INNOVATION e-newsletter
Welcome to the latest Innovation newsletter from ICS. It's been a busy 6 months for us, HPIC had a flood in May, in October we won the tender to deliver SE's Interactive Scotland advisory services and we were awarded the UKBI Inspire status for best practice in business incubation for the Hillington and Alba Innovation Centres. The Wellness Health and Innovation project has had a very successful first year and has started to build a strong community of companies and contacts across Scotland. And we have delivered all of this against the backdrop of SE and MEPC seeking to sell on their interests in ICS.
We were delighted to be awarded the UKBI Inspire status for best practice incubation as this recognises the outstanding work our advisors do with companies, both through the Innovation Centres and also via the industry initiatives. A recent survey of clients indicated that our innovation advisory support team brought a number of key advantages to companies including:
- Professional, experienced, high quality service where advisors are committed to growing our business
- Access to a good range of funding sources
- Put us in touch with contacts and consultants who ‘open doors' or provide much needed advice
- Always looking for networking opportunities with other SME's in the Centres and across the initiatives
- Provide good access to SE and the wider network of support
Other key aspects of the survey indicated
- The innovation centres have a good entrepreneurial atmosphere and companies like to feel part of a community, working with like-minded small companies
- Meeting facilities at the Centres are excellent and the buildings are very impressive which is important when bringing clients to see your location
- All the facilities, i.e. reception services, short-term flexible leases, fully fitted offices, free car parking etc provide a good stable environment to help get businesses off the ground.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your words of encouragement and hope that we can continue to do an excellent job to support the companies we currently look after and the new ones we will work with over the next year.
Regards
Tom
HILLINGTON NEWS
Back To Business With Renewed Focus
Six months after being deluged by a flood of water cascading from a burst pipe we have transformed Hillington Park Innovation Centre from a disaster area into an environment of opportunity!
The events of last May led to 12 of our client companies graduating from the centre taking advantage of the enforced evacuation to implement expansion plans. For the business incubation hub it was job done! The cloud had a silver lining.
Looking back Centre Director Ross Clark, says: "It was a traumatic experience for everyone involved. But for some companies it provided the impetus to make the move they were already considering."
Amidst the chaos of putting into action our well rehearsed Disaster Plan it was difficult to see the positives in the sea of water draining from the ceiling and causing mayhem.
Thirty seven companies with 217 employees were impacted. Incredibly by July we saw some of those who were washed out started to flow back into the Centre. The tide of returns continued to flow until now we have 27 companies operating from the Centre.
Ross says: "Before the flood we were at 95% occupancy. The reality is it proved a blessing in disguise, although we would have preferred to manage it differently!"
"We were actually in a position of turning away young potential clients with innovative businesses that would have benefited from the support we could offer. Some of the existing tenants were also constrained in their development because of lack of space."
These issues have now been resolved and we have welcomed five new tenant companies to the Innovation Centre. The new arrivals are micropumping specialists PiezoFlo; contract biotech company Pharmacells; Europe's largest renewable energy company Statkraft; Balfour & Beattie Engineering Services and life sciences consultancy Nic Lochlainn Consulting.
Between them the new companies employ 30 people bringing the total number of tenant employees at currently at Hillington Park to 170.
Ross Clark commented: "I estimated it would take us a year after the flood to return to where we were in terms of occupancy levels. We are definitely on track to achieve that goal."
Panel Accelerates Companies' Growth
Our approach to nurturing the next generation of pioneering technology companies goes far beyond providing quality accommodation.
Highly qualified business advisors work closely with budding entrepreneurs offering strategic assistance through the unique ICS portfolio of support services.
One aspect of our highly successful Accelerator Programme is the Innovation Accelerator Panel.
We bring together a panel of leading business people to listen to presentations made by ICS client companies on their structure, background, achievement to date and strategic plans for future development.
Based on what they hear and learn from the Question and Answer session that follows the presentation the experts offer high level advice.
Hillington Park Innovation Centre was the setting for one of these panels on Tuesday 6 October.
The panel consisted of:
Edward Cunningham, Director, Braveheart Ventures Ltd
Euan Duncan, Partner, McClure Naismith LLP
Brian Hale, West of Scotland Manager, LINC Scotland
Ian Stillie, Chairman, Theseus Ventures Ltd
Three companies, two of whom are in the pre-trading phase of their development, were given a 15 minute slot before the experts.
Innovation Advisor Gayle Cafferty, who organised the event, said:" This was an extremely valuable session for each of the companies involved. The Panel of experts really interrogated them on various aspects of their business and then went on to make recommendations. These ranged from funding to routes to market suggestions. The Panel also suggested how they could assist the companies by making business introductions."
Giving their views on the event our participating companies said:
Liam Hughes, Managing Director, Grow Live Ltd
"The key thing I took from the panel was clarity on a number of critical issues that I was unsure on – it was a little bit like a fog had lifted and suddenly it was very clear what I needed to do and I am now in the process of doing it – I probably knew the answer but sometimes you need to hear it from other people who can take an impartial view of your business and the challenges and opportunities you face and tell it how they see it; I would recommend it to anyone."
Andrew Mulford, CEO and Fred Bogacki, Operations Director, Medical Phone Ltd
"This was an excellent forum for us to articulate our business plan openly and be challenged in a non-threatening environment. The business experience and competence of the panel was evident from their questions and suggestions. Their ability to deliver open and unbiased feedback was invaluable in focussing the business and access to networks via panel introductions proved extremely useful."
Geraldine Abrahams, Director, TWM Productions Ltd
"The opportunity to present to the panel just a few days before I would introduce Tummy With Mummy to the public for the first time, was both timely and fortuitous. The panel members picked up quickly on potential weaknesses and gave me the opportunity to address them so that I could be pitch-perfect at the trade show in London."
Renewed Energy at Hillington Park
We are tapping into a renewed source of energy in more ways than one at Hillington Park Innovation Centre to refresh business in the wake of the flooding.
The realisation that the traumatic events of last May provided an opportunity to revisit business strategy and delivery models has given us the impetus to renew our drive and energy.
One focus of a reinvigorated strategy is to attract tenant companies operating in the field of Renewable Energy!
Ross Clark, Director of the Innovation Centre, said: "The Scottish Government has set stringent targets for the use of renewable energy in meeting the demands for electricity and heat. By 2020 half of Scotland's electricity and eleven per cent of heat will come from renewable sources."
"There is a major opportunity for young, innovative companies to develop the technologies that will place Scotland at the forefront of the global effort to reduce our carbon footprint."
Clark added: "We are determined to play our part is supporting the development of these hi-tech companies. We are establishing one of the most significant Scottish clusters of renewable energy companies at Hillington and at our sister Alba Innovation Centre in Livingston. At Hillington half our occupancy level is energy related. As a company Innovation Centres Scotland is looking at how we can provide additional services to support companies in the renewables sector."
Currently Innovation Centres Scotland has 15 tenant companies who operate in the energy sector. Ten are based at Hillington and five at Livingston.
ALBA NEWS
Innovation Thriving at Alba
We were delighted to receive the endorsement of Enterprise Minister Jim Mather for the Alba Innovation Centre (AIC) during a recent visit.
He was quite emphatic that AIC had a key role to play in helping Scotland achieve its goal of sustainable growth on a par with the rest of the UK.
Situated in Livingston, once the heart of Silicon Glen, AIC is indeed a thriving hub of innovation and a collegiate community of enterprise.
Senior Innovation Manager Stephen Morris, is upbeat about Alba's performance: "By a variety of measures there is evidence we are bucking the current economic trend."
In the first six months of the year the Alba Innovation Centre has seen:
- tenant companies increase from 39 to 47
- cumulative number of jobs created rise from 155 to 177
- occupancy level increase from 67% to 76%
• no company failures and several successful ‘graduations'
Recently awarded industry body UK Business Incubation accreditation, the success of the Centre, is founded on the quality of support provided, its modern facilities and the attractiveness of the working environment.
In a tough economic climate the centre offers a soft landing in the real world for industry or academic spin-outs and start-ups, with its unique ICS portfolio of support services and collegiate approach, where like minded dynamic innovators share their solutions to common problems and discover collaborative opportunities.
An example is the potential for a link-up between a wind power generation company at the centre and a recently arrived tenant developing an innovative aerial inspection system for use in difficult and hazardous environments.
That kind of business support is more difficult for a stand alone company to find outside the incubation environment provided by the Alba Innovation Centre.
But even in a highly supportive environment tenant companies have to work at overcoming the trials of the worst recession in living memory.
Automation process developer Savantech compensate for the cyclical nature of their main market, semiconductor manufacturing, by adapting their software for the waste / recycling industry; ECS Subsea are imposing even tighter cash flow controls while bringing forward refinements to their product; business social networking platform Kiltr are currently negotiating second round finance.
Our team not only administer the Centre but use our vast network of contacts to make vital introductions to business leaders and potential investors.
Although the present economic climate means a reduction in liquidity within the investor community driven by fewer exit opportunities we do see investment opportunities for VC's with funds.
The upturn will have happened in five or seven years from now when today's young companies are in their growth phase – the prefect time scale for investors to procure a profitable exit.
Tom Ogilvie, CEO of ICS says: "It is very easy to get depressed by headlines proclaiming the woes of the construction industry, financial services and the retail sector. But Alba Innovation Centre has a group of unsung heroes quietly going about the business of creating and growing young innovative companies that will help underpin the economic upturn."
Innovation is alive and well and thriving at the Alba Innovation Centre!
The importance of building a strong brand and creating a sales pipeline for your business
As all businesses know, selling is one of the critical issues that everyone faces at some point during the start-up phase. Sales are critical to confirm there is demand for your product or service and there are customers willing to purchase it. But on a scale of 1–10 how important is developing a brand for your business and is it an issue that is regularly considered at Board Level within your organisation?
These issues were recently discussed at an event held at the Alba Innovation Centre where leading sales expert John Leach (author of the Winning Pitch) and brand expert Scot McRae from brand consultancy Fennon McRae talked about the importance of understanding your sales process, believing in your product and building a brand which will springboard you into a global market.
One of the key themes on the day was, know what your customer wants and ensure your innovation or technology meets their needs. There is no point coming up with a fantastic innovative idea if the customer (or the market) doesn't want it! The other theme which was shared on the day was, ensure your business is seeped in your brand and this should be apparent in everything you do. Your brand will drive your market position, your market competitiveness and your marketing strategy and needs to on the agenda of every board meeting, otherwise your product or service will not succeed. And, as with sales, your brand has got to reflect the needs of your customers.
John and Scot also hosted a workshop on the day looking at individual companies' specific issues and how they should address them.
Alba Innovation Challenge
The Alba Innovation Challenge was developed to bring together creativity, innovative ideas and talent with the people and resources that can help translate ideas into new businesses.
The shortlist has now been agreed and the lucky finalists will be interviewed by the judging panel on Friday 29th January and the winner will be announced mid-late February.
The prizes include a big financial incentive, a home for your new business at the Alba Innovation Centre and a package of expert advice, including legal and accountancy services.
The Alba Innovation Challenge is sponsored by Alba Innovation Centre, Livingston, West Lothian Council- Business Gateway, Scottish Enterprise, Springfords and MBM Commercial
New Tenants at Alba Innovation Centre
Four new tenants have recently joined our collegiate community of technology entrepreneurs at the Alba Innovation Centre.
Operating in different fields they demonstrate the importance of converging technologies to the future growth of Scotland's economy.
Kiltr.com is a next-generation business social networking and media platform. It leverages Scotland's unique cultural heritage and entrepreneurial spirit to assist professionals, companies and organisations who are Scottish or have an affinity with Scotland, to accelerate their success across the globe.
Born and based in the heart of Scotland, Kiltr is a Scottish Seed Fund and angel investor funded start-up company. Kiltr founders, Brian Hughes Halferty (CEO) and Stewart Fraser (CTO) are both passionate Scotsmen, who are focused on harnessing the power of social networking technology to help shape Scotland's future international success.
Kiltr will provide the tools to connect the estimated 100 million Scots and affinity Scots across the globe and tap into the wealth of knowledge, experience and potential opportunity that exists in this network.
Public beta release of the Kiltr platform is scheduled for March 2010. Until then people can register their interest and receive a personal invitation to join at their pre-launch site www.kiltr.com
ECS Subsea
ECS Subsea Ltd has developed an innovative product for tracking pipelines and cables buried in the seafloor. The product is currently ready for sea trials. A new scanning method together with advanced signal processing promise large performance gains over competitors. The product has been designed by a small core team together with contracted specialist mechanical design expertise. An established global marketing partner has already been secured by ECS Subsea. The current economic downturn has impacted on customer deployment. However on the positive side, this delay has allowed innovative use of the additional time to further refine the product to bring about further performance enhancements. The excellent commercial/legal advice deriving from the company's presence in the Alba Innovation Centre has been critically important to the project. This highly innovative product is well set for the rise in oil demand as the world economy recovers.
Forth Photonics is a medical device group that designs, develops, manufactures and markets imaging systems focusing on the non-invasive, in-vivo detection of cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions.
The group's global headquarters is the Alba Innovation Centre while R&D and manufacturing is carried out by Forth Photonics Hellas SA based in Athens.
The company has developed a proprietary technology platform that has the potential to address a number of diseases affecting millions of people worldwide and costing billions of dollars to healthcare systems.
The first product Forth Photonics has brought to the market is DySISTM, which focuses on assisting the non-invasive in vivo detection and diagnosis of cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions of the cervix. DySISTM provides advanced tools to aid medical practitioners in detection, grading, and documentation of cervical neoplasia.
Forth Photonics announced in January of this year (2009) that it had completed its second round of fundraising, with new investment of €7.6m (£6.1m). The investment will fund the launch of DySISTM in the USA, the expansion of sales in Europe and development of its product pipeline.
The company won an RSA Award of £139,000 earlier this year which is linked to the creation of 11 new jobs over the next 15–18 months.
A2E Limited is a product based electronics design services company dedicated to the delivery of complex system, hardware, DSP, FPGA, PCB and embedded software design services.
The company, formed in 2002, has successfully provided solutions for numerous customers within the Military, Oil & Gas, Automotive and Industrial/Control spaces, as well as the Telecom, Video/Security and Silicon markets spaces.
A2E's technology is used in several market and technology areas including Digital Video, Broadband, Data Acquisition and Life Sciences. The highly skilled engineering teams at A2E provide electronic design services of the highest quality, from initial concept through prototyping, to full production.
While A2E has its main development facilities in Livingston at the Alba Innovation Centre, it has associates based around the globe to best meet the needs of its customers. The growth of the company, to the point where it currently employs 10 people, has been based on their contract design skills. The company now wishes to expand both internationally and through development of their own products.
For more information visit: http://www.a2etech.com/
INTERACTIVE SCOTLAND NEWS
Interactive Scotland announcement
ICS has been successful in its bid to provide sector specific advisory services to the Interactive Scotland initiative run by Scottish Enterprise.
In conjunction with our industry partner nmp, we will support Scottish SME's engaged in developing solutions, services, products and applications across the digital media sectors.
It will play a central part in delivering the Scottish Government's economic development strategy which identifies the creative industries, including digital content and technologies, as one of six key sectors offering substantial potential for future economic growth.
Scotland is home to over 1300 companies operating in the digital markets and has established a reputation as a global centre of excellence for innovation in the sector.
The new programme builds upon the highly successful Wireless Innovation Initiative also managed by ICS, which delivered award winning, highly acclaimed, industry accredited support to Scottish SMEs and international partners operating across the global mobile and wireless sector.
If you are a company working in the digital media sector in Scotland, or a digital media partner, please contact the team on interactivescotland@innovationcentre.org
WELLNESS NEWS
Healthy Growth for Wellness Initiative
We are delighted to report the first full year of operation for the Wellness and Health Initiative (WHI) has produced a very healthy review.
Taking the pulse of the project shows that it has exceeded all of the targets set when it was launched.
The first WHI Annual Report has been produced and highlights:
- 110 enterprises supported – target 30
- 7 new products/processes assisted – target 7
- 6 research networks and collaboration supported – target 3
- 9 partners engaged – target 8
• 10 events held – target 8
The WHI initiative, which we manage on behalf of Scottish Enterprise, also scored a 90% very satisfied or satisfied approval rating from its clients.
A three year project established in October 2008, WHI has a national remit to support and encourage individuals and companies in Scotland top take advantage of the growing opportunities in the Wellness and Health Market which is valued at £120bn a year and set to triple by 2012. (fig from WHI website))
The main objective is to deliver specialised services to clients in three areas: Market research; Product, technology and innovation support; Business development – route to market.
Companies assisted in developing new products include Zone Fit who are introducing a new fun piece of exercise equipment, exercise programmes and certified training for professional fitness instructors.
EX02 has also been assisted in the development and marketing of its unique core polymeric heating technology for use in a wide range of sectors including medical, marine and sports. The company is also developing its own heated clothing products.
In its first year of operation the WHI initiative team focussed on establishing a clear service offering, customer base and a strong foundation to move the project forward.
We have identified three emerging categories in the Wellness sector: consumer, workplace and sports. In the Health sector community health management, independent assistive living and products for traditional healthcare environments are the key development areas.
Moving forward our WHI team will concentrate on these market opportunities aligning them with client companies' capabilities.
Janette Hughes, WHI Project Manager, said: "We are delighted with the progress made in our first year. We believe Scotland has an enormous opportunity to grow companies of scale to take advantage of this emerging market. We want to ensure that happens."
Making the Right Connections with major Wellness and Health partners
At the recent Making the Right Connections event held in the Hillington Park Innovation Centre, over one hundred SME's met with some of the leading market makers in the wellness and health sector, to discuss their new and exciting business ideas.
The lead event sponsor, The Boots Centre for Innovation, the open innovation arm of the high street chemist Boots, came to Scotland with the objective of identifying potential retail products to fill their high-street stores. The Boots Centre for Innovation works closely with early stage companies and inventors to developing pioneering products for the Wellness and Health market.
They were joined by PWB Health, Touch Bionics, The You Company and Scottish Development International (SDI) to give an insight on the global opportunities available for Wellness and Health products and what companies need to do to meet market demands.
Louise Bryce, marketing manager for The Boots Centre for Innovation said, "It was really impressive how wide-ranging the technology these companies are offering. We saw things such as medical devices, diagnostics, first aid and equipment for babies.
The role of the Boots Centre for Innovation is to work with SMEs and lone inventors which might not have the marketing clout to go straight to the buyers at Boots. What we are able to do is work with the small company to get the product to a shelf-ready stage which Boots can develop and work on"
Jim Hall, MD of PWB Health gave some good practical advice to companies tackling this market, "We saw the opportunity to develop new and innovative ideas and products for the Health market early in our company development. When the Breastlight product was presented to us, we quickly identified the market opportunity and then started work on streamlining the product for the target audience. Companies wanting to enter this market should know that this is not an easy market to crack! It is difficult to pinpoint who would be a target customer for your idea and is it exactly right for the consumer, but when you get the right product, then the opportunities are significant!"
The Wellness and Health team played a key part in setting up the partner brokerage meetings, identifying partner needs, coaching the SME's and noting the agreed actions and the potential opportunities being discussed on the day. Over 70 client introductions were made with the 5 key partners and there was a lot of interest in commercialisation opportunities. PWB were delighted with the brokerage meetings and are currently considering a few of the opportunities presented to them on the day.
Client Case Studies
EX02
WHI clients tell us how the Wellness and Health Innovation Project has assisted them with their business!
"I have found the team at Wellness and Health Innovation to be both proactive and imaginative in their approach"
James Laing, EXO2 Managing Director
If you would like a more in depth case study for EX02 please click here
Dan Medical
"By constantly reviewing, questioning and challenging our business model, WHI ensured that we are focusing on the right areas and moving in line with market developments. We have a range of healthcare clients across the public and private sector and WHI helped us to develop an international focus to our business by providing information and links to distribution networks that allow us to market our product internationally."
Mike Eriksen, Dan Medical
If you would like a more in depth case study for Dan Medical please click here
Zone Fit Ltd
"The Wellness and Health Innovation team can provide quick responses to requests, are always accessible and, through the collective knowledge and resources of the team, always provide us with the information we require, which means we can focus on developing other areas of the business. Within the business community, having an organisation that is specific to the health and wellness sector has been a major boost in understanding our organisation's specialised wellness industry requirements."
Beverley Gove, Director Zone Fit Ltd
Marathon Man Ross
9.40am, New York, Sunday November 1 2009 and Wellness and Health Innovation team member Ross McLennan joined 43,740 other runners to compete in the 40th staging of the NY Marathon. It was the biggest field in the history of the event and the biggest marathon ever to take place.
After 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195km) Ross crossed the finish line clocking a personal best time of 2 hours 49 minutes and 361st position.
A great achievement – but only part of the story! Ross's day actually began at 5am when he started to make his way to the start. Conditions were really good with temperature at 11C. Although a North wind meant for most of the route he was running into the breeze.
Following his experience when he ran the Glasgow Marathon and went off too fast he paced himself more effectively and didn't 'hit the wall'.
"It was a really amazing experience. Two million people are estimated to line the route and they certainly make themselves heard. I had put my name on my vest and it was a real lift to hear them shouting my name and encouraging me on."
What was the most difficult part? That came AFTER he had crossed the finish line.
He explained: "All you want to do is stop when you cross the line, but they keep you moving as thousands are coming in behind you. Then you have to collect the gear you left at the start. It's brought to the finish in lorries and you have to find the one with your gear. Mine was the last in the mile long line and it took me thirty minutes to cover that one mile! That was the toughest mile."
But as the old adage says, "When the going gets tough the tough get going," and Ross got himself going to a bar for a well earned beer – marathon medal proudly round his neck!
EVENTS
Helping organisations & businesses through turbulent times
How can we help our people, in these difficult times, to be more outward-facing and entrepreneurial? How can we take advantage of new opportunities when everyone's busy just trying to keep afloat?
Senior decision-makers, from private, public and third sectors, are a vital part of the country's past success and are being asked to come together and work together to build on this for the future of our towns, cities and rural areas.
Common Purpose leadership development courses deal with real life issues and insights. We go beyond standard leadership models and learn instead from the successes and failures of leaders from all sectors. Participants are taken out of their familiar environment so that they examine, why, when and how they lead.
Described as ‘the street-smart MBA', they give people the inspiration, skills and connections to become better leaders at work and in society.
"I thoroughly enjoyed the programme. It was a truly mind opening, learning journey which has altered my views and opinions on certain things totally, and made me a more rounded individual. I have a more balanced understanding of problems/issues/ concerns, seeing things from others' points of view. I have a greater understanding of this area and what makes it work. I've had the chance to meet and learn from people in organisations that I would never come across in normal life/ job. I have a greater understanding of my own leadership style and growing confidence in my ability to lead and effect change – both internally and externally. By working together collaboratively we can achieve a whole load more than we can ever do as individuals or organisations on their own."
- Oracle Corporation Scotland
"This course changed my perspective on organisational issues – feel more confident in my own abilities as a leader and better able to seek solutions that are informed by external influences. I have brought fresh ideas back to internal discussions and been better able to challenge prevailing opinions and mindsets."
- NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
"I learned a lot from talking to such a broad range of people, who were all leaders in their own field or within their organisation. Sometimes, working in the private sector you can develop quite a stereotypical view of those that work in government. However the course introduced me to a number of public sector employees and I had the chance to exchange a whole range of ideas with them. Ultimately, I saw that we are all facing the same problems and we all have to come up with innovative solutions."
- Dunfermline Building Society
"For me the course really helped build my confidence as a leader and widened my understanding of the diversity within the leadership role. So much of this knowledge came from my time spent in the learning groups, visiting other businesses and services and reflecting and challenging our own practice. It is truly a great experience that I will talk about for years to
come".
- Carevisions
I would rate this course better that any I have been on. It has really made me look at my management and the style of management and leadership we use.
- The Inn at Lathones, Fife
The Common Purpose courses fast-track people's ability to step up to next levels of responsibility. Over coming months many organisations and companies will be looking to cut costs, if they haven't done so already. Often that will mean doing more or the same with less people resource. Therefore others will have to step up to higher responsibilities – possibly more quickly than previously thought or intended. How does an organisation support that?
How do Common Purpose courses help people? By broadening their vision of how challenges are tackled in different sectors and other types of organisations and companies; Through hearing directly of the successes and failures of leaders from all sectors – and the opportunity to talk with and question them; By being taken out of their familiar environment so that they examine, why, when and how they lead; By helping people in difficult times to be more outward-facing & entrepreneurial; By affording people a little ‘head-space' to consider the bigger picture, gain inspiration and fresh ideas and consider new opportunities.
In 2009 we had the highest number of participants yet on many of our courses in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.
Common Purpose Scotland's Director Connie Young explains: "I am constantly amazed at what happens when diverse people from different sectors are brought together, by sharing their experiences, thoughts and challenges. "
We are now taking applications for the 2010 Glasgow Metropolitan, Edinburgh & Lothians, Aberdeen City & Shire, and Mid Scotland leadership development courses for senior people. Also for the 2010 Scotland International-Navigator course for early career, 'emerging talent' individuals. And for small organisations in the public and not-for-profit, and SME sectors we are offering bursary supported places on courses across Scotland. If you are interested please get in touch with linda.mcdermott@commonpurpose.org.uk or visit www.commonpurpose.org.uk.
