CASE STUDIES
Good Boost
Good Boost is a MedTech social enterprise supporting people living with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. To date, Good Boost had created specialist AI-powered exercise software with support from a grant from Innovate UK. This software was helping to support people living with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions to exercise effectively in their own home.
Based on this success, Good Boost sought to design and deliver a computer-vision video system that would remotely assess people with back pain in their home and without a clinician present. This innovation had won support from the many charities and agencies that support people with this leading form of disability. Good Boost had identified Innovate UK’s Sustainable Innovation Fund as a potential source of funding but needed external help to prepare a robust funding application within a short timeframe.
Wessex Partnerships had already been working with Good Boost, providing advice and guidance on how to improve future funding applications. Here, WP helped Good Boost prepare a clear and detailed set of answers to Innovate UK application questions and advised on how best to provide detailed supporting project plans.
The result was a strong application, well-received by the appraisers. The bid was successful in winning over £275,000 Innovate UK grant funding for Good Boost and its two project partners.
‘We were totally happy with the service, great communication, quick responses and Robert worked diligently to pull everything together.’ Ben Wilkins, CEO, Good Boost.
Polar Technology Management Group
Polar Technology Management Group is the holding company for three advanced engineering businesses operating at the leading edge of technology. The senior team deliver products and technology-based around advanced composite materials, emerging metal processes and metallic fabrications through Lentus Composites and SST Technology.
In 2013, the directors identified an opportunity to bid for circa £64m of work which would have otherwise been lost to overseas competition in the field of composite components. Key to unlocking this opportunity was the development of stronger joints between composites and metal parts to form efficient engineering structures. The team devised the MaJIC project (Machining, Joining & Integration of Composites) to deliver this technology by developing cryogenic machining methods for composites with Graphene additives in the matrix. Several grant funding options were explored to help realise this project, but none were successful, so the team turned to Wessex Partnerships for support.
Wessex Partnerships worked very closely with the senior management team to prepare a strong business case and application for support under the Exceptional Regional Growth Fund. The outcome was a £2m funding award that has enabled Polar to develop the technology to significantly improve composite to metal joints and leapfrog current practice. The companies within the Polar Group have grown significantly in both staff size and turnover, now working towards circa £30m turnover by 2024 employing 300 in high value-added engineering and manufacturing jobs.
University of Portsmouth
The Future Technology Centre (FTC) at the University of Portsmouth represents a significant opportunity to address the Solent Region’s higher level and STEM skills challenge, enhance the capacity for supporting design-lead innovation amongst local companies and attract a global technology company to Portsmouth. This major investment by the University has created a central hub for 3D imaging, simulation, design and modelling used in digital engineering and applied sciences such as biomechanics and healthcare.
Wessex Partnerships assisted the University in preparing the full business case and funding application through the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) Local Growth Deal. This involved consultation with academics, industry and other project stakeholders, economic research and completion of a detailed funding proposal. The grant application was successful in securing £2m from the Solent LEP, which helped fund the facility to the highest standard.
The BEng (Hons) Innovation Engineering and MEng Innovation Engineering courses based at the FTC teach a range of engineering fundamentals combined with a variety of projects that answer real world problems in health, humanitarianism and the environment.
The FTC provides design innovation facilities to both students and businesses base. Additional activities include offering apprenticeships and delivering short courses for companies. Securing the Solent LEP funding also helped attract a world leading technology provider to attract engineering and manufacturing companies, increasing investment and employment.
Shaftesbury School
Wessex Partnerships helped Shaftesbury School to secure almost £3 million towards significant improvements to their boarding facilities at Barton Hill House.
This impressive sum came from the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ Targeted Capital Fund to enable Shaftesbury School to expand their boarding services. WP worked closely with the school to create a business plan to realise their vision of regenerating the boarding house, improve standards and broaden services.
The business plan was very thorough, including undertaking feasibility studies for funding sources and setting objectives to raise standards, maximise performance and improve community engagement. The school’s headteacher, David Booth, was very appreciative.
He wrote: “May I, on behalf of everyone at Shaftesbury School, thank you for the huge effort you invested in the Plan. The success will transform the lives of many young people for years to come, and they and we are indebted to you.”
Sparsholt College, Hampshire
Wessex Partnerships helped Sparsholt College to secure an approx £2.5m training contract for the London Region.
The 16-month project, supported through the European Social Fund and Train to Gain, will provide training in the construction, hospitality, logistics and transport sectors for up to 1655 employees needing to boost their skills and achieve qualifications to respond to London’s growing economy.
WP’s track record of success in bid writing was well-known to College staff, following previous work with IBP Training and Employment, where WP was key to bringing in over £1m of ESF funds for a range of skills development projects in Hampshire.
In order to meet the tight deadline, Sparsholt College turned to WP for bid writing assistance to help support the application process and to craft a high quality proposal.
WP worked closely with Sparsholt College to ensure that the application form was fully compliant and that the service offered meets all the criteria and objectives required by the specification.
The resulting compelling bid document scored a top 10 place among 170+ submissions to secure the largest contract offered by the London Learning and Skills Council in this funding round.
‘WP offered us a professional and reliable service. They were on hand at all times to offer the advice and support we required to write our bid. Their input, particularly, the market intelligence proved to be invaluable to our success and we would not hesitate to use their services again.’
Claire Hare, Business Development Manager , Sparsholt College
Portsmouth City Council
In late 2007 WP was tasked with creating a business plan for Portsmouth City Council’s Children’s Centres programme. The aim was to implement secondary stages of the Children’s Centre across Portsmouth.
WP’s plan provided both the strategic direction and practical guidance for the Council to:
- Integrate Government priorities into the aims of the Children’s Centre
- Provide better integrated support
- Improve the wellbeing and quality of life for families.
One of our main areas of work was to implement and develop a city-wide network, specifically to improve working across teams and agencies. During our research and evaluation, we consulted with many organisations which deliver family services within Portsmouth to identify the education and learning needs in the community.
We placed particular emphasis on targeting hard-to-reach groups and improving social inclusion, especially within the most disadvantaged areas of the city. This enabled as many people as possible to contribute, making our results more valid.
By August 2008, 13 Children’s Centres had been set up in Portsmouth. With the help of WP, the services they provide are now more integrated and hundreds of families across Portsmouth are able to benefit.
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
WPL worked with the Council on a new Community Grants Framework to interlink their corporate strategies and priorities to the Community Grant award process. WPL helped ensure there was measurable value in investing in local projects which contributed to the Council’s imperative of benefiting disadvantaged groups in the community.
WPL provided the procedures and documents to implement the strategy and deliver a revised grant programme. We created a portfolio of guidance documents for applicants and council staff, including revised application forms, claim forms, monitoring templates, standard correspondence templates and information to post on the website.
WPL provided tailored training sessions to Council staff involved with appraising and managing the programme, including intensive coaching in project appraisal. We presented to potential applicants at the Council to get their feedback to draft Application Forms and Eligibility Guidance – we listened to their comments and implemented them into the process before finalisation. We also provided training to Council Members so they were clear on what they were expected to focus on when deciding which projects to approve and why.
The first round was successful, with a number of good projects being supported to the Council’s budgetary limit
Southampton City Council
WPL was asked to prepare a Marketing Plan for the Southampton Tourist Information Centre to help it grow as a successful and profitable enterprise. The aim was to make a contribution of around 50% of its operating costs within two years.
The Marketing Plan set out a clear vision for the TIC and what it could achieve in meeting new sales targets, maximising all the opportunities available to it. A key consideration was what the centre was capable of achieving as a business, striking a careful balance between information provision and the generation of revenue to meet costs.
WPL undertook an analysis of the market to assess the potential and scope of the identified opportunities for the TIC and gauge how well they compared with other TICs of a similar type elsewhere. This involved a review of services currently available at the Southampton TIC as well as scope for development.
For each area of the Centre’s activity, WPL considered whether there were market segments that were currently underserved, whether they were big enough to generate revenue and whether they were services sought by the TIC’s target market.
WPL also reviewed how to best feature the Southampton TIC as part of a wider visitor ‘offer’ in Southampton and the surrounding area. Emphasis was put on planning to achieve synergy with other visitor destinations, especially those operated by Southampton City Council such as the Maritime Museum and the City Museum.
The output of the project was an up-to-date, focused Marketing Plan setting out how the TIC could grow its revenue streams and exploit its status as the premier place to find information about the Southampton city area and Southern England in general.
Two Saints
With the help of Wessex Partnerships, Two Saints Housing Association was able to secure two substantial grant investments, totalling over £500,000.
Two Saints is a registered housing association working across Hampshire and West Berkshire to support people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless. It provides accommodation and support for as long as it takes to restore a person’s self-confidence, help them to live independently and to reintegrate with society.
Chief Executive, Simon Mantle explains, ‘The solution to homelessness is not simply about making accommodation available. The fact remains that a lot of homeless people don’t have the life-skills they need to maintain that accommodation and get access to employment. They’ve missed opportunities along the way and without redressing the balance, most will find it extremely difficult to change the way that they live.’
Originally, WPL worked with Two Saints to develop an organisation-wide Learning Strategy for staff and clients across its four main sites in Hampshire and West Berkshire. WPL then worked with Two Saints for start-up funding to provide new learning facilities for their homeless clients. £300,000 was obtained from the European Social Fund with the help of WPL.
In order to secure the longer-term sustainability of the project, Two Saints needed additional funds. After a well-received outline proposal to the Big Lottery Fund (BLF), WPL and Two Saints worked on a joint full application. This had the desired result; £245,000 was allocated by the BLF to Two Saints over three years.
Operations Director, Joanna Bound says, ‘We value WPL’s expertise and guidance in developing the strategy and securing this funding. Without it, we couldn’t have developed the project.’
Development of ‘the Exchange’ at Sturminster Newton
In December 2007, a new £2.6 million community centre was opened in Sturminster Newton, Dorset; £900,000 of those funds were secured by Wessex Partnerships.
After declining fortunes for the town, Sturminster Newton needed a new focus for the community. Wessex Partnerships was brought in to work with the local community partnership, SturQuest, with managing this project and winning extra funds.
WPL reviewed the original business plan to enable a financially sustainable and affordable building to be constructed. WPL managed the extremely complex development stage of the project to get to the build phase, co-ordinated the input of external professionals, prepared the funding applications and helped to ensure that opinions of all involved were heard.
In addition, WPL provided SturQuest with extensive help in local community engagement for this project as well as legal assistance in establishing the project operator. Thanks to careful financial and project management, the construction was completed within budget and on time.
Our customers were positive, as ever:
“Many thanks for the enormous contribution to which you made to this project… one of the clear lessons from this project is to get professional advice in at an early stage, and your involvement has been a good example of that”.
Hugh de Iongh, Community Development Worker
Tourism South East
Tourism South East (TSE) was seeking funding to help tourism, leisure and hospitality businesses meet their needs. TSE worked together with Wessex Partnerships to obtain funds for their two latest projects.
They knew they could rely on our services, since WPL had won £600,000 for other skills training projects run by TSE.
The tourism, leisure and hospitality sector is expected to grow more than most other sectors over the next 10 years, with an estimated 10% increase in employment.
However, growth in the sector is being hampered by the difficulty employers have in recruiting people with the right skills and knowledge.
WP helped TSE to win more than £400 000 from the European Social Fund (ESF). This has helped small businesses in tourism, leisure, and hospitality extend their performance by improving appropriate skills.
Once again, they were very happy with our work. Sue Gill, TSE’s Head of Skills and Learning had this to say:
“WP has specialist knowledge and expertise in this kind of work. Each bid is different and there is no prescriptive formula so this makes it difficult to come up with new ideas every time. We simply do not have the time to comply with the many regulations that are attached to working up tenders, and writing a bid that is convincing enough to win us the funding.
“WP has a wide variety of experience and extensive links to the types of funds we are looking for, which means they really know what they are talking about. It is great that we can have a joint approach where we work together as a team to achieve good results.”
Our customers were positive, as ever:
“Many thanks for the enormous contribution to which you made to this project… one of the clear lessons from this project is to get professional advice in at an early stage, and your involvement has been a good example of that”.
Hugh de Iongh, Community Development Worker
Solent Synergy
WP staff worked with Solent Synergy and project partners to prepare a major bid opportunity to SEEDA to help innovative and growing businesses.
Solent Synergy is a not-for-profit company, formed to boost the growth and success of innovative businesses in the Solent region. The company’s network includes entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, professional service providers and local universities.
A supporting role
When Solent Synergy heard that SEEDA (the South East England Development Agency) was accepting bids for a new model for sub-regional service delivery, it recognised this as an opportunity in line with its aims.
SEEDA wanted to set up a local delivery team, managed by a partnership of key stakeholders, including private and public sector support organisations. This partnership would oversee a team of high calibre experts who would deliver selective services to innovative businesses that showed huge potential.
The Board of Solent Synergy, backed by the region’s three main universities, saw this as an ideal opportunity to work more closely with various innovation support organisations. These include PUSH (Partnership for Urban South Hampshire); the Isle of Wight; and bodies such as the Enterprise Hubs and the Innovation Advisory Service.
However, a compelling tender was required to win the SEEDA proposal. Solent Synergy therefore contacted Wessex Partnerships (WP), a company recommended by several Board members. Mark Baker, Regional Development Manager, University of Portsmouth, says: “We were attracted to working with Wessex Partnerships based on their reputation and track record.” WP offers a range of specialist services, including project management and bid preparation.
A powerful proposal
WP provided a Bid Development Service in support of the Solent Synergy partnership. This developed ideas that could enhance SEEDA’s model. It also provided a Bid Writing Service to help with drafting the bid documents and the business plan. As WP is very experienced in helping organisations to bid for SEEDA projects, it understood the requirements for the funding application and the business plan.
The bid was for a three year contract, focusing on a small number of high growth companies. Robert Bentley, Managing Director of WP, says:
“This was a powerful partnership bid that involved strong business leadership from local companies. Our proposal was based on compelling business principles and had an emphasis on engaging businesses and driving innovation, as well as developing new networks within Europe and the USA.
“One key aim was to identify and overcome barriers to local innovation and business growth. The new network will focus on ambitious and innovative businesses, providing the skills and knowledge they need to develop their products and services. Our tender involved building upon the existing infrastructure, network connections and goodwill. The proposed service will be easier to access and more business-focused and will provide the expertise needed to accelerate the success of the businesses.”
A successful bid
The bid (including funding of over £3 million) proved successful. The new Solent IGT has now been formed, with the aim of driving enterprise and innovation in South Hampshire and the Isle of Wight over the next three years.
Robert concludes: “It was a privilege to work with such high calibre organisations. We project managed the process and worked hard to develop a solution that matched their expertise. We were delighted with the outcome and the successful funding of the new IGT. This project tested our capabilities but we proved that we were more than equal to the task!”
Mark Baker agrees: “The WP team worked in a very professional manner and allowed us to focus on the areas of work that we were best at. Moreover, they took responsibility for leading on key sections and helped project manage the whole bid writing process. They were excellent on this complex project, exceeding our expectations.”
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