Low Carbon KEEP

The Low Carbon KEEP Programme is a unique opportunity for SMEs in the East of England to access funding to support knowledge transfer partnerships with expert knowledge bases such as universities and colleges. The benefits to SMEs of working with such a knowledge base are numerous, and many companies have successfully accessed expertise and assistance through formalised knowledge transfer partnerships which they would not otherwise have had the resources to engage with.  The Technology Strategy Board reported an annual increase in before tax profit of £229,000 in companies who had completed a knowledge transfer project.
 
Low Carbon KEEP projects last between four and twelve months and are shorter than a conventional knowledge transfer project, this allows projects to be more responsive to the fast paced low carbon agenda.  A successful project under the Low Carbon KEEP programme would see an appropriately qualified graduate employed by the knowledge base partner, but working as a fully engaged member of staff within the recipient SME and supported by an expert academic for half a day every week.  Carbon savings can be created within the business itself, perhaps through a resource efficiency project, upwards through its supply chain or downwards into its customer base, via the development of a new product or service.
 
Managed by Anglia Ruskin University, the Low Carbon KEEP programme engages with all of the regional HEIs however the knowledge base can be located anywhere in the UK.  By participating the knowledge base can support strategic change and technological advances within organisations, increase the business relevance of their current research and teaching, and enhance their institution's low carbon credentials.
 
For more information visit www.anglia.ac.uk/lowcarbon