• Home
• Looking for Finance
• How We Can Help
• Who We Are
• Contact Us

Search this site:

Looking for Finance?

• Grant for Research and Development
• Grant for Business Investment
• Small Loans for Business
• Innovation Vouchers
  • Terms and Conditions
  • How to apply
  • Ineligible Activities
  • How They Are Used
  • FAQs
  • Knowledge Providers
  • Voucher Recipients
• Loan Fund
• Business Angel Finance
• Venture Capital
• Grant for Improving Your Resource Efficiency

How They Are Used

Discover how recipients of Innovation Vouchers have used them to develop new products, improve services and enhance capabilities.

Tracey Carledge Ltd
Knowledge Provider: Lucid Group
Innovation Theme: New or Improved Product Development

Manchester based community projects artist Tracey Cartledge discovered mosaic making was so popular that she's created a business from it.

£3000 worth of free advice & practical help from the Northwest Development Agency's new Innovation Voucher scheme has accelerated the success of the new venture. "I knew there was a demand for my mosaic kit idea, the voucher helped get my products to market" says Tracey "entrepreneurs like me need more simple, practical help like this"

Tracey heard about Innovation Vouchers from Nancy Dykins of Business Link Northwest's Digital & Creative Industries team. Nancy helped with business planning & advised her to get expert advice on new product development.

"Applying for the voucher took 20 minutes online, I got a decision in days & chose a great knowledge provider in Lucid Group. Lucid's new product development team designed & helped me deliver a range of 20 packs for my mosaic kits into the shops within 6 weeks. It's proved a brilliantly quick way to innovate new products & cost my business nothing" states Tracey.

Under the scheme, Lucid Group & a panel of innovation specialists ranging from research establishments to Universities offer help to small & medium sized businesses, funded by NWDA & supported by Business Link.

Lucid Group's designer Jan Wong comments "Working with new creative businesses like Tracey's we can make a real difference fast. We used our know how to make sense of some of he conflicting advice she'd previously had on intellectual property, developed a practical approach to statutory compliances for product literature & labelling. Out team was able to quickly deliver appropriate packaging design to get Make Mosaic on sale."
________________________________________
Da-Ta Industries Ltd
Knowledge Provider Pera
Innovation Theme: New Product Design

The Innovation Voucher helped us to research suitable materials and bonding technologies and then investigate the market potential, competition and environmental factors for our new product.
________________________________________
Magma Effect
Knowledge Provider: Manchester Metropolitan University
Innovation Theme: New or Improved Service Development/consultancy

"The Innovation Voucher helped us in more ways than just one. It helped to review data within a unique psychometric diagnostic tool and analyse using SPSS and other appropriate tools to identify significant findings and advise on improvements. The process also succeeded in matching us with the perfect knowledge provider for our question: MMU Crewe had the right people, the right tools and the right approach to help us make the most of this opportunity."
________________________________________

Phonesfromhere.com
Knowledge Provider Inspiral Ltd
Innovation Theme: New or Improved Service Development

The Innovation Voucher helped us to undertake a detailed investigation of the install base of hardware required by users of PhoneFromHere.com's web-based verbal communication service, the analysis of this research enabled us to estimate the global market size for this service.
________________________________________
Kinetic Products Ltd
Knowledge Provider Lucid Group
Innovation Theme: New Product Development

The Innovation Voucher helped us to develop a preliminary design for a domestic smoke detector which was aimed at people with hearing disabilities and the elderly. This work involved the knowledge provider reviewing the relevant legislative standards to inform the design, produce a basic design layout of the options, review of relevant patents and a review of likely tooling/parts required. They produced for us 3D CAD layouts of the basic components, defined patress box sizes and produced a summary report on legislative standards for us to work with.
________________________________________
Farfield Group Ltd
Knowledge Provider UMIC
Innovation Theme New or Improved Product Development

The Innovation Voucher helped us to partner with Manchester University to use a newly developed biosensor chip design to dynamically measure ex-situ and in-situ deposited thin films, and demonstrate the feasibility of measurements based on the principle of an absolute interferometer and assessed the potential for the technique based around the existing DPI instrument. The work produced a report that demonstrated the methodology for a specific real world application, showing that an ex-situ layer of acrylic polymer can be measured dynamically and an ad-layer of fibrinogen can also be measured above the ex-situ coated polymer layer.
________________________________________
AKM Fabrications Ltd
Knowledge Provider: Lucid Group
Innovation Theme Enhanced capability to carry out innovative projects

The Innovation Voucher helped us to test out a prototype for a counter-top sandwich chiller unit that would ensure constant temperature and humidity over a specified period of time. This work included a concise report on the finding of the testing including graphed results of the tests and recommendations for design/specification improvements.
________________________________________
Grand Healthcare
Knowledge Provider: Pera
Innovation Theme: New Product Design/Development

The Innovation Voucher has helped us to test alternative sources of power supply to mobility scooters to determine if our new fuel cells have sufficient power to drive both the motor and scooter electrics.
________________________________________
MDA Ltd
Knowledge Provider: UCLan
Innovation Theme: New Product Design/Development

The Innovation Vouchers have supported us in concept development and prototype design for the next generation bar runner/drip tray. With essential requirements of innovation, functionality and cost effectiveness, the time spent working with UCLAN has been invaluable in generating designs which include the capability to combine permanent pos with interchangeable messaging to reinforce brand visibility across the drinks industry.
________________________________________
Mitre Innovations
Knowledge Provider: Lucid Group
Innovation Theme: New Product Development

The Innovation Voucher gave use access to expert design knowledge, which enabled the detailed assessment of possible enhancements to our current product design. This included assessing a series of conceptual design alternatives for one component, via sketch visuals.
________________________________________
Holden Morris Consulting Limited
Knowledge Provider: Inspiral
Innovation Theme: Marketing strategy and branding

The Innovation Voucher helped us become more focussed on business outcomes and activities needed to achieve this. Recommendations made will enable us to revisit lapsed clients and target new clients and have provided us with a marketing plan for the next 12 months. The project also confirmed many of our previous marketing activities were right for the business, but need to be more focussed and better planned. Marketing is now a regular, focussed, formal activity rather than being something done on an ad-hoc basis when time allows.
________________________________________

PLP Construction Limited
Knowledge Provider: EJ Consulting Limited
Innovation Theme: Management Systems

PLP has benefitted from implementing the systems developed during the project funded by Innovation Vouchers firstly by improving our environmental performance and making savings and secondly by improving our chances of winning competitive tenders by demonstrating our commitment to protecting the environment.
________________________________________

Hydrocharger Limited
Knowledge Provider: University of Bolton
Innovation Theme: Product Design

The Innovation Vouchers has enabled us to move forward with our product design and therefore our product forward in a more positive manner, allowing us to identify more specifically the areas of development. The tests have assisted us in creating credibility in a shorter time frame resulting in more customer enquiries and ultimately orders. The Innovation Voucher scheme has added great value to my business without which the project would have taken longer to complete with added costs associated.
________________________________________

Hansen Glass Processors Limited
Knowledge Provider: Knowsley College
Innovation Theme: Human Resource Management

Granting of the Innovation Voucher has proven to be successful to allow the company in the absence of a HR department to access expertise within this specialised area to assist with the development and continued implementation of a Skill Steps/Key Contribution process. Individual development plans are to be introduced to allow employees to take positive ownership to improve their contributions which in turn will benefit both the individual and the company. Without the assistance and support of NWDA this project would not have been achieved within a realistic timescale.
________________________________________

Kakophony Limited
Knowledge Provider: Lancaster University
Innovation Theme: Product Development

The Innovation Voucher has been used to create detailed visuals and manufacturing specifications. These will allow the company to obtain accurate costs for manufacturing and the development of a prototype, which will be vital in securing further funding for the project and for taking the product to market.