Sean McCarthy, Head of Market Intelligence at the Satellite Applications Catapult explains how satellites could be the key to helping the oceans. As an island nation, the sea and coast have played a vital role in Britain’s and the North East’s past and they provide huge opportunities in the future. The so-called blue economy includes […]


Discovering the Value of Intellectual Property
If you’ve never had any experience with intellectual property (IP), it can seem difficult to get your head around, but a basic understanding can set you on the right track. It’s a given that every business, big or small, will own or use some form of IP and in many cases, they don’t even realise […]

The 3 Essential Steps to Marketing an Innovative Product or Service
David Broderick, Senior Content Executive at MMC Strategic Marketing explains the 3 essential steps your business should take when marketing a new product or service. When you’re taking an innovative product to market, you’re faced with a unique set of challenges. Just ask Google, which failed to get Google Glass – the world’s first pair […]

Do You Understand Innovation?
In today’s Innovation SuperNetwork blog, management consultant and innovation professor, Michael Coates, guides us through the fundamentals of innovation. It is a shame that “innovation” does not rhyme with “love”, as singing “innovation is all around us” would certainly help to get over one of the key messages that organisations need to understand. This simple truth […]

Innovation is Alive and Well in the North East
Carole White, CEO at TEDCO Business Support explains why the North East should be optimistic about a bright and innovative future in business. Innovation is a term that is often thrown around in the business community. But it isn’t always clear what constitutes innovation and what is merely good practice within an enterprise. Business leaders […]

Preparing to Procure
Ben Gilhespy, Director of Operations at CDEMN talks about the problems facing procurement in the engineering and manufacturing industry and how to overcome it. Many smaller engineering and manufacturing businesses are looking to break into larger companies but fall foul of a complex purchasing protocol. This is frequently only realised after their initial engagement which went […]

Supply Chain, You’re Invited
Alan Whittaker, Programme Manager at Supply Chain North East explains how businesses can benefit from learning more about the supply chain. I know in my experience of working alongside businesses which want to grow in their existing or supporting new supply chains there are a number of challenges which exist. Aside from the current political […]
Alex Marsh from Maven speaks to Boiler Plan MD, Ian Henderson
Alex Marsh, Investment Manager at Maven, caught up with Boiler Plan Managing Director, Ian Henderson, to find out how the £2.15m investment from Maven’s VCTs and North East Development Capital Fund has helped the business accelerate the growth of its disruptive ‘digital first’ service for the sale and installation of boilers. Boiler Plan has achieved […]
What you do in business matters, but how you do it matters more
There is a common perception that the only way to be successful in business is to be ruthless. Popular culture portrays business leaders as modern versions of Victorian mill owners, willing to do pretty much anything to increase profits. TV series like Dragons’ Den reinforce the stereotype and Gordon Gekko’s catchphrase ‘greed is good’ in […]
Diving in to emerging tech
By Graeme Miller, Innovation Manager. The Great Exhibition! Like me, I’m sure you have heard about it and have some idea of what’s going on but are you getting involved in any way? A few weeks back I was asked to get involved and at the time I thought the exhibition was just for the […]