Testing, Testing: Take a Look Behind the Scenes at BCIMO

As the latest landmark in the regional innovation landscape, it’s time for BCIMO to lift the lid on its world-class range of technical and commercial facilities at the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre (VLRNIC), and to introduce a current funding opportunity from Innovate UK Business Growth.

Innovation is essential to business, primarily in terms of its long-term sustainability but most essentially its potential to grow. And whilst there is a perception that this only encompasses exciting and ground-breaking new products and services, the reality is that innovation can happen within any and all aspects of what a business does. Existing products can become innovative via new systems and processes, operational functions such as HR, marketing and finance can adopt an innovative approach, or it can take a much broader perspective through collaborative innovation with other businesses. In essence, the innovative potential across technologies, supply chains and workforces is encompassed within BCIMO’s Areas of Focus – more on this next week!

By adopting an innovative mindset and pursuing innovative strategies, a business can improve the way it works, expand what it offers, gain a greater share of the market, diversify into new markets and / or change completely what it does. But key is that by becoming innovative it ultimately becomes more secure and more successful. So, the question is: where does innovation start? It can often start with an idea, but just as viably with the decision to ‘become’ innovative, from which ideas will emerge. For both pathways, getting the right support in and from the right place at the right time is essential though; and this can include advice and guidance, but also practical and technical support.

At the forefront of the former is Innovate UK Business Growth, who offer the one-to-one support of an innovation and growth specialist to work closely with individual businesses to assess need and create a viable action plan to achieve specific goals.

Where the latter is needed, for example in developing, testing and demonstrating a new product, a different type of support is needed, and this is where research and technology organisations like BCIMO can help. An ‘RTO’ is a specialist not-for-profit, knowledge-based organisation which focuses on the development and transfer of science and technology to the benefit of the economy and society. They include hubs, laboratories, testbeds, factories and offices for cutting edge research and development.

Although vital to the realisation of new technologies, the support they provide needs to be funded, and this is where additional support from Innovate UK can come in. SMEs who are currently benefiting from their growth advisory support can receive up to £15,000 in grant funding (towards a maximum project cost of £24,999) to access the facilities and resources offered by RTOs – including BCIMO – and the Catapult network of technology and innovation centres established by Innovate UK, which likewise support businesses to transform their ideas into viable products and services.

Within the rail sector, developing and testing innovation in a ‘real world’ environment can be complicated, as it often requires access to working facilities which are in constant use or for which ‘track time’ is limited and thus relatively inaccessible, particularly for smaller innovators. But with a unique combination of facilities that are both comparable in terms of environment and with a license exemption from the Office of Road and Rail so more available, BCIMO is the perfect place for businesses to undertake the work they so essentially need to ensure their product is market ready.

So how does the Innovate UK Business Growth funding work in practice? Six months ago, local company Argenta utilised funding from the scheme to test a combination of their technology and equipment from partner organisation Cyth Systems at BCIMO. Designed to enhance safety in rail freight through real-time monitoring using a self-generating power source, their innovation needed to be tested ‘live’ on rolling stock, and so time on the test track enabled them to collect data needed for further development. Without Innovate UK support, they would have needed to fund access to the facilities themselves and, without BCIMO facilities, their testing and development would have been significant more difficult to complete, so it was an ideal combination.

Over the course of BCIMO’s flagship Clean Futures programme, the Rail Development & Test Site at its home – the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre in Dudley – has played host to a range of regional innovators, both testing and demonstrating on site and, most notably, demonstrating to key industry stakeholders and prospective investors. With enquiries about the range of facilities available and how businesses can utilise them to drive their innovation now increasing, BCIMO is launching a monthly ‘Behind the Scenes at BCIMO’ facility tour.

Beginning on the 4th September, the tours will take place on the first Wednesday of each month from 10am to 12pm and will include an introduction to BCIMO and a walk-around of the Centre’s rail and engineering facilities, alongside its Meeting & Event Spaces. There will also be an opportunity to network with other tour attendees and to meet members of the BCIMO team, who can answer any questions you have about how they can help you and your business, including the potential to utilise and be referred for the aforementioned Research & Technology Support.

The tours are designed exclusively for professionals and businesses working in the rail sector, those within the broader transport sector who are considering the possibility of diversifying into rail, or those who would like to explore the broad range of opportunities that the rail sector can offer to their business. They also welcome visits from academics and students who are studying or undertaking research in the field.

Julie Pauley, Project Manager at Innovate UK Business Growth, outlined the wider SME support on offer:

“Innovate UK Business Growth is Innovate UK’s national business growth and scaling service. It is an integral part of the innovation agency’s products and services portfolio. The service is available to all established small to medium sized innovation-focused growth companies, including Innovate UK grant winners.

“Innovate UK Business Growth accelerates its ambitious clients on their growth journeys with one-to-one support from over 400 innovation and growth specialists and scaleup directors embedded in every UK region and nation. Their tailored, expert advice helps thousands of businesses sharpen their commercial strategies, realise the maximum value from their IP, raise game changing investment and take their businesses onto the global stage every year.”

Chris Woodhams, Managing Director at Argenta, reflected on his experience of utilising their funding to access facilities at the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre:

“For our project we needed to acquire data from a train whilst travelling at reasonable speed and for these requirements, the BCIMO facilities were perfect. The people that we worked with were knowledgeable and really supportive in getting our project activity completed. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to others or come back in the future when requirements arise.”

Helena Davies, Events Manager at BCIMO, said:

“The brand new facilities at BCIMO have attracted considerable attention from the rail industry and local businesses alike. To accommodate the significant number of requests to see what goes on behind our doors, we’ve introduced a monthly bookable tour. Tours will run on the first Wednesday of each month and are open to businesses to join, with the opportunity to meet other professionals in the field. Whether you’re in individual or a group, we look forward to welcoming you and showing you around our world class centre.”

To read more about the funded access to BCIMO, including eligibility criteria, please visit BCIMO’s Research and Technology Support webpage.

To book a place on one of BCIMO’s facility tours, please visit BCIMO’s Eventbrite page.

For more information on BCIMO and the VLRNIC please visit the BCIMO website or click Contact Us to make an enquiry.