fire hydrants that are made in Rotherham to the McLaren supercar in Sheffield.
“Mclaren, Boeing and Rolls Royce already work alongside brilliant local businesses, in and around our world-class advanced manufacturing district. My mission is to build a bigger and better economy but to do that we need to create new industries and jobs for the future. Innovation is how we will achieve this vision and we can’t do that by just focusing on one sector or capability. We’ll only do it by working in partnership and that’s why I’m pleased to be investing in the Innovation Programme.
“There is talent and opportunity right across our region and by investing in our people and places we can unlock South Yorkshire’s full potential.”
Professor Conor Moss, Executive Dean of the College of Business, Technology and Engineering and of Sheffield Business School, at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “There are more opportunities for businesses and organisations to thrive in South Yorkshire now than there ever have been before. The key is innovation, and we are delighted to be leading this programme to help people in our region to scale-up and reach their goals.
“At Sheffield Hallam, we believe in collaboration and in championing our region. SYIP will help us to take cutting-edge research and knowledge from our academics and turn it into tangible advice and outcomes for businesses.”
