Innovation through collaboration

Innovation Profile InterTradeIreland:New treatments for cancer, a heart monitoring device, a compost raw material to improve mushroom production, and an IT solution for wastewater treatment compliance are just a few of the commercially successful results of InterTradeIreland's Innova programme.

The programme offers funding of up to €300,000 to North/South collaborative innovation partnerships to develop new products or services or build on existing innovation and this year €1.5 million is available to companies wishing to participate.

“We started the programme with a pilot in 2004 and we had supported eight partnerships by the end of 2006,” says Innova operations manager Grant Gilmore.

“Since then we have increased that number to 27 and we are hoping for another eight partnerships this year. The programme was initially aimed at the life and health sciences area but we have now broadened this out to include polymers and plastics, agri-food, advanced engineering and advanced materials, telecoms, ICT and environmental. We did this to take advantage of the opportunities being presented in those areas. Partners can work in the same sector or come from different but complimentary disciplines and we have had some good examples of projects which have spanned more than one sector.”

Among the programme’s primary aim is to encourage companies to engage in innovation. “InterTradeIreland’s key focus is to assist companies across the island to build innovative capability,” Gilmore explains. “Our research has shown that businesses that engage in innovation are three times more successful than those that do not. It is also evident that companies throughout the island could benefit from further collaboration and networking and programmes like Innova aim to exploit this potential.”

He points out that the money is just a small part of the benefits companies gain from participation.

“Innova provides the partnerships with more than just funding; that’s probably the least important aspect of it. They also benefit from being able to expedite the development of new or improved innovative products, processes or services and gaining access to a quicker route to market and a much faster rate of commercialisation.

“They also gain knowledge, technology and expertise from each other which might otherwise have been inaccessible. There is also the relationship which is built between the two companies which gives each access to new networks and channels to markets and enables future collaborations.”

Successful collaboration

An example of a successful collaboration supported by Innova is that between Williams Industrial Services from Newtownabbey and Co Carlow-based TelLaboratories (TelLab) which has resulted in the development of AquaMonitrix, a low-cost field deployable sensor and communications system, which gives an early warning of water pollution and reports results back using GSM data technology. The companies had already established close links through involvement with Queen’s University’s School of Chemical Engineering and collaborative research body, the QUESTOR Centre. They were therefore aware of each other’s capabilities and confident that they could effectively work together and bring their own areas of expertise to succeed in developing this new product.

“Together we had identified a gap in the market where there isn’t a low-cost, pollution sensor device available in Ireland, the UK or throughout Europe,” says John Toner of Williams Industrial Services. “However, we required further support to allow it to happen. TelLab has the chemistry and bioengineering and we had the engineering and other expertise required. Innovation can be a money pit but the best way to deal with a problem is to share it. Programmes like Innova help companies collaborate and without the support and backing of on organisation like InterTradeIreland companies like ours mightn’t be able to do research and development.”

According to Mark Bowkett of TelLab the support from Innova was vital in terms of time to market. “The key factor was being able to develop the device and get it to market first. This is where we needed InterTradeIreland’s support. The funding from the Innova Programme meant that we could put in significant resources and move things forward quite quickly. The unique selling point with the AquaMonitrix is that you can just drop it into the water and allow it to work. Other devices need to be installed properly and are only semi-portable. However, time is of the essence when getting innovations like this on to the market so the Innova funding has been crucial as it has allowed us to speed everything up.”

Prototypes have been developed and tested, and were well received at a recent trade show in Germany. It is hoped that the device will be commercially available within the next year. “We would like to think we’ll have it on the market within the next eight to 12 months,” says Toner.

The Innova programme is open to Irish businesses with an innovative idea and strong commercial potential, who have already found a strategic partner in Northern Ireland.

* For more information on Innova funding see intertradeireland.com