County construction companies looking for specialist help and support will be able to benefit from one of the biggest names in the industry.
G F Tomlinson has teamed-up with the Sustainable Construction Innovation Network (iNet) to stimulate innovation in the East Midlands’ construction sector. The initiative was developed to encourage and stimulate innovation from suppliers across the whole supply chain.
Introduced by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda), with additional funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) the Sustainable Construction iNet has a number of roles, including helping companies to create and safeguard jobs across the region.
Charles Meynell, Senior Business Adviser at the Sustainable Construction iNet, said: “We recognise the mutual benefits that will result from our networked activities. We look forward to harnessing the specialised expertise from the East Midlands’ universities and supporting those companies in the private sector. Building partnerships is at the root of our commitment to sustainable construction.
“We are collaborating across the industry to stimulate new thinking and investment in research and development, as it is from the smaller companies in established supply-chains that we know the next leap forward will probably come.”
G F Tomlinson, the regional construction company, is an ardent champion of innovation in the construction sector and has over 800 SME-sized suppliers in the East Midlands region alone. Les Needham, Head of Business Development at G F Tomlinson, said: “We welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with the Sustainable Construction iNet as we believe that it is important to develop long-term successful relationships with all those partners working to improve the sustainability of our industry.
“We are happy to share knowledge as we know that this encourages innovation, which brings continuous improvement and leads to best practice – the benefits of which are clearly identifiable.”
The advantage to G F Tomlinson is that the company will be in a prime position to benefit from innovation being stimulated and supported financially from within its own areas of influence. Large companies, by their very nature, find it increasingly difficult, as they grow, to generate in-house ideas in the way that smaller, nimble organisations can – that’s why larger companies often acquire smaller innovators as a way of maintaining a competitive advantage.
Charles Meynell concluded: “We know that by communicating with all companies in G F Tomlinson’s relatively stable supply chain, we can provide advice and financial support to those who understand that innovation is a very necessary activity. In time we know that, hopefully with our help, commercially viable ideas will percolate upwards, get developed further, perhaps with university know-how and validation-added, to finally get incorporated into the mainstream of construction activity. With the sector taking a pounding from the recession, only the very best companies will survive – and they tend to be those open and willing to try something different – in short to innovate.”
Businesses wanting to find out more about the Sustainable Construction iNet and the support available should telephone 01604 892020 or visit www.eminnovation.org.uk.
-ENDS-
Issued on behalf of the Sustainable Construction iNet by Lava. For further information contact Matt or Lindsey at Lava on 01522 842 800 / matt@lavapr.co.uk / lindsey@lavapr.co.uk
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Notes to editors
About East Midlands Innovation
• East Midlands Innovation is the Regional Science and Industry Council which was established in 2005 by emda.
• East Midlands Innovation’s principle responsibility is to take the lead for emda in implementing the Innovation Strategy and Action Plan for the East Midlands with the aim to grow a long term, sustainable, innovation-led economy.
About emda
• East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England set up in 1999 to bring a regional focus to economic development.
• Working in partnership with public, private and voluntary organisations the aim is to deliver the 2006 Regional Economic Strategy (RES) ‘A Flourishing Region’, which sets out regional priorities until 2020.
• The RES, coordinated by emda, highlights the themes of productivity, sustainability and equality and builds on the previous two strategies; ‘Prosperity Through People’ and ‘Destination 2010’.
• In early 2007 the National Audit Office announced emda had received the highest possible grade of ‘performing strongly’ in an independent assessment of our work – scoring 22 out of 24.
• www.emda.org.uk
About ERDF
The ERDF Programme aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the European Union by supporting regional economic development.
The ERDF objectives for England are:
♣ Promoting innovation and knowledge transfer
♣ Stimulating enterprise and supporting successful business
♣ Ensuring sustainable development, production and consumption
♣ Building sustainable communities
♣ Improving accessibility and connectivity (for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly only – as part of their Convergence Programme).
A Programme Monitoring Committee consisting of regional stakeholders such as Government Offices, RDAs, Regional Assemblies, Local Authorities, Sub-regional Partnerships, Higher Education Institutions, Trade Unions, and the private and voluntary sectors will monitor and oversee programme implementation in each region.
For more information on ERDF funding generally, please visit www.erdf.communities.gov.uk or http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funds/feder/index_en.htm
About ERDF in the East Midlands
The East Midlands is eligible for 268.5m Euros between 2007 and 2013, which, when combined with match funding, provides a programme value of approximately £420m – a significant investment in the economic development of the region.
The East Midlands qualifies as a competitiveness and employment region under the EU’s Cohesion Polciy, which aims to meet the EU Lisbon objective to become ‘the most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social inclusion.’
East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is responsible for the programme management and dlivery of the region’s 2007-13 ERDF Competitiveness Programme. The responsibility for the ERDF programme management was transferred from the Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM) to emda following a decision by the UK Government to seek greater alignment between ERDF and regional strategies and funding streams. The 2007-13 ERDF Programme is therefore set firmly within the framework of the Regional Economic Strategy.
A Programme Monitoring Committee, chaired by the Regional Director of Government Office for the East Midlands (GOEM), guides the strategic direction of the programme and works closely with emda.
To find out more about ERDF, the region’s strategy for delivering the funds, how to apply for funding and how the programme is managed, please visit www.eastmidlandserdf.org.uk
