CFE worked with the Greater Nottingham Partnership (GNP) a sub regional economic partnership within the East Midlands to evaluate two current projects.
Nottingham Knowledge Network
The GNP’s Knowledge Network in Greater Nottingham is designed to facilitate interaction between local businesses and Nottingham’s two universities: The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. The aim of the network was to facilitate and promote the knowledge economy across the sub-region.
The network was designed to ensure that research advances are translated into commercial application; not only to help grow the existing knowledge economy but attract more knowledge based businesses to the area.
The evaluation examined the success that the project has had in creating a sustainable business network in the area, the impact of this, and the barriers and enablers of effective collaboration between Higher Education Institutions and the local business community. The evaluation included several recommendations to inform development of the network.
Nottingham Creative Network
The Nottingham Creative Network is led through a partnership between Nottingham Trent University and the Broadway Cinema and Media Centre.
It was formed in October 2006 to provide support to Greater Nottingham's creative industry through 1 to 1 targeted advice, seminars and opportunities for networking. The network also ‘signposts’ creative Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) into suitable business support services where appropriate.
This evaluation sought to understand the impact of the network, through qualitative interviews with stakeholders and members alongside analysis of project documentation and monitoring information. The report included recommendations for GNP to take forward, centred around management, project activities, sustainability and GNP’s role.
For more information on either of the above projects please contact Sarah Neat on 0116 229 3300.