KEEP+, Connecting SMEs to academics and graduates
This new European Regional Development Fund-subsidised programme will help boost your business through research and development support that will help you launch new products and services
The Offer
KEEP+ will be able to help your business achieve its goals for growth by helping you overcome barriers to innovation.
By partnering with Anglia Ruskin University, KEEP+ will provide your small to medium sized enterprise (SME) with a flexible programme that will help you innovate. The programme is designed to help your company:
- develop new products or services
- increase profitability
- reduce costs
- provide you with a stepping stone to larger-scale innovation opportunities
- access graduate talent.
The programme offers two interventions: Knowledge Exchange and Embed Partnerships (KEEPs) and Research and Innovation Collaborations (RICs).
More information
A Knowledge Exchange and Embed Partnership, known as a KEEP, is a three-way collaboration between:
- you, the business
- a graduate employee (known as a KEEP Associate) who will exchange the specialist knowledge your business needs for the valuable experience you can offer
- a Knowledge Base (Anglia Ruskin is known as a ‘knowledge base’). An academic from your chosen knowledge base will supervise the KEEP Associate and offer you consulting support throughout the collaboration.
- Projects typically last 12 months. Each project is different. We work with you to establish the requirements of the project, which will determine its length.
The KEEP+ programme offers a number of research and innovation collaboration opportunities that can help your SME develop projects that test, develop and launch new products, processes and services. Known as ‘RICs’ for short, these Research and Innovation Collaboration interventions are designed to help your business grow its product or service portfolio.
You can use the intervention from initial idea/conception stage all the way through to market launch. We can provide collaborative research services or research and development support in a number of ways. Access to our research facilities and expertise will be integral to the project’s success. Through our network, it may also be possible to access new markets and stakeholders such as public sector organisations, other research entities and larger businesses.
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