JOHN Leake, business development manager at Sci-Tech Daresbury, is working with Enterprise Network Europe to help open up a world of opportunities for companies on the science and innovation campus.

He told Warrington Guardian business why it is so important in this column.

“Sci-Tech Daresbury is not only the North West’s primary location for scientific development and innovation; it is also a globally recognised centre of excellence and home to over 100 high-tech, high-growth businesses.

“But maximising that global potential is not always easy. Often companies need to access funding opportunities, partners for collaborative projects or complementary areas of expertise.

“However due to the very specific technologies our companies are developing, they need to be accessing partners much further afield, even beyond the UK. We have been working with Enterprise Europe Network Northwest (EENW) for the past 18 months to help companies develop international partnerships and signpost them to funding opportunities that could enable them to develop products or expand into new markets.

“An EU organisation that aims to boost growth and generate jobs by maximising the opportunities for trade and collaboration across the European Community, EEN works with more than 600 organisations across Europe to identify opportunities for business.

“We are working closely with the SMEs at Sci-Tech Daresbury to introduce them to EENW and help them unlock those possibilities for growth. To date nearly half of the companies at Sci-Tech Daresbury have met with EENW to better understand what support they can access through EENW and identify new opportunities it can open up.

“For example, one of the companies based at Sci-Tech Daresbury is in the process of formalising a partnership with a Japanese business as a direct result of posting its requirement for specialist expertise through the EEN system.

“EENW’s involvement is helping companies access funding, such as the €80 billion Horizon 2020 EU funding initiative that can provide finance for research and development projects. EENW can help by identifying relevant programmes, providing introductions to partners for joint applications and offering support with the application process. Already some 16 companies at Sci-Tech Daresbury are working with EENW to take advantage of this support, identifying both relevant funding programmes and international partners through the wider EEN network.