White Rose Consortium wins university challenge
Posted on 10 March 1999
This is the joint largest grant made to the 15 successful consortia, which involve a total of 31 universities in the UK.
The £4.5m grant will provide a seedcorn fund to back university innovation in its early stages - traditionally the most difficult time to secure financial backing.
The White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund will fuel the creation of new high-tech companies and new jobs in the region, arising from high quality research in the three universities. It plans to invest in 100 new companies over the next ten years.
Between them, the three universities have an enormous range of expertise. Over 3,700 academic and research staff are carrying out world-class research in the life sciences, physical sciences, engineering, environmental and medical specialities. This work is supported by private and public sector funding totalling £160 million per year.
Earlier innovations have established the universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York's track record of commercialisation, with 50 spin-off companies and over 1,500 new high-technology jobs created to date. This has been achieved through mechanisms for technology transfer, including University of Leeds Innovations Ltd, Sheffield University Enterprises Ltd, and BioIncubator York Ltd.
The White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund will follow best practice in the management of its resources to provide ongoing support to new commercial activities springing from research. It has identified Murray Johnstone, a £3.6 billion fund management group, as preferred Fund Managers, and has recruited six prominent entrepreneurs with venture capital experience who have agreed to serve on the Fund's Board.
Since seedcorn funding must be backed by other, larger sources of funds, the Consortium has also drawn up plans for a Second-stage Ventures Fund, which plans to raise up to £20 million in early 2000 to help spin-off companies in their early stages of development.
Dr Ederyn Williams, Managing Director of University of Leeds Innovations Ltd, and who led the White Rose Consortium bid, said: "The fund will be of enormous benefit to early stage technology and innovative companies, where the problem of raising seedcorn funding has long been recognised. We are confident the White Rose Technology Seedcorn Fund will be one of the most successful in the UK, given the excellent quality and quantity of research coming out of the three universities".
Professor Sir Gareth Roberts, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, greeted the announcement as a positive endorsement of the White Rose Partnership: "The motto of the Government Competitiveness White Paper, published last December, was 'collaborate to compete'. Our Consortium does just that. I am confident that this collaboration will make a substantial difference to the regional economy and to the three universities involved."
Professor Tony Robards, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of York, said: "This is the opportunity we have been waiting for to help release and exploit the huge volume of innovative research in Yorkshire's three leading research universities. The potential of a very successful partnership will be realised through these funds."
Notes to editors:
- The University Challenge Fund's Steering Committee judged 45 bids, drawing in over 90 research institutions nationwide, and oversubscribing the available £45 million three times. The new Fund is made up of £25 million from the Government, £18 million from the Wellcome Trust and £2 million from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
- Winning bids were those which convinced the Steering Committee that they have the ability to generate a stream of good projects, coupled with quality management approach and a successful track record in the exploitation of research outcomes.
- The three universities have successfully worked as a consortium on a number of other projects. Together they have won one of the four national Faraday Centre awards, focusing on advanced packaging technology, and one of the eight Biotechnology Exploitation Platform awards from the Department of Trade and Industry. In addition, they have, from their own funding, created 30 White Rose Doctoral Scholarships to support research in a broad range of subject areas.
- A list of successful bidding consortia is attached.