Member Article

Celebrating R&D in the North East

A new awards ceremony has been set up to honour pioneers of the North East’s industry. More than 100 firms are competing for awards in four different categories, celebrating the region’s technological innovators at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Grant for Research and Development Awards on March 15 at the NewcastleGateshead Hilton.

The awards hope to highlight the importance of R&D to the regional economy and to emerging knowledge-based industries. Regional Development Agency One NorthEast administers the DTI Grant for R&D across the North East and is hosting the awards night. Invites and nomination forms have gone out to firms who have received grant support over the past two years urging them to apply for an award, as well as recipients of DTI Smart, Spur or Grant for R and D over the past decade who can qualify for the headline Commercial Achievement Award.

Will Adams, Head of One NorthEast’s Research and Development Grant Team, said: “These awards celebrate the inventiveness that is widespread in North East industry, honouring the innovators and risk takers who play such a huge part in driving forward our economy. “R&D can be the catalyst of future growth and progress and is the bedrock of all the world’s major economies. “Since One NorthEast took over responsibility for the DTI Grant for R and D, we have supported around 60 projects with a total of more than £5m.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .