Innovate UK Family

Innovate UK is the UK’s Innovation Agency tasked with growing the UK economy through supporting innovation.  The Innovate UK Family includes the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) and the Catapult centres.

The Innovate UK family helps companies to grow through developing innovation capacity, linking to expertise and access to funding. Together the family has and can provide expertise in: sectors, cross-cutting capabilities; commercialisation; internationalisation; access to funding and finance; and collaboration with the research and science base.

There are over 50 people from these organisations within the North West providing access to our support and providing local, national and international connectivity.

Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)
The Enterprise Europe Network helps businesses innovate and grow on an international scale. It is the world’s largest support network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions.

https://een.ec.europa.eu

Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN)
The Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) is a UK wide innovation network.  It helps businesses get the best out of creativity, ideas and the latest discoveries, supporting Innovate UK in growing the UK economy and improving people’s lives.  KTN links new ideas and opportunities with expertise, markets and finance through it’s network of sector experts, businesses, researchers, funders, and investors.

https://www.ktn-uk.co.uk

Innovate UK
Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) – the national body ensuring research and innovation flourishes in the UK.  UKRI supports and connects researchers and innovators with customers, users and the public to deliver economic impact and social prosperity.

For more information visit UK Research and Innovation’s website. https://www.ukri.org

Innovate UK finds and drives the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy and supports growth by working with companies to de-risk, enable and support innovation

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/innovate-uk

Catapult centres
The Catapult centres are a network of world-leading centres designed to transform the UK’s capability for innovation in specific areas and help drive future economic growth.

They are a series of physical centres where the very best of the UK’s businesses, scientists and engineers work side by side on late-stage research and development – transforming high potential ideas into new products and services to generate economic growth.

https://catapult.org.uk

What one top tip would you give to a business owner embarking on a growth plan?
You don’t have to do it on your own. Make use of all the government provided support available from the Innovate UK Family.

Why is Lancashire a great place to grow a business?
The UK strength in research and innovation is not limited by geography. Innovate UK and its family want to support growth and develop excellence in innovation throughout the UK. Lancashire is already an active contributor to the UK’s innovation landscape, particularly in manufacturing and a with significant presence in aerospace sector for example. Alongside growing digital capability it has the foundations and potential needed to be greater still.

Why are you backing Boost?
The Innovate UK Family has a UK-wide role and we are working with the Lancashire LEP and Business Growth Hub to ensure Lancashire businesses are able to access the best support for innovation on the local, national and international stage.