Black Country FE Innovation Service

Black Country Innovation Services will deliver a pilot project to meet pressing local needs for technical expertise, sustainability and collaborative support, while addressing challenges related to technological awareness and resource limitations. It aims to play a complementary role in the local innovation ecosystem, remaining adaptable to evolving business/sector requirements.

The project will enable our five FE Colleges to address local business needs by establishing local Innovation Centres geographically close to businesses operations and recruiting dedicated staff to identify, engage and work to support businesses to understand how they can adopt innovations in technologies and business processes. This pilot will:

\*Map college assets to address the needs of local SMEs in the Advanced Manufacturing, ICT/Digital and Construction/Housing sectors.

\*Address specific technological needs such as Computer Numerical Control, Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence

\*Raise awareness of emerging practices in the environmental sector

\*Focus on key growth sectors aligned to the business make-up in the Black Country: Advanced Manufacturing/Engineering, ICT/Digital and Retrofit/Green Technologies

Our project addresses business need by directly offering technical excellence, expertise and support to businesses via college facilities, addressing challenges around limited awareness/resource constraints. We will overcome these obstacles by supporting SMEs to learn more about equipment/technologies housed within their local FE College that they can use to improve business processes and therefore innovate. Organisational Needs Analysis (ONA) will support a business to identify risks/opportunities that impact their business plan and strategic goals by identifying specific actions that can be taken and identify ways in which innovative practices and/or technologies can address these business drivers through the development of an Innovation Action Plan. As a result, the innovation ONA will identify existing/future innovation needs and how they link to a business's strategic plan. The ONA will also flag up additional development or systemic change that can be implemented to support the business to grow.

Visits to Innovation Centres will introduce SMEs to the state-of-the-art technology housed in FE Colleges, industry standard facilities that businesses may not be aware exist within an academic environment. Off-site Innovation services may also be provided if this makes business engagement more efficient. Delivery of bespoke innovation-focused workshops/1-1 support solutions will raise awareness of the innovation opportunities available to businesses.

Innovation Centres will be central, accessible locations for local businesses seeking technical expertise and practical support. They will accommodate the schedules of businesses, ensuring timely access to state-of-the-art facilities and expert guidance around technologies.