£14 million funding is available for business-led projects focused on enhancing business capabilities, to improve efficiency and accelerate growth. 

The UK government is seeking to fund 100 Management Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (mKTPs), which are designed to help businesses deepen their management expertise and increase their capability and effectiveness, through better management practice. 

Hosted by Wrexham Glyndŵr University, Liverpool John Moores University and Manchester Metropolitan University, the event will explore the scheme, how it works, and how you can access funding to work with our Business School academics.

Mick Card, from the Knowledge Transfer Network , Natalie Crawley from the Welsh Government, Professor David Bryde, from Liverpool John Moores, and Ceri Ceri, from Manchester Met, will take you through the funding opportunity, explain the business benefits and provide expert advice on how to make a successful application.

mKTP projects are funded by the UK government department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy through Innovate UK , with the business partner making a financial contribution depending on their size and location (ranging from *25% to 50% of costs).

* Increased funding for Welsh SMEs

The Welsh Government will contribute 75% towards the total costs of mKTPs that meet the eligibility criteria and are approved for participation in the programme - eligible SME businesses in Wales will only have to contribute 25%. Applications must be received by 11 am on Wednesday 30th June 2021 to be eligible.

Typically projects last for two years, with areas covered ranging from accounting to marketing, HR to business operations and business psychology.

Examples of mKTPs:

• A family-owned SME seeking to enhance digital skills to improve business intelligence and facilitate access to new markets
• A software company with a niche product moving to a generalised service for multiple sectors
• A traditional craft-based business, seeking to embed an innovation capability to enhance sustainability, business resilience and growth
• An organisational restructure to support business scale-up and diversification 

You can read a case study of one of our mKTPs here.

Our speakers

Mick Card

Mick is a Business Strategy and Knowledge Transfer Adviser for the Knowledge Transfer Network. He advises businesses and organisations on finance and commercial projects. Experienced in managing business development, funding and legal functions in private and public sector organisations, Mick has set-up over £2bn of multi-party projects and funding, and was a key member of one of the UK’s most successful MBO’s. He has served on executive boards of G.E Capital, Stagecoach Holdings and Abbey National companies, and for 10 years has been working with businesses, trade bodies, Government, support agencies and academia in North Wales to establish and finance new projects and business support programmes.

Natalie Crawley

Natalie is a Knowledge Transfer Partnership Manager for the Welsh Government and has a wealth of experience in project management across many sectors, leading, managing and developing innovative programmes in the knowledge transfer field. Natalie has successfully managed and led diverse teams; providing consultancy and practical hands on experience with facilitation of collaborative projects between academia and industry. Natalie strategically engages with Innovate UK and Research Councils UK and is responsible for effective delivery of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme in Wales and its future development.

Professor David Bryde

Prof. David Bryde is Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer in Liverpool Business School and Director of the School of Doctoral Management Studies in the Faculty of Business and Law, Liverpool John Moores University. He is also a Professor of Project Management and is leading on the Faculty’s Knowledge Transfer initiatives, including Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs). In terms of his own personal research, Professor Bryde is particularly interested in how projects contribute to sustainable development through the design, procurement and delivery of new products, services, systems and infrastructures. He is working closely with industry and professional bodies to maximise the impact of his research.

Ceri Carr

Ceri is the KTP Manager at Manchester Met, where she leads the development and delivery of the university’s portfolio of KTPs. She has extensive experience of developing partnerships with commercial and public sector partners and bidding successfully for national and international funding schemes. She has been instrumental in the university achieving a top-5 position nationally for the number of KTPs, and central to the development of its current portfolio of projects - recognised nationally for its quality and impact. See Linkedin profile for further information

Agenda

10:30 Attendees to join virtual event

10:30 – 10:35 Chair: Charlotte Oram-Gettings, Business Development Manager, Wrexham Glyndŵr University – Event welcome

10:35 – 10:50 Mick Card: What are Management KTPs (mKTPs) and how could they benefit your business?

10:50 – 11:00 Natalie Crawley: Welsh Government Funding for Growth and Business Transformation

11:00 – 11:15 Dr David Bryde: mKTPs in context – KT framework, financial return and strategic change objectives

11:15 – 11:20 Ceri Carr: University support for business growth and transformation – developing successful partnerships

11:20 – 11:30 Interactive Q and A session

11:30 Final thoughts and event close - Chair: Charlotte Oram-Gettings, Business Development Manager, Wrexham Glyndŵr University