MARTIN DARE-EDWARDS explains the work of the Oxford Innovation and Growth Team

Oxfordshire enjoys a global reputation in science and innovation. But historical reputation alone will not suffice if the county is to maintain and increase its contribution to the sustainable wealth and employment of the South East and “UK plc”. We need to address several factors to position our county for growth.

Historically, Oxfordshire’s political, business and social communities have overlooked the potentially damaging economic impact of low inward investment in the region and the missed opportunity for economic prosperity.

There are just a few foreign-owned companies in the area although we have generally enjoyed very high employment.

And of course, there have been many successful spin-outs from our universities which have either been bought by multi-nationals or have been relocated elsewhere in the world.

Support for businesses has often represented a set of disconnected responses to the ideas of diverse external funders rather than a more cohesive and shared long-term vision of what Oxfordshire can offer to entrepreneurial businesses. This has, for example, resulted in a focus on start-ups and insufficient attention being paid to the really difficult challenges of turning small companies into medium ones, and medium companies into major global players.

However, it is pleasing to see that attitudes towards economic investment and prosperity are now changing as stakeholders in the county embrace the potential for the development and potential globalisation of businesses on our doorstep.

This coincides with a desire for more effective collaboration between the various organisations that are members of our innovation community.

The Oxfordshire Innovation and Growth Team (IGT) has recently been set up to take forward the creation of an innovation capability in the county that will enable our most innovative businesses to thrive and accelerate their growth.

The IGT is part of a regional series of IGTs funded by the South East England Development Agency under the South East Business Innovation and Growth initiative.

The Oxfordshire IGT is a partnership led by Oxford Innovation working with Isis Innovation, Oxford Brookes University, the Oxford Trust, LeaderShape, Business Link, the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership, Oxfordshire County Council, the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts and the Technology Strategy Board.

I chair the IGT board and, as well as representatives from the partner organisations, it includes two of the county’s highly successful entrepreneurs, Bruce Savage, chief executive of GFC Diagnostics, and Stuart Miller, chief executive of Grove-based distribution specialist ByBox, the 2008 Oxfordshire Business of the Year.

The long-term aim is to establish Oxfordshire as a world-beating innovation hotspot with a sustainable community of innovative, high growth businesses.

We want the legacy of the Oxfordshire IGT to be a sustainable community of over 1,000 innovative, high-growth businesses which will promote new ways of thinking, working and doing business throughout the South East of England and beyond.

Each of the partner organisations is drawing on its particular expertise to assist high-growth potential businesses of all sizes and from any sector. The aim is to provide the specialist support that will enable these companies to realise their ambitions.

Staffed by experienced business professionals, the IGT is now delivering support and advice in a range of areas, from starting a high growth enterprise to advice on intellectual property and business planning. A major part of our strategy is also to develop a community of innovation which will encourage and enable businesses in the region to share ideas and experience.

F Gutkind & Co, based in Boars Hill, Oxford, is one of the companies that is benefiting from the IGT’s services.

Led by Ruth Willis, a local entrepreneur, the company has been a worldwide distributor of natural products since 1904, providing an importation and distribution service for gums, essential oils, organic ingredients, natural colours, flavours, fruits and herbs to the food and catering sector.

Ms Willis identified the potential to grow the company’s turnover substantially and asked the IGT team for assistance.

She said: “The IGT team has experts who understand your business and what needs to be addressed to generate growth, while simultaneously helping you to develop appropriate business skills to tackle the challenges associated with growth.”

Another client, Global BioProducers Network, has an innovative technology in the field of biofuel production.

Commercial manager Reijo Poldsaid: “The help and guidance of the IGT has become an invaluable resource, at the macro and micro business levels, with their support including access to contacts. Our company has become stronger and is growing faster as a result of their input.”

The Oxfordshire IGT will be holding a formal launch on January 28, at Infineum’s Business Technology Centre near Abingdon. We look forward to welcoming companies who are interested in exploring how we can help them.

n For more information: www.innovationgrowth.co.uk/oxfordshire This page is compiled by Oxford Innovation www.oxin.co.uk