Introduction 

The challenge North Tyne programme was a partnership between the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and the Innovation SuperNetwork, aimed at using innovation practice to address some of the biggest challenges facing the region.

The project has focused on two key missions:
●    Supporting older people at Home, Work and Play
●    Delivering Energy Efficient, Net Zero Homes

The Challenge North Tyne programme was launched in 2022, and in April 2023 an independent economic assessment of the programme was commissioned from Ortus Economic Research, which reported in January 2024.

The evaluation explored the impact of the programme on its participants and the wider innovation ecosystem, as well as its progress towards stated objectives. A summary of the findings can be found below and the full evalutation can also be downloaded here.
 

Project aims

The programme was intended as a test of mission-driven innovation in the North of Tyne area. It aimed to engage with key partner organisations while establishing a structure and platform for this type of innovation work. It was also seen as a way of identifying best practice in mission-focused projects in the North of Tyne area.

Specifically, the programme aimed to:

• Create a systemic approach to solving complex problems in the North of Tyne region. These problems are often shared by multiple stakeholders, but without a consistent, systemic approach to solving them
• Build on existing innovation assets in the region to develop a support system for innovation activity, which increases the maturity of that innovation activity in the region
• Develop actual solutions to the problems facing the region, with the potential for job creation, scale-up growth and an increase in R&D investment

Underpinning the programme’s work was a desire to build collaboration and increase the region’s capacity for innovation. This included encouraging larger organisations to look externally for problem solving expertise, and delivering intensive support to SMEs on the co-design and co-development of solutions.

To be considered a success, the programme needed to have a long-term, lasting impact on the innovation capacity of the region.

Delivery and Targets

The project targeted supporting 100 SMEs, with 40 of those receiving over 12 hours of support.

Of those, 50 companies would receive a £5,000 innovator’s grant (stage 1) to engage in the co-design process, and 40 of those would go on to receive additional funding (stage 2) to develop their solution and bring it to market. The initial innovator’s grant (stage 1) was not match funded, but subsequent funding (stage 2) would be 20-50% match funded by the SME.

The project aimed to support 30 enterprises introducing new-to-market products, and 20 introducing new-to-firm products.

It also aimed to support the creation of 45 direct jobs, and the safeguarding of 25 more.

To recruit businesses and social enterprises onto the Challenge North Tyne programme, an open invitation was made for SME businesses to come forward with innovative solutions to the challenges of ageing and decarbonisation.

The ideas were then assessed and a cohort was chosen to join the programme, and offered the Stage 1 grant of £5,000 to develop their ideas.

Those who applied but were not awarded a grant were also invited onto an Accelerator programme of intensive business support to aid them in innovating, and help contribute towards the Challenge North Tyne objectives.

Outcomes and Impact

The evaluation found the programme met all its core output targets, supporting 130 businesses against the target of 100, with 44 businesses (target: 40) receiving over 12 hours of support, and 65 businesses (target: 60) receiving between 3-12 hours of support.

A total of 47 innovator’s grants were awarded, however only seven businesses received the additional stage 2 funding. This is significantly below the initial target of 40, but the decision was made to focus on a smaller number of larger grants to maximise the impact of those projects.

In addition to the 130 SMEs, the programme engaged 25 Challenge Supporter organisations, which aided the definition of challenges and helped the SMEs develop their solutions. These Challenge Supporters are typically larger organisations or key players in the regional ecosystem, and their engagement is critical to building a sustainable, long-term innovation community in the North of Tyne area.

The programme is estimated to have created 5.5 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs to date, with a further 45 FTEs forecast for the next 2-3 years.

The economic evaluation of the project, and forecasts for the next two-three years, estimate that those 50.5 FTE jobs created would benefit the North of Tyne economy by £2.48 million in net gross value added, with the total project over the time period delivering net gross value added of £5.63 million.

This represents a return on investment of 7.9:1 for the North of Tyne Combined Authority investment fund, ahead of the 7:1 return typical for challenge-led innovation projects in the UK, according to UK Research and Innovation and Innovate UK.

Participant feedback

The evaluation contains specific feedback from Challenge North Tyne participants.

Several clear benefits were seen. In the short term, participants developed new collaborations or partnerships, developed new knowledge and insight which helped business management and increased their confidence in innovating. Looking longer term, participants expected to see increased sales, reduced costs and increased profit.

The initial Stage 1 grant of £5,000 appears to have been an important attractor to the programme, as well as allowing participating businesses to explore open innovation and challenge-led innovation.

Others mentioned the importance of skills and knowledge development, including on the Accelerator programme and through exposure to peers, ‘knowledge holders’ and intermediaries, as important to improving business processes.

Additional benefits included the identification of market opportunities, the collaborations established, private sector investment leveraged and growth in open, collaborative mindsets.

The programme itself, and its alignment with the North of Tyne Combined Authority carried some weight, and participants benefited externally from the credibility which came with it.

At the time of the evaluation, most participants were at the testing or product validation stages, rather than having a product ready for market. Further follow-up may find these solutions have successfully moved to later stages of development.

Nevertheless, the programme was considered useful in understanding the feasibility of ideas, and even where unsuccessful the ability to ‘fail fast’.

The programme’s success at bringing SMEs through these early stages - testing and development - is positive, but the evaluation notes a need to align that with the expectations of Challenge Supporters in future programmes.

Looking to the future, evaluation responses pointed towards the need for continued access to funding and advice, and support identifying collaboration opportunities.

Very few negative impacts were reported from being part of the Challenge North Tyne programme, although a number mentioned the need to focus time on the project and therefore having less time to spend elsewhere, and others mentioned difficulty finding a market for their developed solution.

The evaluation notes the steps taken by the Innovation SuperNetwork to reduce the likelihood of negative experiences, including reducing the burden on businesses when applying initially to the programme, the availability of non-matched funding, the Accelerator programme being optional, and SMEs being made aware of the potential to request a change of activity rather than stick to an innovation outcome which was not optimal.

Lessons 

The evaluation identified 10 areas where the programme could potentially improve, or which should be taken into consideration when designing similar programmes in the future.

Conclusions

The evaluation concludes the Challenge North Tyne programme has had a tangible impact in a number of areas.

Participants have progressed through stages of innovation development, and the support of the Innovation SuperNetwork team, including delivering content, transferring knowledge and building confidence has been invaluable to this.

The programme and its support has also had tangible impact on business growth - creating jobs and with a forecast of more jobs to come - and on private sector investment, both directly through the programme and by those whose innovations have reached the stage where they can raise further external funding.

Further evaluations