Brighton Research Innovation and Technology Exchange
In January 2020, Plus X Innovation and the University of Brighton joined forces to create the Brighton Research Innovation and Technology Exchange (BRITE). Responding directly to gaps identified in the region, BRITE was designed to provide robust innovation and scale-up support for SMEs, and to be an engine for job creation and economic opportunity.
The Challenge
With total project costs amounting to £10.5million, with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) contributing £5million, BRITE placed in the top 10% in England for ERDF funds received in the 2014-20 funding round.
Underpinned by a strong mission to help small businesses succeed and scale, the highly experienced and dedicated BRITE team developed a range of programmes to foster business growth and maturity through employment and product creation, process innovation, and the transmission of deep expertise.
Remaining agile and iterating programme design throughout its 3.5 years, the BRITE team have supported over 165 SMEs, provided upwards of 5,000 hours of support through its six programme streams, and contributed to the creation of 164 new jobs, stimulating an additional £16.7million (GVA) in the economy.
BRITE SMEs have created new services and products, refined and upgraded existing ones, and incorporated academic rigour into product and service development, drawing on expertise from across 8 University of Brighton schools. BRITE has also proudly supported SMEs flying the flag for sustainability, inclusion, and community interest, with over 60% of BRITE businesses placing people and planet at the centre of their operations. Collaboration has been at the heart of this endeavour. The unique partnership between Plus X Innovation and the University of Brighton has brought deep academic expertise and modern business together to create a vibrant community of empowered entrepreneurs and creators that will long outlive the BRITE project, placing Brighton firmly on the map as a hub for business growth and innovation.
The Solution
BRITE developed its programmes by combining the University of Brighton’s world class business innovation growth programmes with Plus X Innovation’s commercial know-how and experience of supporting scale-ups.
Together, programmes were collaboratively designed to nurture peer-to-peer networks and knowledge exchange, and create links with research institutions, other SMEs, corporates, and investors.
- INSPIRE is an open innovation programme developed by the University of Brighton, based on international innovation research and co-developed with SMEs.
- Profitnet® provided BRITE SMEs with structured innovation coaching, access to collaboration and strategic partnerships, and wide-ranging support on accessing finance.
- The Access to Expertise programme provides businesses with the opportunity to collaborate with academics from the University of Brighton, accessing up to £7.5k worth of specialist research expertise to develop solutions for new or existing products or services tailored to the specific needs of their business, supporting them in their growth journeys.
- Product Foundry was an intensive programme for SMEs designing, manufacturing, or distributing physical products – from food to fashion, energy to electronics, and homewares to healthcare. Co-designed and delivered by Plus X Innovation and the University of Brighton, Product Foundry empowered companies wanting to learn how to make sustainable physical products and build a design-led business that could thrive in a new circular economy.
- Pioneers: Designed by Plus X Innovation in response to SME demand, Pioneers was a programme for innovative entrepreneurs and companies committed to scaling in a way that benefitted both People and Planet.
All programmes created ongoing peer support networks, which programme participants have cited as one of the stand-out takeaways from participating.
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The Outcome
BRITE is a success story in innovation, collaboration, partnership, and unparalleled business support. The project not only exceeded a number of performance metrics stipulated by its funder, but it has created a living, thriving innovation ecosystem in a disadvantaged part of the UK that will continue long into the future.
Satisfaction amongst BRITE’s SME beneficiaries has been consistently high, producing outstanding results, as well as wider, qualitative impacts that have been felt in Greater Brighton and beyond.
Of all the partnerships and collaborations facilitated by the project, the unique partnership between Plus X Innovation and the University of Brighton has proven to be the most remarkable. The combination of robust academic expertise, real world entrepreneurial experience, agile business processes, established business innovation programmes, a cutting edge innovation space and a resident business community has been the foundation upon which all other activity has been built.
Project partners will continue to work together, building on and adapting their programmes of support for business as well as opening doors to other new and exciting possibilities.
We want to thank all those involved in the BRITE project, from the SME end beneficiaries, to the experts and innovators who participated in or supported our programmes. A final thanks goes to the European Regional Development Fund for its generous funding and to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) for its administration, without which the BRITE project – and all its attendant and enduring benefits – wouldn’t have been possible.
Impact highlights:
- 165 SMEs supported
- Assisted the creation of 164 new jobs
- Over 5,000 hours of support given
- 35 ecosystem partners
- Over 107 collaborations
- 93% of new jobs created were local to Greater Brighton and the region
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