Tagged / design

The curious start of an academic collaboration

The curious start of an academic collaboration

Two days ago a group of academic from Bournemouth University (BU) submitted a bid for a research grant to the NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) to help prevent the drowning of toddlers in Bangladesh.  The proposed research is a collaboration with the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution), and an other UK university, the University of the West of England (UWE) and a research organisation called CIPRB (Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh).   Nothing particularly out of the ordinary there.  BU academics submit collaborative bid for research grants all the time, with colleagues at other universities, with large charities (like the RNLI), and with research institutes across the globe.  What I find intriguing is the round-about way this particular collaboration came about within BU.

The NIHR called for research proposals in reply to its Global Health Transformation (RIGHT) programme.  The RNLI approached CIPRB, an expert in accident prevention from UWE and BU experts in health economics and human-centred design to discuss putting in an intention to bid.  The RNLI has a history of working with both CIPRB in Bangladesh on drowning prevention and with BU in various design project (including improved ball bearings for launching lifeboats).  The team decided that it needed a sociologist to help study the social and cultural barriers to the introduction of interventions to prevent drowning in very young toddlers (12-14 months).  My name was mentioned by our UWE colleague whom I know from her work in Nepal.  For example, she and I had spoken at the same trauma conference in Nepal and the lead researcher on her most recent project is one of my former students.

Thus, I was introduced to my BU colleagues in different departments (and faculties) by an outsider from a university miles away.  I think it is also interesting that after twelve years at BU I am introduced to fellow researchers at the RNLI, especially since I only need to step out of my house and walk less than five minutes to see the RNLI headquarters in Poole.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health)

 

Funding opportunities: Design foundations

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Are you working with a business ? have business connections that would be interested in this funding? This call is now live.

UK businesses can apply for a share of up to £1 million for early-stage design projects working on identifying opportunities and generating ideas.

Innovate UK is to invest up to £1 million in early-stage design projects to help businesses identify high-value innovation opportunities and generate ideas. These should be for new products, services or business models that align with customer demand.

Proposals should use design-led methods from first principles to understand customer motivations and behaviour, inspire new ideas, support decision-making and inform strategy.

Projects are likley to  to range in size from total costs of £20,000 to £100,000. Projects should last between 3 and 9 months.

A single UK business must lead the project:

  • applications must be business led. Only individual UK based businesses are eligible to apply
  • up to a maximum of 70% of the total eligible project costs can be allocated for the sub-contracting of design services to one or more other UK registered businesses

For more information click on the relevant links below:

Background to this call – previous blog post

Competiton brief

Competition guidance

Using design to drive innovation – funding available

 

Technology prize

Businesses can apply for a share of £1 million to support human-centered design activities that inspire new ideas for products and services.

Innovate UK has up to £1 million to support business projects that use early-stage design activities to help them identify innovation opportunities and generate new ideas. The aim is to encourage businesses to use design-led methods to understand customer motivations and behaviour, inspire new ideas, support decision-making and inform strategy. Early-stage design activity can help businesses to tackle the right problems and to generate ideas that are more likely to meet the needs of their customers. According to the Design Council, £1 invested in early-stage design can deliver as much as a £20 increase in revenues for a business. However, many businesses rarely or never use design, or tend to use it as a last finish. The competition will support businesses exploring ideas for physical or digital products, services and business models. They may be in any sector but proposals are particularly encouraged in Innovate UK’s priority areas of health and life sciences; manufacturing and materials; infrastructure systems; and emerging and enabling technologies.

Competition information:

  • the competition is open, and the deadline for registration is at midday on 15 February 2017
  • projects must be led by a single business of any size but it can sub-contract design services worth up to 70% of the total project cost
  •  projects are likely to range in size from £20,000 to £100,000 and to last between 3 and 9 months
  • businesses could attract up to 70% of their project costs

Press release in full.

Policy paper – Innovate UK: design in innovation strategy 2015 to 2019.

Competition information and how to apply.

Regional Digital Business Drop-in – Bournemouth

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The next monthly regional drop in session run by the Knowledge Transfer Network for the creative, digital and design community is to take place in Bournemouth. The event involving the KTN and Innovate UK is aimed at all digital innovation companies across various sectors in the region, looking to access funding and grow. A great networking opportuntity on your doorstep!

Date: Thursday 17 March

Location: Bournemouth

For more information and to register  – check out this link

 

Creative, Digital, Design – October briefing now live !

 

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This is a monthly publication that provides a digest of useful information about funding, financing, support and events to assist creative, digital and design businesses with their innovation and growth strategies.

You can sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox or alternatively follow the Knowledge Transfer Network group on social media.

This is a great way to get a quick heads up on what is happening in these sectors with links to further information.

Click here for more information.

 

 

Creative, Digital & Design Business Briefing – September 2015

theme - creative-digitalThis is a monthly publication that provides a digest of useful information about funding, financing, support and events to assist creative, digital and design businesses with their innovation and growth strategies.

Highlights include:

European Funding Guide – Creative Industries

A short KTN guide to help you submit a proposal for the Horizon 2020 funding programme (H2020) & other European funding sources. It provides a brief overview of support, how to apply and useful links.

More information »

Internet of Things Cites Demonstrator

Up to £10 million funding competition to demonstrate the capability of the Internet of Things in a city region. Projects should involve at least one local authority, one local enterprise partnership and several businesses.

More information »

Digital forensics – up to £300K phase 1

The challenge from the Home Office, is to improve the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of recovering and automatically analysing data from the seized digital devices of suspects under investigation. Maximum value of £40K per project.

More information »

Digital Briefing is out now!

 

 

 

The February/March edition of the Digital Business Briefing is now live. This is a monthly publication that provides a digest of useful information about funding, financing, support and events to assist digital businesses with their innovation and growth strategies. This includes public funding calls, financing mechanisms, support, reports and events from leading organisations including Innovate UK, IC tomorrow, Nesta and Tech City UK. 

This has been combined  into one briefing document published monthly. A quick and easy way to keep up to speed with what is happening in the digital, creative and design sector.

Innovate UK widens the appeal of £5,000 vouchers

Are you working with business?

Innovation Vouchers are open to all kinds of small businesses from 10 November 2014.  Businesses  can claim up to £5,000 towards the cost of expert advice if they classify as a start-up, micro or  SME . The funding encourages SMEs and start-ups to seek out fresh knowledge that can help their business to grow and develop. This could include advice on an innovative idea, learning more about using design within the  business or how to make the most of intellectual property.

The first round of applications for Innovation Vouchers under the new rules opens on 10 November.

Business challenge

Innovation Vouchers had been available only to those working in specific technology areas. Now a business can apply if  they  just meet these simple tests:

• you need specialist help to meet a business challenge

• it’s the first time you have worked with the university (a great first rung on the ladder before a KTP  perhaps?)

For more information, visit Innovation Vouchers .

 

EPSRC call ‘Design for Wellbeing: Ageing and Mobility in the Built Environment’

                             

Summary

EPSRC is leading a call with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and invites proposals from interdisciplinary consortia for evidence led research into ageing and mobility in the built environment. This call is being run under the auspices of the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing (LLHW) cross-council ageing research programme which supports research addressing factors throughout life that influence health and wellbeing in older age.

This call is seeking to create a step change in interdisciplinary engineering, social science and design research for wellbeing in the built environment. There is up to £7M available (EPSRC up to £4M, ESRC up to £2M and AHRC up to £1M) to support a maximum of five large multi-disciplinary projects of up to three years duration.

Prospective applicants will need to complete an Expression of Interest form by 12:00 on Monday 10 September 2012.

The expressions of interest will be assessed by an expert short listing panel in September 2012 and those aligned appropriately with the assessment criteria will be invited to submit full proposals. The deadline for submitting an Expression of Interest is 12:00 on 10 September 2012. Those invited to submit a full proposal will be notified by the end of September 2012. The deadline for the submission of full proposals will be 28 November 2012, and will be peer-reviewed in March 2013 with the expectation that funding decisions will be made by the end of March 2013.

Timetable

There are two stages in the assessment process. This call invites Expressions of Interest (EoIs) which will be assessed by a shortlisting panel in September 2012. Shortlisted applicants will then be invited to submit full proposals.

Activity Date/Time
Call for Expressions of Interest May 2012
Call for Expressions of Interest submission deadline 12:00 noon on 10 September 2012
Applicants informed of outcome and full proposals invited        26 September 2012
Deadline for submission of full proposals 16:00 on 28 November 2012
Prioritisation panel March 2013
 
Documents to download
 
The RKE Operations team can help you with your application.