Welcome to the November LCR Digital, Creative & Tech round up
Here we share some of the fantastic businesses we are home to; the good work being done in nurturing our talent pipeline; all important funding and opportunities relevant to your business; and helpful events happening for you. Please contact our Digital & Creative Champion for details on any of the below at helen.cross@growthplatform.org
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Brilliant news for Peepl which has received a £700k investment from the Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram. This new payments and rewards technology offers local restaurants an alternative to existing food delivery giants, such as Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat and keeps more money in our local economy. Read more here.
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Congratulations to Baltic Creative's MD, Mark Lawler, who has been appointed to the Creative Group UK council to represent creative and digital businesses from across the Liverpool City Region. Read more here.
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Get a sneak peak of the Shakespeare North Playhouse before it opens its doors next summer. A VR tour created by Liverpool's Shove Media walks us through this new venue. Read more here.
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Do you know someone that has made a difference in the community with their creativity this year? You could put them forward for an accolade in this year’s Culture and Creativity Awards! Nominate your ‘Glowing Star’ and others here.
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Liverpool City Region Skills Show – 18th& 19th January
Is welcoming business from the sector to host an interactive stand and talk to students about careers in the sector. This is a FREE opportunity for apprenticeship providers, employers and colleges and universities to represent their industry sector, showcase their opportunities and inspire the next generation. Contact craig.cahill@prospects.co.uk to express your interest.
Help shape the future of cyber skills
DCMS's annual cyber skills survey, carried out by Ipsos MORI, informs Government's policies around cyber security skills development and also feeds into the action of the UK Cyber Security Council. Find out more here.
Find the best training options for your staff
Growth Platform’s Skills Brokerage service is free and impartial helping you to access funding, local grants and government incentive schemes to help up-skill or re-skill your employees. They can also support you to recruit new apprentices as well as identifying apprenticeship routes for existing employees. Access up to 70% of funding towards training costs . Find out more here.
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Have you taken advantage of the plethora of support available for your business? Here are a few highlights:
1. Specialist support for our sector from Gather
Gather’s latest programme – Beyond – is a bespoke programme which means you can start anytime (fully funded until the end of December) to target the areas of your business that will unlock sustainable growth. You will be assigned your own dedicated growth consultant who will guide you through your scaling journey over a 4 - 6-month period as well as access to experienced executive coaches and an inspiring annual gathering of like-minded leaders. Find out more here.
2. Edge Hill’s Productivity and Innovation Centre to help Liverpool City Region SMEs scale-up
Edge Hill University is helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region to scale-up. The University’s Productivity and Innovation Centre (PIC) has expanded its popular Innovation Sprint Programme to enable SMEs in the region to access its service. Find out more here.
3. Business Resilience Programme
Giving senior leadership the opportunity to step back from the day-to-day and realign their goals. This support takes the form of a business diagnostic designed to identify barriers to growth. You will take part in workshops and leave with a practical action plan accompanied by post-workshop support to meet key growth goals. Find out more here.
How can we help you reach your Net Zero targets?
We want to support businesses in their journey to Net Zero. Please complete this short survey to help us understand the most relevant and practical support for you and your business . Complete the survey here.
Mental health resources for your business
We’re working with Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and partners across the City Region to encourage businesses to recognise the importance of good mental health in the workplace. Visit our website to find resources to help here.
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Funding & National Bodies
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Accelerators in Games, Film and TV
Creative England has launched three new Accelerator programmes, offering bespoke industry-led support to early-stage businesses in the Games and Film & TV sectors. Delivered through the Creative Enterprise programme, each accelerator programme will provide expert insight and guidance to businesses looking to develop and grow. Find out more here.
South by Southwest showcase for immersive tech, AI & 5G
Showcase your business in America's rapidly growing technology sector with a funded Global Business Innovation Programme and a seven-day visit to South by Southwest in Austin, USA (March 2022). For businesses working in AR/VR/MR/XR, Haptics, sonics and other sensory interfaces, advanced visualisations and display technologies, AI and 5G. Deadline to apply 22nd November. Find out more here.
R&D Tax Credits expand to include data and cloud computing
The Chancellor has acted on long standing ask to expand the coverage of the R&D tax credit in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review. R&D tax reliefs will be reformed to support modern research methods by expanding qualifying expenditure to include data and cloud computing costs. Find out more here.
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Spotlight the Digital & Creative Board
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The LCR Digital & Creative Board is the voice of the city region’s digital, creative and tech businesses. It is driving improvements for the sector through business growth initiatives, skills and talent retention and developing the space, place and infrastructure to help the sector flourish.
You can read about who is in on the LCR Digital & Creative Board here and we welcome your views via helen.cross@growthplatform.org. The next meeting is the 7 December.
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Mental Health in the Workplace, 18 Nov 2021, 9:30 am - 11:00 am
Join us to discover how business leaders, employees and freelancers can help create a better world of work, and improve their own wellbeing. Register here.
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Digital Tech cluster Launch, 23 November, 10:00am – 12:15pm
Centred at Sci-Tech Daresbury, but reaching across the North West region and beyond, the cluster will catalyse growth through activities such as peer-to-peer networks, business support, and access to cutting-edge facilities, skills and training. Join the launch event in person or online . Register here.
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Intellectual Property (IP): How does it add real value to your business? 24 Nov 2021, 10:00am - 11:00am
Join Innovate UK Edge to learn about IP and what it means for small and medium businesses. How it can add value and make a real difference to your business in terms of increased profitability both in the UK and overseas. Register here.
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LCR and Cheshire and Warrington Health Matters: networking event, 24 November, 8:30am – 10:00am
Liverpool City Region-based SME looking to sell products and services into the NHS and social care are invited to this networking event at Sci-Tech Daresbury. Register here.
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Food for Thought – Dr Ted Talk, 25 Nov 2021, 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Join LYFE for lunch where the team will do everything they can to help you start living your best life. Register here.
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Lunch with Gather: In conversation with Matt Byrom, 6 December 12:00pm-1:30pm, Southport
Join Gather for an exclusive lunch with marketing expert Matt Byrom. Having grown a portfolio that has now worked with over 1,500 brands including Deloitte, LG, and Kodak, Matt will be sharing some valuable tips on growing a business in the Digital sector. Register here.
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Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation EXPLAIN courses, various dates to May 2022
Accessible supercomputing, data analytics and AI training with industry context. Register here.
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Access previous Growth Platform events via our YouTube channel
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