Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) has been successful in securing over £399,030 of grant funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in order to support Small and Medium Enterprises (including self-employed individuals) with data-driven innovation.

The project will be delivered by the team at the Lincolnshire Open Research and Innovation Centre (LORIC).

LORIC was first opened in 2018 with support from the ERDF and, following the success of the first project, has, to date, supported over 50 companies from various sectors. The funding awarded for the second phase of the LORIC project will enable the team to collaborate with even more beneficiaries than before, as well as expanding on the existing roster of services.

Eligible SMEs will be given a minimum of 12 hours of support in the form of consultancy, a dedicated knowledge exchange project, or a digitization endeavour. Alongside that support, the team will also work to facilitate and nurture collaborations between researchers and companies in Greater Lincolnshire.

Following the funding acquisition, Professor Scott Fleming, Deputy Vice-Chancellor at BGU, praised the LORIC project for its continued positive impact:

“We are delighted that LORIC has been awarded a second phase of European funding. It’s recognition of the impact that the LORIC team has had on the business communities of the city and Greater Lincolnshire. We’re thrilled to be able to take forward the outstanding work that began in 2018 and we’re looking forward to continuing our successful collaborations and establishing exciting new partnerships.”

The programme will run from February 2021 to June 2023.

For more information on the project, eligibility criteria, and the researcher/business collaboration offer, please visit loric.bishopg.ac.uk.

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Are you looking for support for your enterprise?

An Introductory Q&A session will be held on Wednesday 12th May for anyone who would like to find out more about this free support, and about the wider LORIC project in general. You can register for a place by clicking here..

Any SMEs interested in registering their interest in receiving funded support can do so here.