Are you an innovative start-up looking for business support? Or perhaps you’re a small to medium business that would benefit from some business innovation advice? No matter your size or level of requirement, you needn’t look any further as Acceleration through Innovation (ATI) are moving their Pop-up Innovation Centre to Newquay this November.
ATI’s Pop-up Innovation centre offers a wide range of free business support and will be based at MOR Workspace, Newquay, from the 20th November. Fully kitted out with hot desks, meeting rooms, free Wi-Fi and printing facilities, local Cornish businesses are encouraged to make the most of this mobile service.
ATI Business Innovation Advisor, Duncan McAusland, who will be permanently based at the Pop-up Innovation Centre, says: “we’re really looking forward to moving to such a great space at MOR Workspace. We get a variety of business people popping in to see us. All of them use the office facilities in different ways. Some want one-to-one consultancy, others just want a hot desk. The space is flexible and so are we. A lot of what we do is tailored to the individual needs of the businesses we work with”.
One such company working with ATI is the Cornish Partnerships. Owner and Founder of the popular business network, David Brock, regularly uses the Pop-up Innovation Centre for hot-desking and hosting client meetings. He explains the impact the free service has had on his business: “The ATI Pop-up Innovation Centre has been a wonderful help for both myself and the businesses I deal with on a day to day basis. When I first met the team, Duncan took time to walk me through the entire set up of what the ATI could offer my business. I was also later introduced to John who helped explain all about the process of grants to ensure I understood the process… For local SMEs, Micro Businesses and Sole Traders, the ATI Pop-up Centre is a very useful tool.”
The Pop-up Innovation Centres form part of a larger ATI programme which aims to support innovative businesses and help drive profitable growth throughout Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Led by the University of Plymouth, ATI also provide eligible businesses with access to grant funding for innovative projects, thanks to the support from European Regional Development Fund.
Since September 2017, ATI have engaged with over 230 businesses across the county. The new Pop-up Innovation Centre in Newquay is the fifth in a series of other successful Pop-up Innovation Centres and will be open for a four month duration. ATI Senior Project Manager, Jo Hancock, explains: “Many businesses aren’t aware of the support, and funding, available through the ATI programme – the Pop-up Innovation Centres are a great way for us to connect and share our innovation expertise with them”.
As the only organisation in Cornwall accredited by the globally renowned Institute of Knowledge and Exchange (IKE), businesses engaging with ATI have access to their trained Innovation Experts. In addition, ATI clients are also benefiting from the University of Plymouth’s world leading research, gaining valuable access to university resources, consultancy and guidance in areas such as IP, procurement and funding.
Although the Pop-up Innovation Centre will be based in Newquay for a limited time of four months, the business support and services offered by ATI are available through to March 2020. To sign up for the Newquay Pop-up Innovation Centre launch event, click here. To find out more about ATI and to register your interest in the programme, click on the button at the top of this page.